For this session, use our preceding article on bowel health, as well as other sources of information, to strengthen your knowledge of IBS. You can use information sources you may have in the pharmacy, such as other articles, OTC medicines guides and manufacturer literature. This will give you more insight and information to pass on to your customers. Magazines and newspapers often have articles about bowel health. Look out for those too and think about what your customers may be reading. Do you think it's helpful or not?

In order to make your discussions useful and relevant to your work, consider the following:

• What are the main triggers for IBS?
• How is stress connected to bowel health?
• What impact can bowel issues have on a person's life?
• How might you discuss your concerns with a customer who has repeatedly bought
  a medicine that could indicate a serious bowel problem? Discuss this with your team
  and find some phrases you would be comfortable using with customers
• What evidence is there of the benefits of probiotics in IBS?
• What are the main symptoms to look out for in inflammatory bowel disease?
• What is the low FODMAP diet? What advice would you give to customers looking to try it?