Diarrhea: causes, drugs, symptoms, overcoming, etc. & bull; hello healthy

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Definition

What is diarrhea?

Diarrhea is a digestive disorder characterized by frequent or persistent bowel movements. Stools that come out during bowel movements are usually watery and mushy or runny. Ordinary people often refer to it as "defecating" or diarrhea .

Depending on how long the duration lasts, the problem of passing stools can be divided into several types.

1. Acute diarrhea

Symptoms of acute diarrhea appear suddenly and last three days to a week. Most people experience short-term diarrhea because of an infection in the digestive tract due to food or germs.

Acute diarrhea is divided into two types, namely:

• accute watery diarrhea, characterized by liquid stool that lasts for several days, mostly due to norovirus or rotavirus infection, and
• acute bloody diarrhea, also called dysentery, characterized by stool that is bloody and mucus. Caused by a named bacteria Entamoeba histolytica or Shigella bacillus.

2. Chronic diarrhea

Chronic diarrhea can last for four weeks or even longer. The symptoms have been present for a long time and develop slowly. This condition is less common and is usually caused by a medical condition, allergies, medications, or chronic infection.

Digestive disorders that can cause chronic diarrhea include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn's disease, or ulcerative colitis.

3. Persistent diarrhea

Quoted from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, persistent diarrhea is diarrhea that lasts more than two weeks, but not more than four weeks. The illness lasts longer than acute diarrhea, but shorter than chronic diarrhea.

This type is divided into two, namely:

• Osmotic diarrhea, which occurs when the food in the intestine is not properly absorbed, as a result, excess fluid is wasted with feces and makes it watery, and
• Secretory diarrhea, occurs when there is a disruption in the exhaust system of the small intestine or large intestine in absorbing electrolytes.

How common is this condition?

Diarrhea is one of the most common digestive disorders. Anyone can experience it at least once in a lifetime. The problem of passing urine is irrespective of gender and age. The average adult can experience diarrhea 4 times a year.

However, if it is too frequent and lasts too long, this digestive problem may indicate a serious condition.

Signs & symptoms

What are the signs and symptoms of diarrhea?

The normal frequency of bowel movements can range from one to three times a day, or at least three times a week.

However, everyone's bowel pattern can be different depending on many factors. Digestion can still be said to be healthy if the pattern of defecation is regular, does not experience sudden and drastic changes.

A person is said to experience symptoms of diarrhea, aka diarrhea when suddenly they have more frequent bowel movements than usual. Apart from the change in the frequency of bowel movements, the symptoms of diarrhea that are also common are:

• loose and liquid stools (loose stools),
• faeces out in large quantities,
• abdominal pain and cramps,
• nausea and vomiting,
• headache,
• loss of appetite,
• constant thirst,
• fever,
• dehydrated, as well
• bloody stool.

There may be signs and symptoms not listed above. If you have concerns about certain symptoms, consult your doctor.

When should I see a doctor?

You should immediately go to the nearest doctor or hospital if diarrhea does not go away even though you have been given treatment at home or have interfered with your daily activities, including when you sleep.

Also be careful if the condition you feel is accompanied by vomiting or fever above 39º Celsius. Especially when the body feels weak, thirsty, and the lips begin to dry out. You don't need to wait a few days to see a doctor.

Cause

What causes diarrhea?

The causes of diarrhea are very diverse, sometimes the exact trigger is not clearly known. However, most people experience this disease due to a bacterial infection due to eating food that is not sterile or has been contaminated.

The bacteria contained in these foods such as E. coli or Salmonella remove toxins that attack the organs in your digestive system. Therefore, the patient will experience symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, or passing stool after eating it.

Some of the other common causes include:

• viral infections, such as rotavirus, adenovirus, norovirus, and astrovirus,
• allergies, intolerances, or have a high sensitivity to certain foods,
• side effects of certain medications such as antibiotics, antacids, or antidepressant drugs,
• have inflammatory bowel disease or celiac disease, and
• eating too much sweet food, so the stomach can't digest sugar properly.

Risk factors

What increases my risk of having diarrhea?

The following are various factors that can increase the risk of indigestion.

• Rarely wash your hands after going to the toilet.
• Unclean food storage and preparation.
• It is rare to clean the kitchen and toilet.
• Unclean water sources.
• Eat leftover food that is stale.

In addition to the risk factors above, recent diet changes can also cause acute diarrhea. This includes increasing your intake of coffee, tea, soft drinks, or chewing gum that contain sugars that are difficult to absorb.

Diarrhea is also prone to be experienced by travelers, tourists or travelers. Usually, this condition will occur if they travel to developing countries which have many cases of E. coli bacterial infection.

Diarrheal infections can occur when they drink or eat contaminated food, as well as eat raw food.

Diagnosis & treatment

The information provided is not a substitute for medical advice. ALWAYS consult your doctor.

How do doctors diagnose bowel problems?

The doctor will perform several physical examinations and look at your medical history to find out the cause. The doctor can ask several things, such as:

• the symptoms you have,
  
• how often do you have a bowel movement,
  
• what foods you ate before experiencing diarrhea,
• drugs that are being consumed, and
  
• the presence or absence of symptoms other than abdominal pain being experienced.
  

In some cases, the doctor asks you to do additional medical tests. Here are some further tests that will be carried out.

1. Blood test

Blood tests will likely be done to look for other symptoms that can help pinpoint what is causing your diarrhea.

