Today we at Medical Specialists Pharmacy are thoroughly delighted to offer a brand new, revolutionary treatment option for the estimated 12 million people in the UK who are caused misery by the painful and inconvenient stomach condition, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Some of the most common symptoms for sufferers include highly discomforting stomach cramps, bloating and diarrhoea or constipation, or sometimes even bouts of both. The IBS treatment in question is a non-dairy, gluten-free probiotic food supplement produced by Symprove Ltd, named simply ‘Symprove’. Those with sharp memories will recall that we first mentioned about this fantastic IBS treatment way back in May. In fact, its effectiveness at combating the common stomach and bowel complaint is so exceptional that even national media has picked up on Symprove, subsequently being featured in newspapers such as the Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror, as well as HELLO! magazine. Therefore the opportunity to offer our patients this brilliant solution to help with IBS was one we could not refuse, and proudly working together with Symprove Ltd, we now have the delicious 500ml mango and passion fruit flavoured version in stock and available from the Medical Specialists chemist shop for the low price of £19.93. So, what exactly is Symprove you may wonder, and how does it work? Well, it is a water-based barley drink that is taken once daily – ideally prior to breakfast. With every batch produced being independently tested to ensure the highest standard of quality, each 50ml serving contains approximately 10 billion live bacteria. However, here is where it gets interesting; Symprove’s 4 species of live bacterial cultures (L. rhamnosus, planatarum, acidophilus and E. faeciumbacteria), are fully alive and activated from the moment Symprove is swallowed. What sets Symprove apart is the fact that unlike other everyday probiotic products, the probiotics within Symprove manage to reach the gut and get to work in a mere 20 minutes without triggering the digestion process.  This may sound strange and something you would expect and want to happen. However with other probiotics, digestion results in stomach acid and bile salts being released in order to break down food. The stomach acid means that probiotic bacteria struggle to survive in this environment and any that do, will be ineffective inside the gut. Symprove is successful at travelling straight through the stomach without triggering digestion, meaning its probiotics are able to reach the gut and then establish a more healthy balance of  ‘normal bacteria’. It is the existence of 'bad' pathogenic bacteria that initially causes digestive and other problems. Symprove’s revolutionary method of fighting the symptoms of IBS means that the bacteria are not freeze-dried like many other products out there. Basically with its ‘Unique Delivery System’, the bacteria are ready to start working from the moment they pass your lips! At Medical Specialists we fully understand that IBS can be a deeply distressing condition to live with, especially when trying to manage it whilst at your job. Many underestimate the psychological impact that IBS can have from trying to cope with the pain and discomfort. It is even thought that three out of every four people who suffer from it, will have at least one bout of depression, with half experiencing some varying degree of anxiety. You should not let it control your quality of life though, and with appropriate treatment you can live a normal and happy life. In addition to Symprove, there are other available options to help with the symptoms of IBS such as Buscopan IBS relief, Imodium and Mebeverine. All are available from the stomach and bowel area of the Medical Specialists website.