Diarrhea

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Campylobacter jejuni organism

Digestive system

Cryptosporidium, organism

Diarrhea

Overview

Treatment

Diarrhea

Definition:

Diarrhea is loose, watery, and frequent stools. Diarrhea is considered chronic (ongoing or prolonged) when you have had loose or frequent stools longer than 4 weeks.

Alternative Names:
Stools - watery; Frequent bowel movements; Loose bowel movements
Considerations:

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Diarrhea in adults is usually mild and resolves quickly without complication. In infants and children (especially under age 3), diarrhea is more concerning. Children can become dehydrated fairly quickly.

Common Causes:

The most common cause of diarrhea is a mild viral infection that resolves on its own within a few days. This is called viral gastroenteritis or "stomach flu." Viral gastroenteritis often appears in mini-epidemics in schools, neighborhoods, or families.

Food poisoning and traveler's diarrhea are two other common causes. They occur from eating food or drinking water contaminated with bacteria or parasites.

Certain medical conditions can also lead to diarrhea, such as:

Malabsorption syndromes -- you are unable to absorb or digest certain nutrients. Common examples include lactose intolerance, gluten malabsorption, and intolerance to specific foods like beans or fruit.
Inflammatory bowel diseases -- Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are two recurring types of diarrhea that are generally bloody and accompanied by abdominal pain.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) -- a chronic form of stomach upset that gets worse from stress. You generally have alternating diarrhea and constipation.
Immune deficiency.

Medications can also cause diarrhea, especially antibiotics, laxatives containing magnesium, and chemotherapy for cancer treatment.

Other less common causes of diarrhea include: