2023-11-15 11:43:21
He sibo (bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine) It is a disease characterized by the presence abnormal and excessive microorganisms in the small intestine. Those who suffer from it produce excess hydrogen in that part of the digestive system due to the fermentation of the carbohydrates they digest.
It is a pathology that can reduce quality of life due to the annoying symptoms, especially if it is not diagnosed or treated appropriately.
To determine if sibo is hidden behind our intestinal problems, there is a test which helps professionals define the diagnosis.
It is a pathology more common in women than in men and especially in the young population. Many girls through social networks are associating their digestive discomfort with sibo and experts warn of the risk posed by a possible self-diagnosis.
Los doctors Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Gandía, digestive doctor at the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital in Madrid; Asun González, biologist specialized in microbiota; and Andrea Calderón, nutritionist and professor of Nutrition at the European Universitythey explain to us what really is sibohow we can detect it, what its symptoms are and how to diagnose it, but above all how not to confuse it with other pathologies or intestinal diseases.
What is SIBO?
The sibo is a bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine which produces discomfort and digestive symptoms in those who suffer from it.
“The most common thing is that we have a higher microbiota in the large intestine and colon, but that the small intestine has many fewer microorganisms,” explains the biologist Asun González.
According to experts, sibo in healthy population it is rare It is a pathology that is generally caused by other problems in the microbiota.
“Generally, it is other pathologies or pathological situations that can produce an increase in microorganisms in the small intestine, which is what generates problems and symptoms associated with sibo, but for this we have to diagnose and treat it,” says the doctor. Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Gandía.
“In our flora, the bacteria we have are fundamental and essential for our body. These bacteria, which generally grow and function in the large intestine, cause problems if they grow excessively in the small intestine, where they should not develop. This is how sibo and all the symptoms associated with sibo occur,” adds the doctor.
What are the symptoms of SIBO?
“The symptoms are very variable and precisely from that derives a bit of the complexity of this disease and its treatment,” says Asun González, also a nutritional advisor.
Experts agree that the most common symptoms are bloating and abdominal distension, gas, diarrhea or, on the contrary, constipation.
“Extraintestinal symptoms can also be associated with it since the intestine is considered a second brain and it has been proven that both organs have a direct connection,” says González.
For this reason, the specialist continues, many people with this pathology feel a kind of brain fog, they are more distracted, more confused and more tired also due to the exhaustion that produces some of its main symptoms such as diarrhea.
It does not occur in a specific age range and can affect at any time in life and in any circumstance. It is more common in women, but men can also suffer from sibo.
“In addition, since the brain and the intestine are more connected than we think, it can often be generated as a result of strong stages of stress. It is not that stress as such generates sibo, but it does put the body constantly on alert and consequently there is an increasing presence of microorganisms,” explains the biologist.
Diagnosis and treatment
When there is a suspicion of sibo, the experts perform the breath test which measures the gases that our bacteria degrade normally.
“For sibo there is a lactulose test, as it is known. It is a test with which we can measure the gases expelled by our bacteria naturally. What is generally measured is methane, but above all hydrogen“explains Dr. Rodríguez Gandía.
“A kind of sugar is given through the mouth and it is measured hydrogen in exhaled air and it is calculated how long it takes for that sugar to reach the colon,” says the digestive specialist at the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital.
If that hydrogen in the exhaled air appears ahead of time, explains, it is assumed that there are bacteria in the small intestine but it does not have to be that way.
What happens is that this sugar may take longer to reach the colon in a person who has a digestive problem such as constipation, or it may take less time for a person who has diarrhea.
“Therefore, the test fails almost 50% of tests “They are carried out because what they are really measuring are the bacteria of the large intestine, which are normal and the ones that everyone has and not so much those of the small intestine,” says the doctor.
“The general treatment is antibiotics that are absorbed in minimal quantities, that is, they practically act only in the intestine. There are also professionals who recommend a probiotic,” adds the doctor.
30 meter long replica of a human intestine in Dresden (Germany). EFE/Ralf Hirschberger
Delve into the diagnosis
Experts maintain that sibo is usually the warning sign of another previous digestive problem and causing this abnormal growth of bacteria in the large intestine.
Sibo is closely related to other digestive pathologies such as intolerances and, above all, with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). In fact, people with irritable bowel syndrome can develop sibo over time.
Furthermore, the sibo shares many symptoms with inflammatory bowel diseases and other digestive problems and intolerances.
Specialists agree that the main thing is to go to a professional when discomfort appears so that they can look for the possible causes of this bacterial overgrowth and determine a diagnosis, ruling out another.
Andrea Calderón, nutritionist and professor of Nutrition at the European University states: “Sibo can be cured. But, if I treat sibo and do not pay attention to other possible causes of my discomfort, it is likely that after a few months I will develop sibo again. It is essential to look for the cause of sibo or possible hidden digestive disease.”
Beware of hoaxes and false information
Andrea Calderon, states: “Although it has been known since the 90s, it now seems that it has become fashionable to talk about sibo on social networks, which leads many people to self-diagnose themselves, with the negative consequences that this can have for their health.”
In this sense and to prevent possible self-diagnoses, doctors warn and call for anyone who has these symptoms or intestinal discomfort to go to a professional who will determine a diagnosis and offer the best solutions.
“Let’s say Networks, on the one hand, can help raise awareness about the disease and, in this sense, it may have something positive, but there is also a negative aspect “And many people make their own diagnosis without first consulting a professional,” adds the nutritionist.
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