Diarrhea

Diarrhea is an annoying and embarrassing condition sometimes, yet it’s a simple condition in most of the cases and often wears off on its own.

Diarrhea

Diarrhea is a loose or watery stool in addition to frequent bowel movements throughout the day. In most of the cases, diarrhea is a mild condition and doesn’t lead to other problems, but in some cases, diarrhea might be a symptom of severe conditions and might lead to serious complications.

Types of diarrhea

• Acute diarrhea: it lasts for one or two days and usually doesn’t need a treatment.
• Persistent diarrhea: it lasts 2-4 weeks.
• Chronic diarrhea: it either lasts for longer than 4 weeks or it might come and go for a long time.

Causes of diarrhea

The main cause of diarrhea is a virus that affects the stomach and causes gastroenteritis. Some other causes include the following:

• Food poisoning.
• Some infections.
• Some medications.
• Some irritating foods for some people, such as people who suffer from lactose intolerance and celiac disease.
• Some conditions, such as IBS, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease.
• Some surgeries in the bowels.

Symptoms of diarrhea

• In normal diarrhea, other symptoms might occur in addition to the loose stool, such as bloating, abdomen cramps, and nausea.
• In severe diarrhea, the following symptoms might occur and they require contacting the doctor: fever, blood in the stool, extreme pain, weight loss, and vomiting.
• If not managed, severe diarrhea might lead to dehydration, and it’s an extremely serious condition with these symptoms: dizziness and lightheadedness, dry and flushed skin, extreme thirst, confusion and irritation, dark and little urine, severe nausea and vomiting, and tiredness. While in children and infants, other symptoms might appear, such as crying without tears, not urinating for several hours, drowsiness, and unresponsiveness. Severe dehydration might lead to kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, and death in some cases.

Diagnosis of diarrhea

In severe cases of diarrhea, some tests are done to detect if there are other conditions, such as some blood tests and endoscopy.

Treatment of diarrhea

• Usually, diarrhea heals on its own without a treatment, and there are some medications to stop it.
• You can help manage diarrhea by eating foods that make the stool firmer (like rice and potatoes), drinking water and beverages to avoid dehydration, and avoiding foods and beverages that irritate the digestive system (like sugars and caffeine).