Constant diarrhea: causes, treatment, prevention. Causes of prolonged diarrhea Diagnosis and treatment of diarrhea

Constant diarrhea is scientifically called chronic diarrhea. With chronic diarrhea, stool is disrupted, occurs more often than 2 times a day and lasts at least 2 weeks. In this case, there is a loss of body weight and dehydration. Chronic diarrhea is quite unpleasant and may indicate dangerous diseases.

Causes of chronic diarrhea

To cure stool disorder, you need to determine the cause of the disease as quickly as possible. Diarrhea can be infectious or non-infectious.

Non-infectious causes:

• Pancreas problems
• Inflammation of the intestinal mucous membranes
• Consequences of taking antibiotics and laxatives
• Benign and malignant tumors
• Insufficient production of immunoglobulin
• The body's reaction to preservatives and chemical products
• Hereditary cystic fibrosis
• Increased activity of the thyroid gland
• Insufficient enzyme production
• Alcohol abuse
• Poisoning with toxic substances

Also, constant diarrhea can be a consequence of diseases of the large and small intestines: all kinds of colitis, Crohn's disease, tropical diarrhea, lipodystrophy, food allergies.

Types of diarrhea:

• Dyspeptic diarrhea. It occurs due to a disturbance in the digestion of food caused by an insufficient amount of enzymes in the digestive organs.
• Alimentary diarrhea. Appears as a result of poor nutrition, alcohol abuse, fatty and fried foods. It may also be the result of a food allergy.
• Infectious diarrhea. Caused by infectious and viral causes.
• Neurogenic diarrhea. Caused by disturbances in the system of nervous regulation of intestinal function. Diarrhea occurs whenever there is nervous tension or a feeling of fear.
• Drug-induced diarrhea. It is caused by disturbances in intestinal flora and is most often a consequence of treatment with antibiotics.
• Toxic diarrhea. Occurs when poisoned by toxic substances.

There can be many causes of diarrhea. When contacting a doctor, you need to remember all the events that preceded the diarrhea. Also, to determine the type of disease and prescribe the correct treatment, it is important to pay attention to the nature of discharge and diarrhea.

Diarrhea symptoms

The main symptom of diarrhea is loose stools. Chronic diarrhea often has several other symptoms, the study of which will help determine its root cause.

Additional symptoms of diarrhea:

• Temperature increase. Quite often accompanies diarrhea. May indicate an infectious origin of the problem.
• Vomit. Often, when there are problems in the intestines or poisoning, intoxication of the body occurs, and it reacts to it with nausea and vomiting. Vomiting often accompanies toxic diarrhea.
• Abdominal pain and bloating. These are natural phenomena with constant diarrhea. Increased motility causes spasms in the intestines. Most often, the pain is wave-like in nature and the unpleasant pulling sensations are replaced by attacks of pain.
• Belching. If the belching has an unpleasant putrefactive character, then diarrhea is caused by problems of the digestive organs. There may not be enough enzymes to digest food properly.

What the color or type of stool can tell you:

• Yellow. Such diarrhea rarely has complications and is caused by increased bowel function. Rarely has additional symptoms and is easily relieved by taking anti-diarrhea medications.
• Green. Talks about infectious bowel diseases. Greens in the stool are a consequence of the proliferation of leukocytes, staphylococci and other infections. Also, green color may cause insufficient functioning of the intestinal immune mechanisms. Greens can be either in the form of inclusions or in the form of mucus.
• Dark color. May indicate bleeding in. Immediate consultation with a doctor is required.
• Light color, whitish. Indicates problems with the gallbladder. The second sign of gallbladder problems may be dark urine.
• With blood. Requires urgent medical attention. May be the result of tumors, infections, poisoning by toxins or chemicals.
• Diarrhea with water. It is the first sign of cholera. Accompanied by severe cutting pain and repeated bowel movements.

It is very important to pay attention to additional symptoms and stool patterns. This will help you lose less time during diagnosis and begin treatment faster.

