Today's topic is diarrhea. Diarrhea is an illness in which the body's solid waste is more liquid than usual and comes out of the body more often, diarrhea is one of the most common health complaints, it can range from a mild temporary condition to a potentially Life-threatening. Globally an estimated two billion cases of diarrheal disease occur each year and 1.9 million children under the age of five years mostly in developing countries die from diarrhea causes.
Diarrhea can be caused by a virus
such as a norovirus or rotavirus bacteria such as Campylobacter and s Curitiba
coli or e-coli which are often picked up from contaminated food a parasite such
as a parasite that causes giardiasis which is spread in contaminated water
these infections can sometimes be caught during travel abroad particularly to
areas with poor standards of public hygiene this is known as travelers diarrhea.
Diarrhea can also be the result of
anxiety a food allergy medication or a long-term condition such as irritable
bowel syndrome or IBS signs and symptoms the main symptom of diarrhea is loose
watery bowel motions stools or feces three or more times a day accompanying
signs and symptoms may include urgent need to go to the toilet abdominal pain
and cramping change in color of your stools, mucus, pus, blood or fat in your
stools, vomiting general body weakness and tiredness the excessive loss of
water in your stool can also sometimes lead to dehydration which can be serious
if it's not recognized and treated quickly.
The signs of dehydration in adults
can include tiredness and lack of energy, loss of appetite, nausea, feeling lightheaded,
dizziness, dry tongue, sunken eyes, muscle cramps, and rapid heartbeat, diagnosis
besides conducting a physical exam and reviewing your medications your doctor
might order tests to determine what's causing your diarrhea they include blood
tests a complete blood count tests can help determine what's causing your
diarrhea stool tests your doctor might recommend a stool test to determine
whether a bacterium or parasite is causing your diarrhea flexible sigmoidoscopy
or colonoscopy your doctor might recommend one of these procedures to look at
the lining of your colon and provide biopsies if no cause is evident for persistent
diarrhea.
Treatment most cases of diarrhea
clear on their own within a couple of days without treatment if you've tried lifestyle
changes and home remedies for diarrhea without success your doctor might
recommend medications or other treatments like antibiotics. Antibiotics might help
treat diarrhea caused by bacteria or parasites if a virus is causing your diarrhea
antibiotics won't help treatment to replace fluids your doctor likely will
advise you to replace the fluids and salts for most adults that means drinking
water juice or both if drinking liquids upsets your stomach or causes diarrhea
your doctor might recommend getting fluids through a vein in your arm or
intravenously.
Thank you