What is gastrointestinal dysfunction? Gastrointestinal dysfunction is functional gastrointestinal disease, also known as functional digestive disorders, gastrointestinal motility disorders and gastrointestinal neuroses, is a general term for a group of gastrointestinal syndromes, which are caused by disorders of higher neural activity resulting in malfunction of the vegetative nervous system, mainly motor and secretory dysfunction of the stomach and intestines, without histological organic pathological changes, excluding other systemic diseases. Gastrointestinal dysfunction caused by other systemic diseases is not included. Gastrointestinal dysfunction is the most common digestive disorder, and this disease accounts for 40% to 60% of patients in gastroenterology outpatient clinics. If you have frequent burping, acid reflux, bloating, abdominal pain, unformed stools, increased farting, or frequent constipation, and have gone to the hospital for laboratory tests, films, and endoscopy and found nothing wrong, then this may be the disease. The causes of these diseases are mainly gastrointestinal motility disorders and hypersensitivity of the gastrointestinal tract to sensory responses to adverse stimuli. While a significant number of these people may be diagnosed with chronic gastritis and chronic enteritis due to the absence of obvious organic diseases, they may take medication for a long time, causing unnecessary financial losses. What are the characteristics of gastrointestinal dysfunction? The incidence is high, about 1/3 of the general population has experienced it; the course of the disease is long, usually should last for months or even years; the onset is slow, with intermittent episodes, often with periods of remission, i.e., the symptoms are sometimes mild and sometimes severe, sometimes good and sometimes bad; the patient’s symptoms have variability, i.e., the same disease can have different manifestations in different individuals; there are often excessive mental tension, family disputes, It is easy to misdiagnose, because there are no specific symptoms and specific examination methods for functional gastrointestinal disease, so it is especially easy to misdiagnose; repeated visits to the doctor, because the treatment effect is not satisfactory repeated visits to the doctor, which has a more obvious impact on the quality of life. It also tends to cause confusion and fear of disease in patients. What are the symptoms of gastrointestinal dysfunction? Gastrointestinal dysfunction is a general term for a group of gastrointestinal syndromes, so the symptoms of the entire gastrointestinal tract can be expressed, and the symptoms in different parts have different names, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome, etc. Since the gastrointestinal tract is a complete system, the symptoms can often overlap between different diseases. Most patients are accompanied by mental symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, forgetfulness, hypersensitivity, easy fatigue, and poor concentration. Patients with predominantly esophageal symptoms may have acid reflux, regurgitation, heartburn, belching, hiccups, some patients may also have dry and itchy throat, bad taste in the mouth, hoarseness, pain behind the sternum, and some patients may have foreign body sensation, cotton ball sensation, or blockage sensation in the throat, etc. Esophageal symptoms may be predominantly GERD or functional heartburn. Upper abdominal symptoms mainly include epigastric pain, epigastric distention, early satiety, belching, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, etc. It may be functional indigestion. The lower abdominal symptoms mainly include vague pain around the umbilicus or lower abdomen, unformed stools, increased exhaustion, poor bowel movement, mucus, or with constipation and diarrhea. This condition may be irritable bowel syndrome. What should I do if I have irritable bowel syndrome? First of all, we should maintain a good psychological state. Eliminate unnecessary tension, worry, fear and other adverse psychological state, establish confidence to overcome the disease. Secondly, we should develop a healthy lifestyle. Establish a regular rhythm of life, regular meals, regular rest, regular wake up, regular bowel movements, in order to develop their own healthy “biological clock”. Actively participate in physical exercise and recreational activities to distract your attention. Avoid sitting and standing for a long time, and do more aerobic exercise. Thirdly, we should pay attention to dietary regimen. The diet should be light, eat more fresh vegetables and fruits, eat more coarse grains, drink more water, drink more yogurt. Avoid rough, greasy and irritating food, and avoid foods that can induce symptoms in your personal life experience. Finally, you can medicate symptomatic treatment. For gastrointestinal motility disorders and gastrointestinal visceral hypersensitivity, medications that regulate gastrointestinal motility and reduce gastrointestinal irritants can be used. For patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders with significant depression and anxiety disorders can be supplemented with anti-anxiety and depression medications. However, medications, whether prescribed or over-the-counter, are recommended to be used under the guidance of a medical professional. Can gastrointestinal dysfunction heal itself? Gastrointestinal dysfunction is a functional disease, with a certain degree of self-healing, but each patient’s condition is different, the impact on health is also different, although the symptoms will recur, the disease can reach several years to decades, but the general health status is not affected, so it does not affect the life expectancy, must be a correct understanding of the disease, and to lift the mind concerns, proper handling and correct treatment of life, work and other environmental factors, We must understand the disease correctly and release our worries, deal with the unfavorable factors in our life, work and other environments, eliminate mental and psychological barriers, improve confidence in treatment, adjust our lifestyle and diet, and take some symptomatic measures to deal with some symptoms, most patients can get significant improvement and it will not affect their normal life, so we must have confidence.