Examination and treatment of diarrhea

To make a diagnosis use:

• Bacteriological analysis of stool. Used to detect dysbacteriosis, helminthic infestation, and occult blood.
• Coprocytogram. Allows you to detect intestinal inflammation, the presence of pancreatitis and determine the quality of food digestion.
• General blood analysis. Allows you to identify inflammation and the degree of dehydration of the body.
• Ultrasonography. Helps identify diseases of the pancreas, liver, intestines and other organs.
• Irrigoscopy. Allows you to assess intestinal motor functions.
• Colonoscopy. Detects the presence of pathology of the large intestine.

The prescription of a remedy for the treatment of diarrhea depends on the diagnosis.

If diarrhea is infectious in nature, then treatment will consist of a combination of antibiotics, antiseptics, enzymes and drugs that reduce peristalsis.

If caused by enzyme deficiency, then treatment will be aimed at filling the digestive organs with enzymes and stimulating their production.

If the cause of diarrhea is intestinal diseases, then antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs will be prescribed. Treatment with glucocorticoid hormones may be required.

For bleeding of the digestive organs, treatment will consist of eliminating the bleeding and treating the underlying disease, for example, a stomach ulcer.

Drug-induced diarrhea after antibiotics is treated with antifungal drugs. At the same time, the microflora is populated with probiotics.

For any type of chronic diarrhea, adsorbents are prescribed: Smecta, Activated Carbon, Filtrum, Entorosgel.

Treatment for chronic diarrhea can take quite a long time, and in severe cases, hospitalization will be required.

Folk remedies

There are a huge number of recipes both for the treatment of chronic diarrhea and for relieving the main symptoms.

Best recipes:

1. Walnut tincture. Remove the partitions from 300 gr. nuts, pour 20 ml of alcohol and put in a dark place for 5 days. Take 15 drops, diluted with water, 3 times a day before meals. The remedy quickly relieves diarrhea; after improvement appears, you should immediately stop taking the tincture.
2. Mint tea. Take 20 gr. mint, pour 200 ml of boiling water, leave for 10 minutes. Take 3 times a day. In addition to normalizing stool, mint tea will relieve nausea, flatulence and belching.
3. Green tea. Pour 100 grams of green tea into 2 liters of water, boil for 10 minutes and let steep for 1 hour. Take 50 g. before meals 4 times a day. The decoction is stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
4. Oak bark. Mix 2 spoons of oak bark, 1 spoon of nettle, 1 spoon of blackberry leaves and pour 500 ml. boiling water Leave for 2 hours. Drink 100 gr. before eating.
5. Apple salvation. Traditional medicine recommends hitting diarrhea with apples. During the day you need to eat 12–15 apples without peel. The interval between apples should not be more than 2 hours. Don't eat anything else except apples.
6. Barberry wine. Add 50 tablespoons of crushed barberry bark to 1 liter of good grape wine. Let it sit in the basement for at least a month. Strain and squeeze out the bark. Take 30 g. 4 times a day before meals.

Treatment with these folk remedies is safe and can be an addition to drug therapy.

Diet for chronic diarrhea

It is very important to follow a special diet when treating chronic diarrhea. Along with a large amount of fluid, important minerals leave the body: calcium and potassium. Which does not have a very good effect on the state of the cardiovascular and excretory systems. Therefore, for chronic diarrhea, it should be balanced and have a beneficial effect on the entire body.

Under no circumstances should you limit yourself in nutrition. You need to eat as often as possible; fasting makes the situation worse.

What not to do if you have diarrhea:

1. Dairy
2. Legumes
3. Grapes, plums
4. Fatty meat and fish dishes
5. Alcohol
6. Sugar, spices, herbs
7. What you can do if you have diarrhea:
8. Porridge on the water
9. Crackers
10. Steamed meat and fish dishes
11. Vegetables fruits
12. Cottage cheese, eggs

We must not forget that the body loses a lot of water and needs to be replenished regularly. Drinks include tea, mineral water, rose hip decoction, pear compote or jelly.

Following a diet will be a huge help to treatment and will speed up the healing process.

For detailed information about diarrhea, you can watch the attached video.

Constant diarrhea is a very unpleasant phenomenon, causing discomfort and tying a person to home. There is no need to be ashamed of this disease and put off visiting a doctor. In most cases, diarrhea is just a disease.

