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Michigan Hypertension Center Personal Adult Care with Academic Excellence |
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Diarrhea is due to many causes. It occurs with infections, due to intolerance to foods, and due to inflammatory conditions. Diarrhea can be acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term, including with episodes). This will discuss acute diarrhea. Some people say that they have diarrhea when they have loose bowel moments and some indicate this for frequent bowel movements. It can be either or both. Diarrhea due to viral infections or food should not be mixed with blood. Rare bacterial causes of diarrhea maybe bloody, however if blood is present, you should be seen at the office. If it is a small amount of blood, it is safe to wait until the next business day. Intestinal bleeding resulting in blood in the bowel movements leads to frequent bowel movements, as the blood acts like a laxative. If you are not having frequent bowel movements, it is unlikely that the blood is from a bleeding bowel condition and could just be from hemorrhoid bleeding. Any clots of blood also indicate an emergency and prompt, same day care should be obtained. If you have any questions, please call anytime (734) 475-8677. Viral diarrhea usually lasts just a few days. If the diarrhea is longer than 3 days, you should make an appointment to be seen. You should avoid diary products (milk, ice cream, cottage cheese) except yogurt, as it may prolong the diarrhea. You need to take extra fluids, as you loose fluids with the diarrhea and need to avoid dehydration. Abdominal cramping is not usual with viral diarrhea, however severe abdominal pain and/or high fever is not common and medical care should be obtained. You may take Imodium AD or Pepto-Bismol for the diarrhea, however remember that Pepto-Bismol will result in black bowel movements. If the black bowel movements are frequent, other causes of diarrhea, such as bleeding ulcers, need to be considered and prompt medical care is necessary. Metamucil, Citrucel, or Fibercon sometimes slows down the diarrhea. Norovirus has been very common in the United States recently. This is the same virus that plagued the cruise ships in 2002. It presents with nausea and vomiting for a few hours followed by watery diarrhea for 1-2 days. Weakness occurs, however it is usually completely resolved in 2-3 days. Rest and fluids are the main treatment options, although drugs that stop nausea are useful for the first few hours. The disease is very contagious and careful hand washing and not sharing eating utensils is important. Food poisoning resulting in diarrhea is fortunately uncommon. The diagnosis is usually made by the history of a group of people becoming sick within 12-48 hours of eating at a common place. It is more common in the summer months due to the heat resulting in spoilage of food. Treatment is the same as for viral diarrhea causes. Irritable bowel disease is very common. This results in episodes of abdominal bloating and cramps followed by watery diarrhea. The diarrhea actually helps the cramps. People often have specific food intolerances including iceberg lettuce, garlic, and other spices. Avoidance helps and there are medications to also help. Some people primarily have diarrhea, others alternate diarrhea with constipation, and others have just constipation. The constipation predominant irritable bowel syndrome becomes more common with age. Diary (milk, cottage cheese, ice cream) intolerance (lactase intolerance) increases with age and is also more common in the Jewish and Black populations. Bloating with flatus and diarrhea is a common result. Symptoms are often worse when an increased amount of diary is consumed; thereby smaller amounts are often tolerated. Lactaid or DiaryEase are tablets/liquids that are purchased at the pharmacy or grocery store are effective at preventing the symptoms, if used prior to the ingestion. Lactaid milk is also in the diary section of the grocery store and does not taste any different than non-lactaid milk. This enzyme is natural and there are no known side-effects and it is often helpful to try it to see if lactase deficiency is the cause of the bloating/diarrhea. Return to health tips |
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Chelsea Internal Medicine