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What Can Cause Constant Diarrhea

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How To Treat Explosive Diarrhea

What Are the Causes of Chronic Diarrhea

As mentioned, unless your diarrhea becomes aggravated and requires medical attention, your condition will resolve on its own. There are, however, a few things you can do to make your experience more bearable and speed up the recovery process.

Over-the-counter anti-diarrheal drugs can reduce the severity of diarrhea for some time. It may be a good idea to consult with your doctor prior to use if your diarrhea is caused by infections or toxins, if you have a fever, or if your stool is black or bloody. If your diarrhea is caused by bacteria, you have to take prescription antibiotics.

To address dehydration and loss of electrolytes caused by diarrhea, you can take oral rehydration solutions and drink more water, juice, or broth.

You may want to switch to bland diets while youre dealing with your severe diarrhea. A good example is a menu consisting of mashed bananas, rice, grated apple or applesauce, and plain toast.Probiotics can help restore the irritated bowel flora, but make sure you dont cause any further harm if you are sensitive to lactose.

Can Acute Diarrhoea Be Avoided

One of the most important and basic ways to avoid it is by careful handwashing after using the bathroom and before consuming food. Because most acute diarrhoea is related to intestinal infection that is usually transmitted by contaminated food or water, then it is possible to avoid an illness by being scrupulously careful about food and fluid intake. Only drink bottled or boiled water and avoid ice cubes when the origin of the water is uncertain. Avoid raw, unpeeled fruits and salads, shellfish and all foods that might contain raw egg. The safest food is that which is hot and well cooked. Bouts of diarrhoea due to norovirus occur in local epidemics, and it is important not to spread infection, so avoid visiting hospitals and unwell relatives at such times.

Causes Of Constant Diarrhea

Various factors contribute to the onset. These include infections from bacteria, viruses, and parasites. However, these are not the only causes. Below are some of the main causes.

  • Infections – Bacteria, such as, salmonella, E. coli and campylobacter, residing in contaminated foods and water, are common culprits that cause chronic diarrhea. Viral infections also can cause diarrhea. The herpes simplex virus, viral hepatitis, and the norovirus can cause chronic diarrhea.
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome – Chronic diarrhea is a common symptom of IBS. Stress and certain foods trigger this condition. Currently, there is no cure for IBS, although identifying the stressors and triggers of IBS may help deal with the frequency of the occurrences.
  • Food Intolerances – Some people may experience diarrhea due to their inability to digest certain ingredients in foods. For example, persons who are lactose intolerant often suffer with diarrhea once they have consumed milk or other dairy products. Other types of food intolerances that cause diarrhea are reactions to certain types of foods, medicines and fructose.
  • Intestinal Diseases – These diseases include inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease and gallbladder disease.
  • Others – Other causes include tumors, altered immune function, low blood supply to the intestine and hereditary disorders, such as, cystic fibrosis
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    Diet: What Food Can I Give My Cat For Diarrhea

    What to feed cats with diarrhea is one of the core issues while your felines suffering from diarrhea. First of all, you should opt for foods with higher fiber and feed your favorite more often than usual with smaller amounts of easily digestible food.

    If your cat or kitten has diarrhea but acts normal, you need to choose the right diet as a part of the home remedy plan in order to stop and prevent diarrhea. The best way is to put your feline on a bland diet.

    The bland diet for cats with diarrhea may consist of chicken and rice or turkey and pumpkin. Lets look at both dietary plans.

    What You Need To Know About Diarrhea

    Causes of Chronic Diarrhea

    Talking about diarrhea usually falls into the no thank you category, but here its a must. Before you can get your stress diarrhea under control, you need to know how diarrhea works.

    When you eat something, your digestive system breaks it down and absorbs nutrients, other healing components , and liquid. Whatever is left over the waste gets transformed into poop.