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Diarrhea- frequent (more than 2 times a day) discharge of liquid feces, associated with accelerated passage of intestinal contents due to increased peristalsis, impaired absorption of water in the large intestine and the release of a significant amount of inflammatory secretion or transudate by the intestinal wall. In most cases, diarrhea is a symptom of acute or chronic colitis, enteritis.

Diarrhea: treatment of the disease

aimed at eliminating the cause of diarrhea. Antibiotic therapy for watery diarrhea does not change the duration of the disease.

Diarrhea: when to consult a doctor

Normal diarrhea lasts no more than 3 days; additional symptoms may indicate a more serious disorder. Contact your doctor if you notice blood in your stool; if abdominal pain increases or the temperature rises; if you have vomiting or severe intestinal cramps; for symptoms of dehydration (dizziness when standing up).

You need to consult a doctor: diarrhea gets you up at night; diarrhea is very severe with blood mixed in; diarrhea lasts more than 3 days; you have recently been on a picnic or abroad; you have recently started taking a new medicine.

Diarrhea is a condition in which a person has frequent bowel movements and watery stools. This condition is dangerous because it can lead to dehydration. Diarrhea can be caused by infections of the digestive tract, stress, poor diet, and drug poisoning.

The reason may be intestinal dysbiosis or the presence of worms. It is necessary to carefully monitor the frequency of stool, pay attention to its color (white, gray), smell (putrid, sour), and blood. There are several types of stool disorders; they are determined by certain characteristics that distinguish this symptom from the norm.

Diarrhea symptoms

Clinical manifestations of diarrhea are usually characterized by a standard set of complaints and objective examination data. For some of its types, there are specific distinctive features that can be used to accurately determine the specific nature of the disease. But it also happens that even additional laboratory and instrumental data do not always turn out to be informative. In order not to miss anything, you need to be very attentive to everything that happens to the body, accompanying diarrhea.

High temperature with diarrhea

It is noted by many patients as an additional symptom. Its development is characteristic of many types of diarrhea. First of all, this concerns microbial (viral and bacterial) types. After all, any penetration of foreign protein structures into immune cells causes the production of antibodies, which is accompanied by the release of inflammatory mediators and a temperature reaction.

Considering that the intestines are one of the most powerful immune organs, its occurrence should not be surprising. On the contrary, when a person has signs of an infectious intestinal disease, but there is no fever, this indicates the presence of immunodeficiency. As for its specific values, they depend on the pathogenicity of the microbe and the reactivity of the body and can range from 37.1 C to above 39 C.

Nausea and vomiting with diarrhea

Nausea is by far the most common symptom of diarrhea of ​​any origin. There is a logical explanation for this. After all, disruption of the normal movement of food and feces through the intestines necessarily leads to their incorrect reflux in the opposite direction.

In addition, intoxication that occurs against the background of any intestinal catastrophe necessarily leads to the absorption of these toxic products into the systemic bloodstream with their distribution to all organs and tissues. The first to react to them is the vomiting center of the brain, which clinically manifests itself in the form of nausea followed by vomiting. By the way, the last reflex act is one of the most physiological mechanisms for cleansing the body of toxins of any origin.

Abdominal pain

It is always a consequence of increased intestinal motility. As a rule, it is spastic, strong and intense. It is characterized by a paroxysmal course with periods of sharp intensification with gradual subsidence and complete cessation. Usually after or during a painful attack there is a urge to defecate, which is manifested by severe diarrhea.

The appearance of pain is characteristic of almost all types of diarrhea, but most often occurs with microbial types and food poisoning. All other types of it are accompanied by discomfort and a feeling of heaviness in the stomach.

Rotten belching with diarrhea

It occurs as a primary symptom or gradually against the background of diarrhea. In the first case, when it precedes diarrhea, its appearance indicates enzymatic insufficiency of the pancreas, stomach and biliary system.

