10 Self-Care Tips for IBS Relief

People with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) don't usually get relief from taking one simple medication, as people often do for other health issues. Instead, various strategies are needed to reduce IBSsymptoms. Self-care remedies like applying heat, drinking tea, and using relaxation techniques may be able to relieve your IBS symptoms immediately, while others may provide more long-term relief.

There are quite a few approaches you can take, and everyone dealing with IBS is different. Some of these treatments and tips may work better for you than others. You might even benefit from a unique mix of strategies.

This article offers some ideas on how to manage IBS symptoms. Along with your healthcare provider's suggestions, these tips may help you to find some relief from the everyday pains of IBS.

1. Use Heat

woman sleeping with a hot water bottle on stomach

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There are two soothing options here: a heating pad or a hot water bottle. Each of them offers a different advantage. A heating pad provides heat that is a little stronger than that of a hot water bottle. However, a hot water bottle is safe to use while you sleep.

Either option is simple. Just place the pad or bottle on the part of your tummy that feels the worst. In both cases, be sure to protect your skin with a layer or two of clothing to prevent burns.

There are psychological benefits to the warmth. Better still, research suggests that external heat can provide pain relief. 

2. Sip a Soothing Tea

Like your warm heating pad, a cup of herbal tea provides some much-needed soothing. However, herbal teas bring something else to the table.

Several types of herbal tea have long been used to ease digestive symptoms:

  • Peppermint tea is a great option for pain because it soothes the digestive tract.
  • Anise and fennel teas may help ease constipation.
  • Chamomile tea is a calming tea that may help reduce inflammation related to IBS.
  • Turmeric tea contains a powerful antioxidant that can help alleviate IBS symptoms including inflammation.

3. Try Probiotics

man taking a pill

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Some people report that the use of probiotics has helped them with IBS. These "friendly" microorganism strains work to balance the bacteria within the gut. The strain with the most research support to date is Bifidobacterium infantis.

However, the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) recommends against the use of probiotics for IBS symptoms. This is primarily due to a lack of high-quality research on the subject. It also reflects the difficulty in determining the specific effects of different probiotic strains.

Before taking a supplement, consider adding more probiotic foods to your diet. Fermented foods are a good source of probiotics. Processing fermented foods can kill the probiotics, so look for active or live cultures on the labels of the following types of food:

  • Kombucha
  • Miso (soy paste)
  • Pickles (cucumber)
  • Sauerkraut (cabbage)
  • Tempeh (soy)

If you think probiotics might be right for you, discuss the pros and cons with your healthcare provider.

4. Learn Your Trigger Foods

Sometimes you can eat something and be perfectly fine. Yet on another day, that same food has you doubled over in pain. It can be a mystery as to why.

A food diary is one way to help take some of the uncertainty out of your symptoms. It can track what you're eating, how you're feeling, and any other circumstances that may have influenced your IBS symptoms. This record may help you to identify any patterns you are not aware of.

Simply keep a written account of what foods you are eating along with other factors, such as sleep, stress, or your period. It doesn't have to be extensive—just quick notes on what may contribute to IBS distress will do.

Trigger foods with IBS include:

  • Fruits: apples, apricots, blackberries, cherries, mango, nectarines, pears, plums, and watermelon
  • Gluten-containing foods: wheat, barley, or rye breads, cereal, grains, and pasta
  • Vegetables: artichokes, asparagus, beans cabbage, cauliflower, garlic and garlic salts, lentils, mushrooms, onions, and sugar snap or snow peas
  • Dairy products: milk, milk products, soft cheeses, yogurt, custard, ice cream
  • Sweeteners: honey and high-fructose corn syrup
  • Food ingredients ending in "-ol": sorbitol, mannitol, xylitol, and maltitol (found in candy and gum)

5. Try an IBS-Friendly Diet

The foods that you eat can contribute to the problem. There are two main ways to identify your IBS trigger foods:

  • Try an elimination diet: An elimination diet involves avoiding all potential trigger foods for a period of four to eight weeks. This gives you time to assess any effect on your symptoms. At the end of the time period, you add foods back one at a time to see if they cause problems.
  • Consider the low-FODMAP diet: The low-FODMAP diet is a type of elimination diet, and it's the only diet recommended by the ACG. Research supports its effectiveness in reducing IBS symptoms. The diet requires that you limit certain carbohydrates for a period of time. You then slowly add them back to see how your body responds.

There are also certain foods that can lead to, or ease, specific IBS symptoms. It can do wonders for your everyday health and well-being to learn which foods contribute to—or relieve—gas, constipation, and diarrhea.

How and when you eat may also affect your symptoms. Some specific strategies for IBS-friendly eating habits include:

  • Eating on a regular, predictable schedule
  • Eating smaller meals
  • Avoiding greasy, fatty foods
  • Avoiding gassy foods

6. Slowly Increase Your Fiber Intake

small salad being tossed in a clear bowl

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Many people with IBS are unnecessarily afraid of fiber. They fear that it will make their symptoms worse. Dietary fiber, which can be found in fruits, vegetables, and grains, is actually essential to keep your digestive system working at its best. 

