Diarrhea

Introduction: Diarrhea

Diarrhea is any form of loose or watery stool, and is all too common. Acute diarrhea with a sudden onset is often caused by something eaten, such as food poisoning, viruses or bacteria as in infectious diarrhea or traveler's diarrhea, or even surprisingly by constipation. Chronic diarrhea that is ongoing could be any of numerous problems such as inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, diabetic diarrhea, certain medications, or various other underlying conditions. See also the full list of conditions with symptoms of diarrhea.

Diarrhea is potentially serious if it leads to dehydration or electrolyte imbalances. This is true especially in infants, children, the elderly, or other at risk groups.

Symptoms of Diarrhea

• Watery stool
• Loose stool
• Digestive symptoms - there are various commonly associated symptoms:
  • Abdominal pain
  • Bloating

See full list of 14 symptoms of Diarrhea

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Diarrhea:

• Colon & Rectal Cancer: Home Testing
• in
• Home Colorectal Cancer Tests
• Home Fecal Occult Bleeding Tests
• out

Medical Textbooks Online about Diarrhea

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Diarrhea

• Medical history
• Physical exam
• Stool culture
• Blood tests
• Fasting tests - for various food allergies

See full list of 7 diagnostic tests for Diarrhea

Wrongly Diagnosed with Diarrhea?

• Misdiagnosis of Diarrhea
• Failure to diagnose Diarrhea
• Underlying causes of Diarrhea (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Failure to diagnose Diarrhea

Misdiagnosis and Diarrhea

Diarrhea can be related to food substitute: The food ingredient, Sorbitol, is often used as a sweetener in diet products. In some people, this substance can...read more »

Chronic digestive conditions often misdiagnosed: When diagnosing chronic symptoms of the digestive tract, there are a variety of conditions that may be misdiagnosed. The best known, irritable bowel syndrome, is over-diagnosed,...read more »

Intestinal bacteria disorder may be hidden cause: One of the lesser known causes of diarrhea is an imbalance of bacterial in the gut, sometimes called ...read more »

Antibiotics often causes diarrhea: The use of antibiotics are very likely to cause some level of diarrhea in patients. The reason is that antibiotics kill off...read more »

Food poisoning may actually be an infectious disease: Many people who come down with "stomach symptoms" like diarrhea assume that it's "something I ate" (i.e. food poisoning). In fact, it's more likely...read more »

Mesenteric adenitis misdiagnosed as appendicitis in children: Because appendicitis is one of the more feared conditions for a child with abdominal pain, it can be over...read more »

Celiac disease often fails to be diagnosed cause of chronic digestive symptoms: One of the most common chronic digestive conditions is celiac disease, a malabsorption...read more »

Chronic digestive diseases hard to diagnose: There is an inherent difficulty in diagnosing the various types of chronic digestive diseases. Some of the better known possibilities are ...read more »

Widely underdiagnosed- Coeliac disease: Coeliac disease is a widely underdiagnosed condition as most patients present with non gastrointestinal symptoms such...read more »

Addison's disease has a good prognosis: Addison’s disease when treated with adequate replacement therapy has a good prognosis and life expectancy approximates...read more »

Kawasaki's disease can be misdiagnosed as common childhood ailments: Kawasaki’s disease is a febrile disorder affecting children below 5 years. It affects mainly the blood vessels but can...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Diarrhea

Causes of Diarrhea

• Simple reasons for diarrhea include:
  • Anxiety
  • Stress
• Some common reasons for acute diarrhea include:
  • Infectious diarrhea

See full list of 83 causes of Diarrhea

More information about causes of Diarrhea:

• Medications, drugs, or substances causing Diarrhea (2686 listings)
• Drug interactions causing Diarrhea (1681 listings)
• Underlying causes of Diarrhea
• Diarrhea as a complication caused by other conditions
• Diarrhea as a symptom
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Diarrhea
• Cause statistics for Diarrhea