As a result of the fact that the food entering the body is not digested, it rots. This eventually vents into the formation of foul-smelling gases, which emanate from the stomach through belching. Naturally, undigested particles entering the intestines cause irritation and diarrhea. When rotten belching occurs against the background of diarrhea, this is a consequence of secondary digestive disorders caused by the underlying disease and indicates its progression.

Causes of diarrhea in adults

Diarrhea is a consequence of improper functioning of the intestinal tract: the digestive process accelerates, which leads to frequent bowel movements and dilution of stool. Diarrhea is usually caused by bacterial and viral infections, as well as food poisoning.

As a rule, the causative agent of diarrhea is salmonella and Escherichia coli bacteria, which can be in water or food. Diarrhea caused by a bacterial infection often affects tourists who travel to exotic countries. It’s not for nothing that this type of disease is also called “tourist’s diarrhea.”

The cause of diarrhea may be the hepatitis virus or herpes simplex, or the use of antibiotics. Another cause of diarrhea is ulcerative colitis. It can also cause severe diarrhea, but colitis is detected late, and mainly during an internal examination of the intestines.

Taking into account the close contact of the digestive system with the internal systems of the body and the external environment, we can safely note its persistent dependence on them. Therefore, they are more susceptible to diseases. Often, any disruption in normal functioning or irritation is manifested by the release of mucus, acceleration of motility and, as a final result, diarrhea.

Diarrhea in adults can be caused by the following reasons:

• Bacterial infections: dysentery, foodborne illnesses, salmonellosis, cholera, escherichiosis.
• Viral infections: enteroviruses, rotaviruses, adenovirus.
• Intestinal diseases: enterocolitis, Crohn's disease, enteritis, ulcerative colitis, Whipple's disease.
• Enzyme deficiency: cholelithiasis with impaired bile outflow, congenital intolerance to certain foods, pancreatitis, fermentopathy.
• Autoimmune diseases: rheumatoid arthritis, intestinal damage due to lupus erythematosus, allergic reactions and atopic dermatitis.
• Tumor growths: adenocarcinomas, polyps, diverticula, complicated by inflammation.
• Drug influences: cytostatics, prokinetics and anticholinesterase agents, antibiotics, overdose of laxatives.
• Intoxications: heavy metals, household chemicals, nitrate poisoning, pesticides.
• Gastrointestinal bleeding: small intestinal bleeding, open ulcer of the duodenum and stomach, colonic bleeding.

Diarrhea after taking antibiotics

This is due to the fact that it is caused by medical (iatrogenic) influences, originally designed to help people. They are common and can cause severe illness and even death. First of all, this applies to the side effects of antibacterial therapy, which causes dysbacteriosis, and subsequently pseudomembranous colitis. A feature of the latter complication is poor correction, accompanied by debilitating diarrhea.

Infectious diarrhea of ​​viral and bacterial origin is no less important. They occur very often, but in many cases they end happily. This explains the body's ability to defeat aggressive pathogens because they are considered natural components. The same cannot be said about diarrhea, which is caused by toxic influences and other external influences. They are unnatural and cannot be overcome only by protective immune mechanisms without external influence.

The mechanisms of diarrhea are also different. The inclusion of a particular one depends on the reasons that caused the diarrhea. As a rule, with diarrhea there is only one mechanism for its implementation. Their combination with a predominance of one over the others is typical.

Types of diarrhea

• Infectious diarrhea is observed with dysentery, salmonellosis, food infections, viral diseases (viral diarrhea), amoebiasis, etc.
• Alimentary diarrhea occurs due to poor diet or allergies to any foods.
• Dyspeptic diarrhea occurs when the digestion of food masses is impaired due to secretory insufficiency of the stomach, pancreas, liver, or when there is a lack of secretion of any enzymes by the small intestine.
• Toxic diarrhea accompanies uremia, mercury and arsenic poisoning.
• Drug-induced diarrhea occurs when the physiological intestinal flora is suppressed and dysbiosis develops.
• Neurogenic diarrhea is a consequence of a violation of the nervous regulation of intestinal motor activity (for example, diarrhea that occurs under the influence of excitement or fear).

Mild and short-lived diarrhea has virtually no effect on the general condition of a person. Severe or chronic - depletes the body, leads to hypovitaminosis, significant changes in organs.