    Diarrhea happens when that process hits a snag, usually one of two things:

  • The food moved through too quickly before your body had a chance to pull out all the liquid
  • Your GI system added extra fluid, usually caused by some kind of infectious bacteria or virus
  • Either way, your poop ends up loose and watery a classic case of diarrhea. And when thats not the result of something like IBS, stomach flu, or food poisoning, theres a fairly high chance that stress is driving your diarrhea.

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    Chronic Stress Causes Longer

    A stressful incident can cause a few days of crampy, uncomfortable diarrhea, but it eventually goes away when things settle down. But when youre dealing with chronic stress any intense situation that lingers for longer than it should that takes a much more serious toll on your gut health.

    Here are the 3 main ways chronic stress damages your gut health:

    1. Chronic stress knocks your gut microbiome the trillions of bacteria in your gut out of balance, a condition called dysbiosis. With dysbiosis, harmful bacteria overgrow and outnumber beneficial bacteria. Dysbiosis can cause or worsen a wide variety of symptoms and health problems, including:

    2. Chronic stress weakens your gut barrier, the inner mucosal lining of your intestines. Your gut barrier works around the clock to keep undigested food particles, toxins, harmful bacteria, and other pathogens locked safely inside your GI tract and out of your bloodstream.

    3. Chronic stress decreases absorption of key nutrients, which can lead to deficiencies and interrupt proper function of cells, organs, and body systems. Stress responses can speed up intestinal transit time, pushing food through too fast for your body to be able to properly breakdown and absorb all the nutrients you need. At the same time, stress hogs a lot of essential nutrients including B vitamins, vitamin C, and magnesium which leaves less for the rest of your body.

    Can Antibiotics Cause Diarrhea

    Most antibiotics can cause diarrhea. Antibiotics can change the balance of bacteria normally found in the intestines, allowing certain types of bacteria like C. difficile to thrive. When this happens, your colon can become overrun by bad bacteria that causes colitis .

    Antibiotic-associated diarrhea can begin any time while youre taking the antibiotic or shortly thereafter. If you experience this side effect, call your healthcare provider to talk about the diarrhea and discuss the best option to relieve this side effect.

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    When Is Diarrhea Considered Chronic

    When it comes to chronic diarrhea, you may ask yourself, “How much is too much?” While diarrhea is common and can happen for a multitude of acute or benign reasons, diarrhea that lasts more than four weeks is generally considered chronic, per the AGA. The diarrhea itself can also range in its symptoms, including loose stool consistency, increased frequency, urgency of bowel movements, or incontinence.

    To identify whether you’re suffering from chronic diarrhea, your doctor will likely conduct a medical history and physical examination. These evaluations may bring to light common causes of persistent diarrhea, such as diet, medications, and surgery or radiation therapy. But if there doesn’t seem to be an obvious cause, your doctor can perform a range of tests as needed for your individual case. These can include blood and stool tests, an endoscopy, imaging studies, histology, and physiological testing.

    How Is Chronic Diarrhea Treated

    Chronic Diarrhea: Approach to Cause, Secretory vs Osmotic vs Inflammatory, Watery vs Bloody Diarrhea

    Treatment for chronic diarrhea really depends on the underlying cause. Some treatments are relatively simple to figure outif you have chronic diarrhea because of food intoleranceor because you have celiac disease, you can “treat” the symptoms by avoiding the foods that trigger you, says Dr. De Latour.

    Treatment for IBS also involves changing your diet. “It’s really getting to know the patient and figuring out what their triggers are and avoiding those,” says Dr. Lee. When you’re diagnosed, your doctor will suggest an elimination diet, typically the FODMAP diet, to determine what triggers your symptoms. This means avoiding high FODMAP foods that tend to irritate the gut, like dairy, wheat, beans and lentils, certain vegetables like asparagus and onions, and some fruits like cherries and peaches, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Once you figure out what triggers you, avoiding those foods can help treat your symptoms. Your doctor might also suggest taking medication, like antimotility drugs to slow down the diarrhea, says Dr. De Latour.

