Mucous colitis is another name for the condition known as irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS. Although people with IBS do sometimes produce mucousy stools, the term “colitis” has fallen out of favor because it implies inflammation of the colon, which does not actually occur with IBS. In most cases, a primary care doctor will diagnose irritable bowel syndrome on the basis of a patient interview, physical examination and, sometimes, simple blood tests. Patients with severe symptoms or symptoms that don’t respond to treatment benefit from referral to a gastroenterologist.Abdominal Pain

Doctors consider abdominal pain one of the essential features of IBS. according to Dr. Chung Owyang, chief of gastroenterology for the University of Michigan Health System, other gastrointestinal symptoms that occur in the absence of abdominal pain are simply not considered IBS. Abdominal pain due to IBS must meet other criteria as well. It must start at the same time or shortly before other gastrointestinal symptoms, and it must resolve or improve with a bowel movement. as for the location of the pain, that’s not as important. according to Dr. Owyang, no clear pattern emerges with the location of pain–patients with IBS describe left-sided pain, right-sided pain, belly button pain, general “stomach pain” and pain around the pubic bone.

Altered Bowel Habits

Altered bowel habits–either diarrhea, constipation or alternating episodes of each–represent another essential feature of mucous colitis. For patients whose baseline bowel habits make it difficult to identify new diarrhea or constipation, the 2006 Rome Criteria used to diagnose IBS provide the answer by defining the alteration as a change in either the frequency or appearance of bowel movements. Subtypes are defined by the alterations in bowel habits. Doctors usually classify patients as diarrhea-predominant, constipation-predominant or mixed, depending on the prevailing pattern of alteration in the patient’s bowel habits. according to the American College of Gastroenterology, all of the patterns occur with approximately equal frequency.

Other Gastrointestinal Symptoms

Patients with IBS also suffer from other gastrointestinal symptoms that aren’t considered by the diagnostic criteria. according to the American Academy of Family Physicians, these include cramping, bloating, gas, feeling an urgent need to defecate, a sensation of incomplete defecation, dried white mucous on stools and passing copious amounts of mucus. according to Dr. Owyang, up to 55 percent of irritable bowel syndrome patients also report gastrointestinal symptoms that can’t be directly attributed to the colon or bowels, such as nausea, vomiting, stomach upset and acid reflux.