Diagnosis and treatment of diarrhea

There are a number of priority actions when treating diarrhea:

1. It is necessary to eliminate the cause of diarrhea.
2. It is important to take measures to prevent the development of complications.
3. It is necessary to take measures to restore the body's resources after suffering from diarrhea.

The modern stage of diarrhea treatment involves solving these three problems simultaneously.

First you need to determine the reason why the diarrhea appeared. This event is extremely important because it helps to prescribe treatment that eliminates the cause of the disease (so-called etiotropic therapy). It is often quite difficult to determine the cause of diarrhea. Determining the nature of diarrhea (watery or bloody stools) can greatly facilitate the diagnostic procedure and the prescription of competent treatment.

If this is possible, the diagnosis can be clarified using a method such as stool microscopy (it allows you to clarify whether there are certain types of pathogenic bacteria in the stool). Less commonly, and mainly for epidemiological purposes, a method such as inoculation on nutrient media is used. Next, we will look at the main types of diarrhea and the methods used to treat them.

Color of diarrhea in an adult

An experienced clinician can determine the origin of diarrhea by the color and typical characteristics of liquid stool. In this case, it is necessary to add up the remaining symptoms. This will make it possible to understand and clarify some details of the origin of the true culprit of diarrhea.

Green diarrhea

Characteristic exclusively for bacterial and viral intestinal lesions. The appearance of greenery is associated with the direct accumulation of leukocytes in the feces, as well as the active proliferation of pyogenic coccal flora (staphylococci) against the background of weakened local immune mechanisms in the intestine.

Clinically, it looks like liquid stool of heterogeneous consistency with small greenish specks or thickly coated and mixed with viscous green mucus. Typically, such diarrhea is accompanied by a severe hyperthermic reaction, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, signs of severe intoxication and inflammatory changes in the blood system.

Yellow diarrhea

It is one of its most favorable types, since most often it is caused by increased peristalsis (contraction) of the intestine. As a result of the acceleration of the movement of feces, they do not have time to fully form into a normal shape and consistency. But at the same time, they undergo almost complete enzymatic processing and partial absorption of the active components into the bloodstream. The result is stool of normal color, but liquid consistency. Characteristically, there are no additional symptoms except for minor pain and heaviness in the abdomen.

Black diarrhea (dark in color)

Refers to very formidable or, conversely, natural symptoms. First of all, it’s worth focusing on it as a threatening sign. The appearance of stool that is black, like tar or tar, can indicate only one thing - bleeding from the stomach. The appearance of this particular color is due to the destruction of erythrocyte hemoglobin under the influence of hydrochloric acid of the stomach. In this case, hydrochloric acid hematin is formed, which provides the characteristic color. In such situations, you should not waste a minute and urgently seek medical help.

The second situation that may result in black feces is the consumption of foods based on animal blood (bloodweed), large amounts of beets, blueberries, or certain medications (activated carbon, bismuth preparations - Vikalin, de-Nol). It is this fact that often causes people to seek medical help. A differential diagnostic criterion for the origin of black diarrhea is the presence of an appropriate history of use of the listed substances or a decrease in hemodynamic parameters (hypotension, tachycardia) in the case of gastrointestinal bleeding.

White diarrhea (light in color)

Along with black feces, it is one of the most specific, characterizing only one reason for its appearance. In this case, it is insufficient processing of food masses in the intestines with bile. This is possible when the common bile duct is compressed or blocked by a tumor or stone.

In typical cases, such diarrhea is necessarily accompanied by yellowing of the skin and severe darkening of the urine. Pain, temperature reaction and dehydration are not typical. It is often of a mild nature, occurring only a few times, after which the white color of the stool remains with its normal consistency.

Diarrhea with blood

The most dangerous of all types of diarrhea, since it indicates ongoing active bleeding into the cavity of the intestinal tract. Usually characteristic of disintegrating tumors of the large intestine, severe intestinal infections, which result in complete destruction of the mucous membrane of the intestinal wall.

