‘We need better ways to diagnose stomach illness’
The Irish Society of Gastroenterology’s twice yearly gathering discussed bowel disorders and related illnesses which are affecting the lives of one in every eight people.
The director of University College Cork’s Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre said new ways had to be found to deal with the problem.
Professor Fergus Shanahan said Ireland needed better systems for accurately diagnosing stomach illnesses.
“If we are to be honest about these things we have to realise that there is no single effective drug to tackle the likes of Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
“We have to start looking at other ways of helping people to deal with these problems,” he said.
The professor said more emphasis would have to be put into dietary awareness and other non-chemical solutions.
The conference heard serious stomach illnesses account for the loss of 1.5 million working days each year, costing the economy on both sides of the border €173 million in earnings.
Prof Shanahan said there was a significant increase in awareness, especially in the past five years.
However, there is still a gender imbalance and women are more likely to seek medical attention than men.
He said while awareness is improving, the challenge for the sector was to understand the factors which bring on these illnesses.
“Traditionally people have been embarrassed about bowel and gastrointestinal ailments, but that is changing. It is now about trying to have better systems for identifying categories of people affected by stress and the response of the immune system,” he said.
More than 300 delegates will continue to discuss issues around Crohn’s Disease, IBS, colorectal cancer and food poisoning when the conference continues today.
