What are the causes of amebiasis?

Question

Hello Doctor,

I am a 29-year-old female. Last year, in May 2023, I had amoebiasis, for which I took antibiotics for almost two weeks and post-medication medications. When I repeated stool tests, reports came back normal. But since then, I have started getting gut issues like excessive gas and stomach pain sometimes, with 1-2 motions a day. Certain foods make my condition worse, like peanuts, popcorn, makhana, and many more. Before amoebiasis, I never had any gut issues. I have health anxiety, and when I search for my symptoms online, it says colon cancer. I have been to many doctors, but they say it is most likely an IBS post-infection. Should I get a colonoscopy done? Please suggest.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello, welcome to Icliniq.

I have read your query and am sorry for such discomfort.

You have an upset stomach, loose motion episodes, and bloating on and off. Also, you have mentioned health anxiety. One thing is clear, you do not have to worry about colon cancer. The reason which I suspect of your present clinical symptoms is the health anxiety that can manifest like this.

Kindly answer the following questions, if you have any of the following symptoms, how does it get resolved?

Do you need to take any medication for it, or does it subsides on its own?

IBS (inflammatory bowel disease) diagnosis requires criteria that should be fulfilled, and the most common causes are anxiety issues only. If your symptoms aggravate with a particular food, try to avoid such food and watch if the symptoms recur before you label the food as a causative factor for the symptoms. Apart from that, I suggest that there is no need to do a colonoscopy (a diagnostic procedure that is used to investigate presence of any diseases in the colon).

I hope this helps.

Kindly revert back.

Thank you.