The ACG recommends increasing your intake of soluble but not insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber dissolves easily in water, while insoluble fiber does not. Common sources of soluble fiber include oats, peas, apples, beans, and citrus fruits.

For people with sensitive digestive systems, like those with IBS, it is important to increase fiber intake very slowly so that your colon has time to adjust.

When it comes to fiber, there are two more things to keep in mind. First, beware of bran. Many people with IBS say it irritates their systems. Second, when boosting your fiber intake, consider starting with low-FODMAP fruits and vegetables, and those high in soluble fiber.

7. Be Physically Active

Physical activity can have a number of health benefits. Getting enough exercise can help improve IBS symptoms like fatigue and low energy. Keeping up an exercise routine for 12 weeks or more may even start to have a positive effect on cognitive symptoms like depression and anxiety.

The recommendation for adults is 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a week, plus two days of muscle strengthening. You could break it up into 30 minutes of brisk walking five days a week plus muscle-strengthening activities for your major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms).

8. Learn Relaxation Exercises

Since IBS symptoms are often affected by stress, one of the mightiest tools in your IBS kit is to know how to physically calm your body.

Regular practice of relaxation exercises helps to lower your baseline anxiety level. This practice also offers you a way to manage symptoms in real-time when anxiety is caused by events like an IBS attack.

There are three basic types of exercises: visualization, deep breathing, and ​muscle relaxation.

  • Visualization, aka guided imagery, is when you imagine a scene where you feel relaxed. It can be somewhere you've been before or a made-up one. Maybe it's lying on a raft in the water or being nestled next to a crackling fire. It may help to take some deep breaths before you begin.
  • Deep breathing involves using the diaphragm to take long, deep breaths. It can help lower blood pressure and reduce the production of stress hormones.
  • Muscle relaxation helps you raise awareness of sensation and tension as a way to reduce stress. It is a process that involves tensing certain muscle groups to notice what that feels like and then releasing the tension and noticing what that feels like.

If you need help getting started, check your local community for classes or workshops—or find an online guide. Try out different types to see which works best for you.

9. Care for Your Mental Health

two women in therapy session

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Let's face it: IBS is stressful and often serves to make symptoms worse. 

There is no need to go it alone. One good option is an online IBS support group, which can easily be found on standalone websites or social media sites.

Another option is to seek out a qualified mental health therapist for symptom relief. Two forms of therapy, in particular, have research support for their effectiveness in reducing IBS symptoms—cognitive behavioral therapy and hypnotherapy.

Cognitive behavioral therapy can help improve symptoms by allowing you find new ways to think and act about your condition. Gut-directed hypnotherapy is a technique that uses hypnosis to help alleviate symptoms. Mental health therapists can also teach you the relaxation techniques mentioned above.

Therapy targets the connections between outside stressors, your brain, and your gut. In addition, working with a good therapist can help you to better deal with the stress and disruptive nature of IBS.

10. Try a Massage

Massaging your abdomen may help when you need immediate IBS symptom relief. A stomach massage can help with bloating and constipation. It can also reduce abdominal discomfort while improving digestive function. Be gentle when massaging your stomach. Vigorously massaging your abdomen could cause damage to internal organs.

Relaxing into a full-body massage can be good for managing IBS symptoms as well. A full-body massage may help by reducing stress levels in general.

When to See a Healthcare Provider

If modifying your diet and managing stress isn't giving you the IBS relief you've been looking for, consider talking to your healthcare provider about medication options.

The following symptoms are not characteristic of IBS. If you have any of these, contact a healthcare provider:

  • Anemia (low red blood count)
  • Blood in your stool (red blood or black, tarry stool)
  • New symptoms over the age of 50 years, or changes in your typical IBS symptoms
  • Unexplained weight loss
  • Fever
  • Shaking chills
  • Night sweats
  • Diarrhea that wakes you up from sleep

What Is the Best OTC Medicine for IBS?

The best OTC medicine for IBS varies depending on your symptoms. For constipation, a laxative can help increase bowel function. For diarrhea, an antidiarrheal like Imodium (loperamide) is often used to slow down gut transit. Peppermint oil can help relieve other IBS symptoms and pain.

Summary

People who deal with IBS symptoms have many available options that may help to reduce discomfort and improve quality of life. Some self-care remedies are simple measures, like using heat or sipping tea to be more comfortable. Others focus on stress and relaxation techniques.

A number of the strategies focus on foods and how you eat. A food diary will help you to track what you eat and the symptoms you experience. Diet changes, like adding fiber or eliminating the FODMAP foods that trouble you, may go a long way to improve your gut health.

If you have concerns about IBS symptoms, be sure to talk to your healthcare provider.

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Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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By Barbara Bolen, PhD
Barbara Bolen, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and health coach. She has written multiple books focused on living with irritable bowel syndrome.