Diarrhea
What Is It?
It is the product of more-frequent bowel movements whether it be loose or watery stool. Usually the diarrhea can be present by itself but there are situations where symptoms can arise alongside the diarrhea like nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting, or weight loss. If you are experiencing diarrhea for a longer amount of time than usual, it could lead to serious complications. Diarrhea itself can dehydrate the body, mess with the balance of your electrolytes, or cause your kidney to fail.
Who Is Prone to Diarrhea?
Statistically, everyone and anyone could get diarrhea. Its actually very common and doesn’t raise any big concerns for most people except for young children, older adults, or those with medical conditions.
What Are Some Symptoms?
- Abdominal cramps or pain
- Bloating
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Fever
- Mucus or blood in stool
- Urgency to have bowel movements
Types Of Diarrhea
Acute Diarrhea – This is the most common kind of diarrhea. It usually lasts about 1-2 days & doesn’t really need treatment.
Persistent Diarrhea – This type of diarrhea lasts as long as 2-4 weeks.
Chronic Diarrhea – Diarrhea that lasts more than four weeks or comes and goes over a long period of time.
What Causes Diarrhea?
The most common cause of diarrhea is a virus that infects your bowel that lasts a couple days. Some other causes of diarrhea include:
- Infection by bacteria
- Infection by other organisms
- Eating foods that upset your digestive system
- Medications such as antibiotics
- Radiation therapy
- Allergies
- Malabsorption
Treatment
Most of the time, the condition is simple a can be with no complications. Using an OTC (over-the-counter) product can help calm your bowels and make you feel better with the exception of blood in your stool or a fever, in which case you would call your provider. If your diarrhea consists to last over several weeks, consult your primary care provider for possible antibiotics to treat the infection or parasite.
Diarrhea is linked to many other medical conditions having to do with the bowels. Irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease which includes Crohn’s & ulcerative colitis, microscopic colitis, or bacterial overgrowth are all conditions that factor in with diarrhea & could be associated with it.
Probiotics are a great way to create a healthy biome and combat diarrhea. It is recommended to try probiotics before trying out any other kind of supplement.
In case of doubt, persistence of symptoms, treatment, or any other discomfort, please consult your medical provider.
Sources:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diarrhea/symptoms-causes/syc-20352241
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diarrhoeal-disease