Diarrhea

What is Diarrhea?

Diarrhea is when you have loose, watery stools. It affects people of all ages and is gender neutral. You will typically pass stools three or more times a day when suffering from diarrhea.

It is a common problem that can persist for one or two days, and generally settles without any special treatment. Diarrhea can be acute (less serious) and chronic (more serious, requires immediate medical attention).

If you have symptoms for more a couple of days, an underlying serious health problem cannot be ruled out. Prolonged diarrhea exposes you to a higher risk of developing dehydration symptoms.

Diarrhea in small children and aged people should receive prompt diarrhea treatment as any delay can cause serious health problems.

There are several treatment methods for diarrhea available along with prescribed medications (if any), to effectively control this condition.

Causes of Diarrhea

Acute diarrhea commonly occurs through virus infection in your gastrointestinal tract (stomach and intestine).

A person can also suffer from this condition without any identifiable diarrhea causes. Some researchers suggest that diarrhea may be an expulsion defense mechanism adopted by your body.

However, factors ranging from emotional stress to food poisoning, medications to menstruation are well known diarrhea causes.

Some of the common causes for diarrhea:

• Viral hepatitis, rotavirus, herpes simplex virus and cytomegalovirus are all viral causes of diarrhea.
• Contaminated water or food containing several types of bacteria can cause diarrhea. Salmonella, E coli, Shigella and Campylobacter are some of the common bacteria causing diarrhea.
• These micro organisms can enter your body and settle in your digestive system through food or water. Diarrhea causing parasites include Entamoeba.
• Diarrhea can occur as a reaction to medicines including antibiotics and antacids besides certain other medications. These do not include medication for diarrhea.
• Certain foods contain lactose (in milk) or artificial food sweeteners which your body is unable to digest. The lactose ferments in your intestine leading to cause symptoms. These components should be excluded from your diet.

Symptoms of Diarrhea

You can have diarrhea followed by abdominal pain, nausea and cramping, bloating or frequent visits to the toilet.

Common symptoms for diarrhea can include:

• Frequent visits to the toilet, more than three times a day
• Loose watery stools
• Loss of appetite
• Fever
• Vomiting
• Fatigue
• Mucous and blood in stool

In many cases diarrhea can cause dehydration. Losing too much fluid from the body in the form of loose stools can prove particularly dangerous for children and elder people. Here, hospitalization becomes necessary. Read more on Diarrhea Symptoms.

Treatment for Diarrhea

On positive diagnosis, diarrhea treatment gets decided after taking into account its causes and severity of symptoms.

Most cases are treated with home remedies for diarrhea such as replacing lost body fluids and maintaining a simple diarrhea diet.

Diarrhea cures include medications for stopping diarrhea but are not recommended for patients with bacterial infections. Antibiotics are usually prescribed by doctors as first line of treatment for diarrhea.

Those with viral infections are either prescribed medications or the diarrhea is left to subside on its own depending on the type and severity.