Young people with gut disease are now openly discussing their issues on social media
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has become the latest trend on multiple social media networks, generating a broader conversation about gut health, finding the right healthcare providers and advocating for oneself in the doctor’s office. What started as a tweet that went viral and created such an impact that there are now billboards in Los Angeles with big “Hot Girls Have IBS” slogans.
why should we care about “Hot Girls Have IBS”?
Because it is difficult to discuss such personal ailments in public, and now this social media trend is shifting the paradigm toward a more open and brutally honest conversation. These young women making jokes about bloating and recommending healthier food choices are candid about their struggles and openly advocate for self-diagnosis and self-care. Common symptoms like food sensitivities, irregular bowel movements, bloating sensation, nausea or vomiting after eating too much, craving for certain foods, avoiding certain foods, excessive dietary restrictions, etc, which we normally associate with teenage behaviour such as bulimia or anorexia while its actually more serious underlying gut inflammatory disease.
This is a welcome move for those who are silently suffering and afraid to share their gut stories even with their family members. If things come to light sooner then they can get help
In recent years gut-related health issues have skyrocketed, and damage to the gut microbiome from childhood use of antibiotics seems to be the most likely explanation. Environmental factors like pesticides, insecticides, preservatives and hormones in the food supply are equally responsible. But a damaged gut microbiome or complete loss of diversity of gut commensals, a.k.a dysbiosis, could be the most likely cause of IBS
Increasing awareness and recent innovations such as blood tests that can detect inflammatory biomarkers from the bowels or tiny cameras that can be swallowed to investigate the walls of the small intestine can be contributing to the sudden rise in the number of cases of IBS or IBD. While IBS can be uncomfortable and inconvenient, it’s quite different from Crohn’s or Ulcerative Colitis, which are more severe types classified as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). IBD is thought to be an autoimmune disease that is caused by an overactive immune system attacking the digestive tract.
Hashtags like #guttok and #ibstok, which together account for over half a billion views, are helping to get the word out so that more and more young girls are reaching out for help as well as support each other. There is a growing movement of people talking about their gut health on online communities and social media.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to gut health, but some things tend to help people improve their conditions. Dietary changes, prebiotics, probiotics, vitamin supplements and fermented foods are some options to explore. Stress reduction techniques, yoga and meditation help with pain management. Access to quality healthcare and timely interventions are key to effective management of IBS whereas a more aggressive treatment may be required to manage IBD as it is a chronic illness with no definitive cure.
We will have more articles on this topic in the coming weeks.
Stay tuned.
Meanwhile, if you see a “hot girls have IBS” post on social media, please do not ignore share it with your network and spread the awareness
Disclaimer: The original article was more of a perspective and case study in nature. I wanted to focus on the core concept of creating awareness for IBS as the tone of this article. And, of course, to avoid plagiarism. Some sections of this article have been written AI copywriting tool but further modified manually to fix the flow of information. If you find any mistakes or factual errors, kindly post them in the comments.
