Diarrhea is at least 3+ loose/liquid bowel movements per day. D&V is diarrhea and vomiting.
Diarrhea can be short term or persistent (>2 weeks), and watery or bloody (known as dysentery).
Patient information
Plop... plop... plop... diarrhea means you have watery stool, right?
It can. The exact definition is 3 or more bowel movements per day. It can be liquid, but it can also be loose.
Sx
Often lasts for few days
Can cause dehydration due to fluid loss, where Sx of dehydration includes:
Loss of skin turgor
Changes in personality
Decreased urination
Pallor (loss of skin color)
Tachycardia (fast heart rate)
Decreased level of consciousness, as it becomes more severe
Patient information
What happens when you have liquid or loose stools?
It usually goes on for a few days. It can cause dehydration because of the fluid loss, and so can show things you'll get when you're dehydrated, like loss of normal stretchiness of the skin, decreased urination, loss of skin color, fast heart rate. It can also cause your personality to change, and decreased consciousness.
Causes
Infectious, known as gastroenteritis (i.e. infection of intestines due to virus/bacteria/parasite), due to food/water contaminated by stool/another infected person
Non-infectious, including:
Hyperthyroidism
Lactose intolerance
Inflammatory bowel disease
Numerous drugs
Irritable bowel syndrome
Loose but non-watery stools in babies who are breastfed, may be NORMAL
Patient information
What causes liquid or loose stools?
There is infectious stuff, and stuff that's not infectious. So infectious obviously every type of gastro that you can think on the face of the earth, so any sort of infection by virus, bacteria, parasite...
Anything non-infectious that can cause liquid or loose stools?
Yeah, other diseases of the tummy system. Like Crohn's or ulcerative colitis. You can have lactose intolerance. Drugs can also cause problems. And hormone things, like hyperthyroidism.
Dx
Usually, stool cultures are not required to confirm the exact cause
Tx
Prevention, by improved sanitation (clean drinking water, hand washing)
Vaccination against rotavirus
Breastfeeding for at least 6 months
Rehydration if dehydrated
Patient information
What can you do about liquid or loose stools?
Apart from preventing it in the first place with good sanitation? You can vaccinate against the common bugs. Breastfeeding helps, in kids. And if a kid is dehydrated, giving them water.
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