The Most Common Causes of Diarrhea
What are the underlying causes of diarrhea? When you eat, food is turned into liquid inside of your stomach. As it goes through the intestines, the moisture is mostly absorbed leaving semi-solid feces. When you have diarrhea, liquids are not absorbed the way they should be. This leads to watery fecal matter.
What are the most common causes of diarrhea?
• Viruses: some common strains include the Norwalk virus, cytomegalovirus, viral hepatitis, herpes simplex and rotavirus in children.
• Bad bacteria from processed foods and contaminated water
• Parasites: Also known as traveling diarrhea or Montezuma's revenge, is common when traveling in developing countries.
• Certain medicines.
• Antibiotics: kill both bad and beneficial bacteria.
• Abuse of laxatives.
• Anxiety and stress.
What are some other causes of diarrhea?
• Eating dairy foods when someone is lactose intolerant.
• Eating fruit when someone is fructose intolerant (common in children)
• Sorbitol and mannitol, common artificial sweeteners
• Long term consumption of alcohol or coffee
• Abdominal surgery
• Diabetes
• Pancreatitis
More serious causes of diarrhea can include:
• Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease. The lower small intestine becomes inflamed, and food is not absorbed as it should be.
• Ulcerative colitis is another inflammatory bowel disorder. This affects the colon with swelling and ulcers, often causing diarrhea.
• Celiac disease, caused by a gluten allergy can lead the immune system could attack the small intestine and cause permanent damage.
• Endocrine diseases such as hyperthyroidism or Addison's disease
• Irritable bowel syndrome, sometimes described as an overly sensitive colon
• Colon cancer
Occasional diarrhea is usually caused by a poor diet and stress. Severe diarrhea could be a sign of a more serious health concern. If you are experiencing diarrhea on a constant basis, please seek medical attention immediately.
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