2. Stool test

A stool test can also be done to see if bacteria or parasites are causing your stools to attack.

3. Flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy

To help confirm a diagnosis of diarrhea, doctors can use sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy.

This test is performed using a light, thin tube that is inserted into the rectum. This tube can see the inside of your large intestine.

This test kit is also equipped with a device to take a small sample of tissue (biopsy) from your colon. Meanwhile, a colonoscopy allows the doctor to see the entire large intestine.

How to treat diarrhea?

Actually, diarrhea can be cured by doing self-care at home. One of the goals of treatment is to restore body fluids that have been lost due to excessive frequency of bowel movements.

For this reason, patients must drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration. Patients can also drink electrolytes or ORS which can be purchased at a pharmacy. These fluids are commonly used as first aid for bowel problems.

Electrolyte fluids can provide the body with glucose, salt and other important minerals that are lost during dehydration. Rehydration fluids are safe for children and the elderly.

In addition, there are several drugs available that will help reduce the frequency of bowel movements. Some of the options are loperamide and attapulgite.

Loperamide is a drug to slow down the movement of your digestive system that is usually prescribed for diarrhea. This medicine allows more fluid to be absorbed by the body and makes your stool solid again. Usually the medicine is taken after you have a bowel movement.

Meanwhile, the substance attapulgite works by absorbing a large number of bacteria or toxins in digestion. This drug is also useful for compacting stool and reducing stomach cramps. Attapulgite is taken after meals.

Things that must be considered before taking diarrhea medicine

When taking or using drugs to treat diarrhea, you must comply with the rules of use. Take diarrhea medicine according to the directions recommended on the medicine label.

Don't assume that more medicine will work better or faster. Taking drugs in excess amounts can cause certain side effects.

If you are taking prescription drugs, ask your doctor if you can take more than 1 brand or type of bowel-reliever medication. It is likely that the two may have similar active ingredients and could turn into a drug overdose.

Complications

What complications can diarrhea cause?

Digestive disorders can heal quickly with proper care. However, if left untreated, diarrhea can also cause dangerous complications. Here are the various complications.

1. Malnutrition

Continuous diarrhea can cause you to become malnourished. The reason is, defecating in excess of more than a month can cause your body to lose too many vitamins, minerals, protein and fat.

Chronic diarrhea can also lead to weight loss if your body doesn't absorb enough carbohydrates and calories from the foods you eat.

2. Bleeding and irritation

Chronic diarrhea can cause irritation of the colon or rectum. The irritation can be in the form of an injury that causes the tissue in the intestine to become brittle. This irritation can also cause bleeding in the intestines and in the stool that comes out.

3. Dehydration

When you waste water, you can become dehydrated because you have lost a lot of body fluids. Mild dehydration can be easily treated by increasing fluid intake. Either from water, ORS, or soup.

However, chronic diarrhea can lead to severe dehydration resulting in decreased urine volume, dark urine, fatigue, lightheadedness, and low blood pressure.

A person can also experience various serious complications such as impaired kidney function, seizures, metabolic acidosis, to hypovolemic shock due to too much fluid loss. This shock can cause loss of consciousness (fainting) or even death.

4. Septicemia

Septicemia occurs when a person becomes poisoned due to the entry of many bacteria into the bloodstream. These complications are rare and are usually only a risk in people who have had severe diarrhea due to a bacterial infection Clostridium difficile.

These bacteria do not directly cause diarrhea, but attack the large intestine and cause inflammation there. This inflammation makes the blood clot and blocks oxygen from reaching certain organs.

As a result, the affected organ can malfunction and can even lead to death.

Home remedies

What are the lifestyle or home remedies that can be used to treat diarrhea?

Apart from drinking a lot, you can also take the following steps to help cure diarrhea.

1. Avoid foods that cause diarrhea

As long as you have diarrhea, avoid foods and drinks that can worsen your condition. The following are foods and drinks that you should avoid when you have diarrhea:

• drinks and foods made from milk,
• heavy, fatty, oily, and spicy foods, as well
  
• drinks that contain caffeine, such as coffee, tea, and colas.

2. Eat healthy foods

During the healing period, your body needs nutrients from food. For that, choose foods that are healthy and easy to digest. To make things easier, you can follow the BRAT diet.

The foods consumed in the BRAT pattern consist of foods that are low in fiber, taste that tends to be bland and easy to digest, such as rice, applesauce, bananas, and bread. These foods are good for consumption when the digestive organs are in trouble.

3. Get enough rest

When you have diarrhea, you should get as much rest as possible. Patients affected by this condition are strongly advised to stop activities temporarily. The point is to restore the energy that has been spent when going back and forth to defecate.

Prevention

How to prevent diarrhea?

Diarrhea can affect anyone, especially if you don't keep yourself clean. As is well known, diarrhea is most often caused by eating contaminated food.

Therefore, you can avoid this disease by washing your hands frequently before and after preparing food. This is especially important if you are cooking using raw meat.

In addition, you should wash your hands after using the toilet, changing diapers, sneezing, coughing, and after blowing your nose.

Clean with soap lather for 20 seconds. If necessary, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer afterward. Choose a product that contains at least 60 percent alcohol.

Make sure the food you eat is cooked well, so this will prevent you from bacterial infections such as Salmonella. Cut down on alcohol or caffeinated drinks to prevent dehydration.