IBS is a public health scourge affecting 30 to 45 million Americans, more women than men, for which treatments are often ineffective. Over 50% of IBS sufferers report that foods aggravate their symptoms but most are unable to identify the specific foods involved. Identifying true food allergies rather than food intolerances in this population not only offers a completely new approach to its evaluation and treatment but also expands the spectrum of what constitutes a true food allergy in the general population. April is IBS Awareness Month and a promising new treatment,
IBS-80, introduced and developed by a Philadelphia Dermatologist, is now available on both coasts in the United States.
Developed by dermatologist Dr. Michael Stierstorfer and supported by his college friend and business partner, Bay Area entrepreneur and lawyer David Blatte, IBS-80 is a patented, ingenious method of treatment that expands beyond traditional food allergy testing—blood and prick and scratch tests—used for foods such as peanuts and shellfish that cause Type 1 allergic reactions like hives and anaphylaxis. Instead of testing for Type 1 allergies, Stierstorfer went a step further and decided to investigate Type 4 allergies, which are classified as “delayed hypersensitivity reactions” and cannot be diagnosed using the standard tests used to evaluate Type 1 allergies. Once the allergy is identified through a series of skin patch tests, culprit foods are not just avoided as with most food intolerances, but completely eliminated from the diet. The majority of patients are relieved, sometimes completely and immediately, of any discomfort.
“For a year, I suffered from IBS myself,” noted Dr. Stierstorfer, “I did not get any relief from traditional methods and since skin is the organ I work with as a dermatologist, I knew that the immune system has as much access to the lining of the GI tract as it does to the surface of the skin — maybe more.”
Since 2008, Stierstorfer has been developing and perfecting a patch test to identify food sensitivities that cause IBS, and now that test is publicly available. Called IBS-80, it tests for 80 common foods and food additives. To get tested, a patient sees his or her doctor, who applies the extensive panel of foods to the back. The patches are removed two days later, and a day or two after that the back is examined again to see if there are any allergic reactions. If there are, the patient is instructed to eliminate those specific foods from his or her diet.
In testing roughly 230 patients, more than 50% have experienced significant improvement, including about one-third who have experienced near or complete clearing of their IBS symptoms. Stierstorfer’s results are published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology and other medical journals.
“This treatment is unique,” Stierstorfer added “We can pinpoint an exact cause of IBS symptoms in many patients, and if they successfully eliminate those foods from their diet, their quality of life improves dramatically — almost overnight.”
For information or to schedule an interview, reach out to the media contact or visit StopMyIBS.com. Media kit with videos and photos are available for download.
Media Contact
Company Name: IBS-80
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Country: United States
Website: https://www.ibs-80.com/