    If an infection is causing your chronic diarrhea, treatment usually involves treating whatever is infecting you, whether it means taking antibiotics to clear up a bacterial infection or medications that target parasites. Viral infections tend to clear up on their own, according to Dr. De Latour.

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    How Can I Prevent Diarrhea

    Although diarrhea can occur for various reasons, there are actions that you can take to prevent it:

    • You can avoid developing diarrhea from food poisoning by washing the cooking and food preparation areas more frequently.
    • Serve food immediately after preparing it.
    • Refrigerate leftovers promptly.
    • Always thaw frozen food in a refrigerator.

    Why Do I Get Diarrhea Every Time I Drink Alcohol

    As you push the stool out, your colon muscles work together in coordinated movements. When you drink alcohol, your colon does not absorb water normally as it normally does, as alcohol speeds up the rate at which it squeezes. Diarrhea often follows this, often with a lot of extra water and coming out quickly.

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    What Is An Ors

    An oral rehydration solution, or ORS, is a great way to replace fluids and nutrients lost through vomiting and diarrhea. An ORS is safe for babies, children, and adults. An ORS can come in several forms, including a powder that you mix with water, a liquid that is already mixed, and as frozen popsicles. You can purchase these at most grocery stores and drugstores.

    To use an ORS for vomiting, try giving small amounts of ORS often, such as 1 teaspoonful every minute. If the person is able to keep the drink down, slowly increase how much you give. If the person vomits after you give the ORS, wait 30 to 60 minutes after the last time he or she vomited, and then give him or her a few sips of an ORS. Small amounts every few minutes may stay down better than a large amount all at once. When the person stops vomiting, you may increase how much of the ORS you give each time and add clear broths or clear sodas. Remember, small amounts are less likely to cause an upset stomach. If a person only has diarrhea and isnt vomiting, he or she may have an ORS and other liquids as needed. Your doctor may ask you to keep track of how much the child or senior drinks. You can use a dropper, a spoon, or a measuring cup to help you keep track.

    Acute Diarrhea After Meals

    Top 15 Home Remedies For Diarrhea: Check The Discomfort ...

    Acute diarrhea is a common problem that typically resolves on its own after one or two days.

    The simple act of eating causes the muscles in your large intestine to contract and empty your bowels. When you have an infection, food poisoning, IBS, or another underlying condition, these contractions may be stronger and more painful than usual.

    Stronger contractions may also cause you to feel that you urgently need to empty your bowels.

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    How Common Is Bile Acid Diarrhea

    Bile acid diarrhea is more common than you think. And it is often misdiagnosed as IBS-D

    The following facts and statistics will help you imagine the amplitude of BAD:

    • About 25 to 50% of patients diagnosed with IBS-diarrhea actually have BAD %20is,the%20population%20may%20have%20BAD.” rel=”nofollow”> reference).
    • It is estimated that about 1% of the population may have BAD.
    • It is estimated that about 64% of patients with Functional diarrhea have BAD 30209-1/fulltext” rel=”nofollow”> reference).
    • Up to 35% of people with a condition called microscopic colitis have BAD 30209-1/fulltext” rel=”nofollow”> reference).

    When Should You Seek Medical Care

    Diarrhea can usually be treated with home care. In some cases, it may become more severe. A person should go to a hospital emergency department in the following situations:

    • If the person has the condition along with high fever, moderate-to-severe abdominal pain, or dehydration that cannot be managed by drinking fluids
    • If the diarrhea appears to contain blood
    • If the person is sleepy and is not acting like their usual selves
    • Vomiting and inability to tolerate any food or to keep liquids down
    • Signs of dehydration
    • High fever, significant abdominal pain, frequent loose bowel movements, or bloody diarrhea
    • If he or she is elderly or has serious underlying medical problems, particularly diabetes, heart, kidney, or liver disease, or HIV/AIDS
    • A parent or caregiver needs advice about preventing dehydration in newborns and infants
    • Symptoms do not improve in two to three days or appear to become worse
    • If he or she develops diarrhea after travel within their home country, or foreign travel or if a woman is pregnant

    For cases of chronic diarrhea, your primary care provider may consult with a gastroenterologist .