Sometimes the appearance of bloody diarrhea can be a consequence of the toxic effects of various chemical compounds and poisons on the intestines. Bloody diarrhea may not be represented by pure blood, but by liquid, dark cherry-colored stool. In this case, we can say with confidence that the source of bleeding is located in the right half of the large intestine.

Diarrhea with mucus

This characteristic alone cannot determine the true origin of diarrhea. After all, mucus can be completely different and released in different quantities. Its transparent appearance is a sign of a relatively favorable course, which may be due to foodborne illness and mild poisoning. When the mucus becomes greenish, brown or bloody, this always indicates severe diarrhea or lack of effect from its treatment.

Water diarrhea

In any scientific manual or regular women's health magazine, you can find only one answer to the question about watery stools. This is of course cholera. The causative agent of the disease is designed in such a way that when it enters the intestines, it turns on all possible mechanisms of diarrhea, which is manifested by the indomitable release of water instead of feces. The most interesting thing is that the temperature rises extremely rarely. But the number of bowel movements is so large that patients are unable to count them. As a result, severe dehydration occurs, which requires immediate correction through massive infusion therapy.

Treatment of diarrhea

Many therapeutic methods are used regardless of the type of diarrhea: this is the prescription of a diet, antibacterial agents, as well as drugs that relieve symptoms (with astringent, adsorbent, enveloping properties). Antibacterial drugs help restore the normal state of intestinal microflora (eubiosis).

If acute diarrhea is caused by bacterial factors, the patient is prescribed antibiotics, antimicrobials (from the group of first and second generation quinolones), sulfonamides and antiseptics, nitrofuran derivatives. It is preferable to use those medications that do not affect the balance of intestinal microflora. As an alternative therapeutic method, bacterial agents can be prescribed for the treatment of diarrhea of ​​various origins, with a total course of treatment of up to 30-60 days.

Symptomatic drugs are designed to neutralize organic (carboxylic) acids and have an astringent and enveloping effect. In the treatment of diarrhea, drugs that regulate intestinal motor function (motility regulators) are also used: there is evidence that when they interact with opioid receptors of the small intestine, the functions of epithelial cells change, which leads to a decrease in the amount of secretion secreted and an increase in absorption capacity. A decrease in secretory secretions, in turn, leads to a decrease in intestinal motility.

It is mandatory to replenish fluid lost by the body (rehydration); this is necessary to combat dehydration and, accordingly, disturbances in the metabolism of electrolytes and ABS (acid-base state). Typically, in patients with acute infectious diseases of the intestines, fluid replenishment occurs through normal drinking; Only in 5-15% of cases do doctors consider it necessary to prescribe intravenous rehydration. Remember, if a child or an adult experiences frequent or constant loose stools, especially if the diarrhea is yellow, green or bloody, then only a doctor can determine the cause of such diarrhea and prescribe treatment.

Diet for diarrhea

The goal of a diet prescribed as a treatment for diarrhea is to inhibit intestinal contractions and reduce the amount of water and electrolytic fluids secreted into the intestinal lumen. Products are selected in such a way that the nutrients they contain can be easily absorbed in the small intestine, which has undergone painful changes.

The main principle of the diet for diarrhea is the exclusion of mechanical and chemical irritation of the intestines. In the acute form, if possible, you should exclude from the set products that contribute to increased secretion of intestinal secretions and increased motor-evacuation activity of the intestines. Treatment of diarrhea in young children requires particularly careful development of a dietary regimen.

Replenishment of fluid losses

And this can be significant – up to several liters – volume. And not only water, but also microelements are lost, so it is better to drink not just water or a decoction of herbs, but pharmacy (Rehydron, citroglucosolan) or self-prepared glucose-salt solutions: per liter of water - a teaspoon of salt, half as much soda, a quarter spoon of chloride potassium, 4 tablespoons of sugar. If there is no potassium salt in the house (which is quite likely), it can be replaced with a glass of orange juice or dried apricot compote.

