If you have loos and watery bowel movements or stool, it means you have diarrhea, it is not a serious health condition, many people have effected or can effect any time in life.
Some people get this condition more than twice a year. The time period for this disease is normally two to three days. If a person has irritable bowel syndrome or some other condition, can get diarrhea more often.
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What are the Reasons and Causes of Diarrhea?
When a virus gets into your gut, you will get diarrhea. Some people have name diarrhea stomach flu or intestinal flu. There could be some other reasons such as
- Food allergy
- Excessive drinking
- Diabetes
- Intestine related diseases
- Heavy eating
- Food poisoning
- Medications
- Laxative abuse
- Radiation therapy
- Heavy running
- Surgery for weight loss
- Overactive thyroid
- Constipation
- Polluted water
There could be some other reasons and causes for diarrhea according to the health condition of a person
Symptoms of Diarrhea
Diarrhea has several symptoms such as
- Cramps
- Bloating
- Loos or thin stools or bowel
- Watery bowel and stool
- Urgent feeling of bowel movement
- Nausea
- Throwing up
- Blood in your stool
- Fever
- Weight loss
- Weakness
- Mucus in the stool
If you are not drinking too much fluid and have watery bowel or stool more than two to three times. It can cause dehydration which means low liquidity in the body cells, which can be a serious problem and needs attention.
Time to Call your Doctor
Call your doctor immediately if you have
- A fever higher than 101 F for more than two days
- Blood in your stool
- Black stool
- Tarry type stool
- Diarrhea condition for more than two days
- Vomiting
- Throwing up
- Nausea
- Pain in your rear
- Pain in your belly
- Diarrhea after the change of water due to traveling
There are some symptoms of dehydration due to diarrhea which shows that you should call your doctor
- Less amount of urine
- The urine of dark color
- Fewer wet diapers in kids
- Fast heart rate
- Dry skin
- Headache
- Confusion
- Blur vision
- crankiness
How to Diagnose Diarrhea
To diagnose any medical condition including diarrhea doctor will ask your medical history, he can also ask about your diet, what you have drink recently or eaten. They will also do a physical exam for belly pain and dehydration.
They also ask to do certain tests to pinpoint the reason for this health condition. The tests can include
Blood Tests
Some blood test to check certain disorders or diseases, and to confirm the diarrhea
Stool Test
If the diarrhea is so severe the doctor can ask for a stool test to look for parasites and bacteria in the stool.
Colonoscopy
If you did not recover from diarrhea with medication and the reason for the disease can not confirm through the blood test and stool test, the doctor asks for colonoscopy. In this procedure, a flexible and thin plastic tube containing a camera and light inserted in the colon.
This device also use to get samples of tissue from colon
Sigmoidoscopy
In this process doctor just check the lower colon with the same tube and camera, that used in the colonoscopy procedure.
What is Treatment for Diarrhea
In mild conditions, you may no need to worry too much, adults can recover with over the counter treatment and medicine such as loperamide, bismuth, subsalicylate. These medicines could be in the shape of tablets and liquids.
Drink lots of water to stay hydrated. The minimum amount or quantity of water that you drink should be at least six to eight glasses water. You can also use soda or other drinks such as tea with honey, chicken broth, sports drinks.
Drink liquids during the meals instead of drinking with meals. Do not drink fluids instantly drink in small sips.
Diarrhea can cause soreness of the rectal area due to stool and bowel movements repeatedly. You can feel burning, itching, and pain when you go for stool.
A warm bath, patting the area with a soft and clean towel can help to soothe the area. If you have severe itching and pain in your anus you can use petroleum jelly or hemorrhoid cream on that affected area for relief.