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    When To Call A Doctor

    Most cases of acute diarrhea are self-resolving, and symptoms will improve within a few days.

    However, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, if symptoms persist for longer than 2 days , you should seek medical attention, as you may be getting dehydrated and need IV fluids or other treatment and evaluation.

    Diarrhea is also a symptom of some serious medical emergencies. If you experience loose, watery stools alongside any of the following symptoms, you should seek emergency help. A combination of these symptoms may be a sign of a severe underlying illness.

    • a fever

    Chronic Diarrhea Causes And Consequences

    An Overlooked Cause of Diarrhea

    Robert Burakoff, MD, MPH, is board-certified in gastroentrology. He is the vice chair for ambulatory services for the department of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, where he is also a professor. He was the founding editor and co-editor in chief of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

    Frequent diarrhea lasting longer than a few weeks is considered chronic diarrhea, whether it occurs every day or every few days. Diarrhea is most commonly described as watery stools. If you experience symptoms for several weeks, then your chronic diarrhea should be evaluated by a healthcare provider.

    The causes of chronic diarrhea vary and sometimes can be easily managed or it can be an indication of serious health problems that need to be evaluated and treated, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Over time, diarrhea can cause new health problems, such as nutritional deficiencies.

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    When Should You Worry About Diarrhea

    Schedule a doctors visit for yourself if: Your diarrhea lasts more than two days without improvement. You become dehydrated indicated by excessive thirst, dry mouth or skin, little or no urination, severe weakness, dizziness or lightheadedness, or dark-colored urine. You have severe abdominal or rectal pain.

    Rare Causes Of Chronic Diarrhea

    Rare causes of chronic diarrhea include diabetes, chronic infections and poisoning, ischemic colitis, systemic sclerosis, hormonal disorders, cancer, kidney failure, short bowel syndrome, inborn diseases, and paradoxical diarrhea in constipated children.

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    References:

    About Jan Modric

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    What Causes Chronic Diarrhea

    Unlike acute diarrhea, which occurs when loose, watery stools subside in a few days or less, chronic diarrhea lasts for more than a week.

    There are a ton of things that can trigger chronic diarrhea, including viral infections and powerful prescription medications.

    But the #1 cause of this miserable condition that you can do something about right now is DIET.

    However, you might be surprised when doctors barely discuss your diet with you, trying to rule certain conditions out, pinpoint a cause, and perhaps prescribe medication.

    Functional medicine takes a different route. When someone comes to a natural medicine practitioner with chronic diarrhea, all aspects of their health are examined, not just cut-and-dry symptoms, but seemingly unrelated issues, lifestyle, diet, past health challenges, and more.

    This is the holistic way of getting to the root of the problem.

    And SO often, the root of the problem is diet.

    Read on for the causes of chronic diarrhea and dietary moves you can make to avoid or improve the condition.

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    Chronic diarrhea in children

    Diarrhea, constipation, or feeling that the bowel does not empty completely. General abdominal discomfort, such as frequent gas pains, bloating, fullness and/or cramps. Constant feeling of fatigue or tiredness. New onset anemia diagnosed on routine lab work. You may also read, Can cancer come back after radical cystectomy?

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    Treatment Options For Chronic Diarrhea

    Anti-diarrheal medications can relieve diarrhea, but these medications arent recommended as a long-term therapy.

    Treatment for chronic diarrhea depends on the underlying cause. For example, if youre diagnosed with a medical condition like ulcerative colitis, Crohns disease, pancreatitis, or celiac disease, your doctor will discuss treatment options with you and recommend the best course of action. Treatment might include prescription medications like an immunosuppressant or a corticosteroid.

    Diarrhea may improve as your health improves.

    Additional treatment options for chronic diarrhea include:

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