Sorbents

These include:

• activated carbon, up to 10 tablets during the day;
• kaolin (white clay);
• calcium carbonate and gluconate;
• bismuth salts, which are practically not absorbed in the intestines and contribute to the compaction of stool (venter, de-nol),
• smecta: dissolve the sachet in water, take 3-4 times during the day;
• lignin preparations (polyphepan, bilignin): these wood derivatives do not dissolve in water, but the powder is still easier to drink if you shake a tablespoon in half a glass of water;
attapulgite is a silicate of aluminum and magnesium, available in tablets, you can take up to 14 pieces per day with water, it is not advisable to use it for more than 2 days,
• cholestyramine is an ion exchange resin that can bind bile acids and helps with hologenic diarrhea that occurs after surgery on the gallbladder and stomach.

Sorbents are able to bind and remove liquid and gas, viruses, bacteria and toxins from the intestines. They are effective for infectious diarrhea, reduce flatulence in irritable bowel syndrome, but in case of malabsorption (enteropathy, amyloidosis), such drugs can aggravate the symptoms of nutritional deficiency.

We should not forget that drugs in this group can also bind medications, so they should be taken with a time interval, preferably at least 2 hours.

Diarrhea or diarrhea - very frequent and unformed stools, ranging from soft to liquid-like.

With watery stools, the patient's body becomes dehydrated. Diarrhea is translated from Greek as flowing through. Acute diarrhea occurs for about one day, chronic diarrhea lasts for several years in a row.

Symptoms of diarrhea:

Abdominal pain
- intestinal distension
- bloating
- rumbling
- constipation
- stool with blood and mucus

Often, pathogenic microorganisms, poisons, mucus, and breakdown products of medications are removed from the body with diarrhea.

Causes of infectious diarrhea:

Salmonella
- dysentery
- food infections
- amoebiasis
- viral diarrhea

Causes of nutritional diarrhea:

Food allergies
- unhealthy diet

Causes of dyspeptic diarrhea:

Secretory disorders in the stomach, liver, pancreas
- release of small amounts of enzymes in the small intestine

Causes of toxic diarrhea:

Uremia
- arsenic and mercury poisoning

Causes of drug-induced diarrhea:

Dysbacteriosis
- inhibition of natural intestinal flora

Causes of neurogenic diarrhea:

Fear
- excitement
- emotional stress

Causes of infectious diarrhea:

Drinking unboiled water
- eating food contaminated with feces
- failure to comply with sanitary standards
- lack of sewerage
- use of feces as fertilizers

Infectious diarrhea that develops against a background of weak immunity, poor nutrition and chronic diseases can be fatal.

Diarrhea in a child may be caused by a lack of fat and an abundance of fruit juices.

Adults may experience diarrhea if the body lacks the enzyme that digests lactose. Thus, diarrhea appears after consuming milk and dairy products.

Most often, a patient with chronic diarrhea has a food allergy.

To establish the true cause of diarrhea, it is necessary to conduct a bacteriological and scatological examination of stool.

In a healthy person, carbolene moves through the intestines within twenty-five hours, and in a patient within three hours.

If the doctor suspects salmonellosis or cholera in a patient, he is immediately hospitalized in an infectious diseases hospital.

Treatment of diarrhea.

First of all, you need to treat the disease that caused the diarrhea.

In the presence of hypovitaminosis, the patient needs to be given vitamins. When achylia occurs, the patient is injected with gastric juice. With weakened pancreatic function, the patient is prescribed Festal, Panzinorm or Pancreatin.

If you have diarrhea, the patient should give up fats and, if possible, carbohydrates. Patients are prescribed fractional meals; food must be chewed long and thoroughly.

To treat the symptoms of diarrhea, the patient is prescribed: tanalbin, bismuth, calcium carbonate, St. John's wort, oak bark, serpentine, burnet, bloodroot, bird cherry, blueberry, alder, chamomile and belladonna.

For intestinal dysbiosis and secondary diarrhea, the use of bificol, colibacterin, bifidumbacterin and lactobacterin is indicated.

The most common cause of infectious diarrhea in children under two years of age is rotavirus. In winter, rotavirus epidemics occur in kindergartens and nurseries.

Acute diarrhea in adults is often caused by the Norwalk virus.

Acute rotavirus diarrhea is preceded by vomiting. In children it is more pronounced.

