IBS - or to give it its full name - Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a set of symptoms which affect the stomach and bowel. At the time of writing, there is no fully attributed cause to these symptoms, and the symptoms themselves can quite often vary dramatically between sufferers. Because of this, IBS is often referred to by several names such as spastic colon, mucous colitis, spastic colitis, or irritable colon. Similarly, because of the wide spectrum of presenting complaints, IBS can be notoriously difficult to diagnose correctly, and sufferers will often have to make repeat visits to their physician before the condition is diagnosed.