Diarrhea

• Diarrhea Overview
• Diarrhea Causes
• Diarrhea Symptoms
• When to Seek Medical Care
• Exams and Tests
• Diarrhea Treatment
• Self-Care at Home
• Medical Treatment
• Medications
  • Learn more about medications like loperamide (Imodium) on RxList.com.
• Other Therapy
• Next Steps
• Follow-up
• Prevention
• Outlook
• For More Information
• Web Links
• Synonyms and Keywords
• Authors and Editors
• Related diarrhea articles:
  Diarrhea - on WebMD
  Diarrhea - on MedicineNet

Diarrhea Overview

Diarrhea is the frequent passage of loose, watery, soft stools plus bloating, pressure, and cramps commonly referred to as gas. Diarrhea can come on suddenly, run its course, and be helped with home care to prevent complications such as dehydration.

• Diarrhea is one of the most common illnesses in all age groups and is second only to the common cold as a cause of lost days of work or school. It is estimated that there are almost 100 million cases of acute diarrhea per year in adults in the US.
  
  
  • Children younger than 3 years have about 2 episodes of diarrhea per year.
    
    
  • Older children and adults have about 1 bout with diarrhea a year.
    
    
  • Less than 10% of cases of diarrhea are brought to the attention of a health care provider because most people use home care effectively.
  
  
• Diarrhea and related complications can cause severe illness. The most significant cause of severe illness is loss of water from the diarrhea, which is often accompanied by vomiting. Fluids pass through the body before they can be absorbed in the intestine. When your ability to drink fluid to compensate for the water lost with diarrhea and vomiting is impaired, dehydration can result. Most deaths from diarrhea occur in the very young and the elderly, whose health may be put at risk from a moderate amount of dehydration.
  
  
• Diarrhea can be further defined in these ways:
  
  
  • Chronic diarrhea is seen in people who have had loose or liquid stool for over 2 weeks.
    
    
  • Acute enteritis means inflammation of the intestine.
    
    
  • Gastroenteritis is diarrhea associated with nausea and vomiting.
    
    
  • Dysentery is diarrhea that contains blood, pus, or mucus.