MILWAUKEE -- Emmy Award winner Kelsey Grammer and his wife, Camille, have launched a public education program to raise awareness about a common but often unrecognized medical condition many are reluctant to discuss -- irritable bowel syndrome (IBS.)
"You don't hear much about IBS because some of the symptoms involved relate to subjects traditionally considered taboo by the public and the press," Kelsey Grammer said. "However, it's important that we help people get over their embarrassment. We need to be able to talk openly about any medical condition that causes so many people to suffer in silence."IBS is a medical disorder that affects an estimated 20 percent of all adults in the United States, with women outnumbering men 3 to 1.
IBS is one of the top 10 most frequently diagnosed condition among U.S. physicians and is more common than asthma or diabetes. The disorder is characterized by multiple symptoms that include chronic, recurrent abdominal pain and discomfort, and irregular bowel function such as diarrhea, constipation or sometimes both.