Treatments for Diarrhea

• Newborns and infants require very special care because dehydration can be dangerous
• Children need special attention as many medications may be inappropriate
• Watchful waiting - sometimes diarrhea is not serious enough to need significant treatment.
• Anti-diarrheal medications
  • Immodium AD

See full list of 19 treatments for Diarrhea

Videos for Diarrhea

Patient Surveys for Diarrhea

• Patient Profile Survey
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• Survey about the symptoms of your Diarrhea
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Prognosis for Diarrhea

Prognosis for Diarrhea: Diarrhea can be dangerous in newborns and infants. In small children, severe diarrhea lasting just a day or two can lead to dehydration. Because a child can die from dehydration within a few days, the main treatment for diarrhea in children is rehydration. (Source: excerpt from Diarrhea: NIDDK)

More about prognosis of Diarrhea

Reseach about Diarrhea

Visit our research pages for current research about Diarrhea treatments.

Clinical Trials for Diarrhea

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Diarrhea include:

• A Study of GT160-246 Versus Vancomycin in Patients With Clostridium Difficile-Associated Diarrhea - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - GT160-246
• A Study of the Absorption of GT267-004 in Patients With Clostridium Difficile-Associated Diarrhea - This study is not yet open for patient recruitment (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - tolevamer potassium-sodium (GT267-004)
• Effect of Zinc and Vitamin A Supplementation on Diarrhea, Physical Growth and Immune Response in Malnourished Children - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Zinc and vitamin A single dose at enrollment,Placebo and vitamin A single dose at enrollment
• STOP Trial - Sandostatin LAR Depot Trial for the Optimum Prevention of Chemotherapy Induced Diarrhea - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Sandostatin LAR Depot
• Azithromycin, With or Without Loperamide, to Treat Travelers' Diarrhea - This study has been completed (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Azithromycin 1000 mg or 500 mg,Loperamide 4 mg loading then 2 mg after each loose stool

See full list of 101 Clinical Trials for Diarrhea

Prevention of Diarrhea

Prevention information for Diarrhea has been compiled from various data sources and may be inaccurate or incomplete. None of these methods guarantee prevention of Diarrhea.

• Avoiding traveler's diarrhea - various tips are common
  • Avoid cold tap water - use bottled water, carbonated drinks or hot tea/coffee
  • Brush teeth with bottled water
  • Avoid ice in drinks
  • Avoid raw fruits

Read more about prevention of Diarrhea

Statistics for Diarrhea

• Medical statistics for Diarrhea
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Diarrhea
• Death and Mortality statistics for Diarrhea
• Society statistics for Diarrhea

Types of Diarrhea

• Acute diarrhea - any type of sudden severe diarrhea
• Chronic diarrhea - ongoing problems with diarrhea
• Infectious Diarrhea - various contagious infections causing diarrhea.
• Traveler's diarrhea
• Diabetic Diarrhea

See full list of 7 Types of Diarrhea

Medical Guidebooks and Ebooks for Diarrhea

• Icon Health Sourcebook for Diarrhea

See all guides and ebooks for Diarrhea

Stories from Users Related to Diarrhea

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• My husband has Diarrhea DAILY (for about 30 years)
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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Diarrhea, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Article Excerpts about Diarrhea

Diarrhea--loose, watery stools occurring more than three times in one day--is a common problem that usually lasts a day or two and goes away on its own without any special treatment. However, prolonged diarrhea can be a sign of other problems.

Diarrhea can cause dehydration, which means the body lacks enough fluid to function properly. Dehydration is particularly dangerous in children and the elderly, and it must be treated promptly to avoid serious health problems. (Source: excerpt from Diarrhea: NIDDK)

Definitions of Diarrhea:

A condition of frequent and watery bowel movements. - (Source - Diseases Database)

Frequent and watery bowel movements; can be a symptom of infection or food poisoning or colitis or a gastrointestinal tumor - (Source - WordNet 2.1)