Peppermint Oil, Fiber Can Treat IBS Study Shows Older Treatments Work Well for Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Nov. 13, 2008 -- Largely overlooked, older remedies like peppermint oil and fiber are effective treatments for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a review of the research shows.

The analysis shows that these remedies and some antispasmodic drugs that are no longer widely prescribed work well, researcher Alexander C. Ford, MD, tells WebMD.

Newer drugs that once held great promise for the treatment of the poorly understood bowel disorder have largely proven disappointing, either because serious side effects emerged or they were not very effective.

So there is currently no clear first-line treatment for patients with irritable bowel syndrome, Ford says.

"Most of the treatments we examined have fallen out of clinical favor," he says. "But they work, they are cheap, and they're far less toxic than some of the newer drugs."