Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common disorder in today's society. Previous research indicates that over 20% of the world's total population are exposed to the diagnosis of IBS. Two thirds of the persons affected with IBS are of the female sex.

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe how persons handle and experience irritable bowel syndrome in everyday life.

Method: This study was a literature review study. Both quantitative and qualitative articles were used. Databases such as Cinahl and PubMed were used to find relevant articles that could answer to the aim of this study.

Results: The results were categorized into four head categories such as experience of control; the experience of managing their life situation; experience of being in a vulnerable situation; experience of being limited; and nine subcategories, such as to feel in control; not to feel in control; being able to manage strategies in their daily life; to feel understanding and support from others; not to feel dignified when treated by health professionals; to feel different as man and woman; not to accept their disease; to feel guilt and shame; and to feel the influence of their illness in everyday life. Persons with IBS experienced that coping strategies and support from others were important. They felt dissatisfaction with healthcare support and how they had to transcend their gender and taboo.

Conclusion: This study shows that there are slight differences in how the persons with the experience of IBS manage their everyday lives. People tend to manage their symptoms with various coping strategies. Support from family and friends were important, such as the ability to predict their symptoms and knowing what food they could eat.