Symptoms of rotavirus infection:

Headache
- fever
- myalgia
- inflammation and swelling of the walls of the small intestine
- watery diarrhea with an abundance of salts, similar to cholera diarrhea (fluid loss is more than a liter per hour - in an adult)

The large intestine is not affected, and the stool does not contain leukocytes.

The duration of viral diarrhea in adults is about two days, in children – about five.

Excessive loss of fluid threatens not only the health, but also the life of a patient with diarrhea.

All treatment is aimed at restoring lost fluid. For this, the patient is advised to drink plenty of salts and glucose. It is recommended to drink one and a half liters of water when one liter of fluid is lost. Antibiotic treatment is ineffective.

Do not take loperamide if you have invasive diarrhea (i.e., diarrhea with blood or pus).

Despite various prohibitions and restrictions, loperamide is useful in the treatment of a number of diarrheas:

• hyperkinetic diarrhea: irritable bowel syndrome, “bear disease” (nervous diarrhea caused by stress - for example, at a wedding, etc.), but doses should be minimal,
• secretory diarrhea,
• Crohn's disease,
• in the complex treatment of diarrhea during chemotherapy of malignant tumors, etc.

In other cases, it is better to avoid loperamide or at least consult a specialist.

Loperamide is available in capsules 2 mg. The instructions recommend taking 2 capsules first, and then 1 capsule after each loose stool. However, practice shows that in mild cases it is not necessary to take more than 1 capsule, otherwise constipation will occur for 1-3 days. The maximum permitted dose is 8 capsules per day.

Galavit for the treatment of intestinal infections

In the late 1990s, a safe and effective universal anti-inflammatory immunomodulator was created in Russia Galavit. Among the many indications for use are: treatment of any infectious diarrhea accompanied by fever and symptoms of intoxication ( weakness, headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, palpitations). Galavit normalizes the activity of hyperactive macrophages, reduces excessive inflammatory response and accelerates recovery.

Galavit well compatible with other medications (including traditional treatment of intestinal infections), is well tolerated and has a minimum of side effects (allergy is occasionally possible). It is safe and approved for healthy people, with the exception of pregnancy and breastfeeding. Galavit is not recommended for children under 6 years of age, because... They haven't checked.

Clinical studies of Galavit for diarrhea were conducted in adults and children over 12 years of age with intramuscular administration according to the following regimen: 200 mg once, then 100 mg 2 times a day until the symptoms of intoxication cease (disappear). However, taking it in tablet form is a more convenient and safer method of treatment.

Galavit

Dosage forms for treatment with Galavit:

• adults and children over 12 years of age: 25 mg tablets, 100 mg ampoules, 100 mg rectal suppositories;
• children 6-12 years old: 50 mg ampoules, 50 mg rectal suppositories, no tablets with a “children’s” dose;
• children under 6 years of age: not shown.

For acute intestinal infections, the initial dose of Galavit for adults and children over 12 years of age is 2 tables 25 mg once, then 1 tablet. 3–4 times a day until symptoms disappear intoxication for 3–5 days (but usually one day of administration is enough). Please note that Galavit tablets should be placed under the tongue (!) and kept there until completely dissolved (10-15 minutes). In children 6-12 years old, intramuscular injections or rectal suppositories are used at a dose of 50 mg.

So, for acute diarrhea no fever and symptoms of intoxication (weakness, nausea, vomiting, headache, palpitations, etc.) RECOMMENDED (dosages for adults):

1. 1 sachet per 0.5 glass of water 3 times a day in breaks (!) between meals and other medications for 2-4 days,
2. enterol 1-2 capsules morning and evening 1 hour before meals with a small amount of liquid for 7-10 days.

For diarrhea with elevated temperature and symptoms of intoxication to the above treatment is necessary add:

• Necessarily - galavit 2 tablets under the tongue. once, then 1 tablet. 3–4 times a day until symptoms of intoxication disappear for 3–5 days,
• optional - 200 mg orally every 6 hours for 3 days.

In case of large fluid losses, it is necessary rehydration:

• or dissolve in clean water according to the instructions and drink often, but little by little. However, if the patient has repeated vomiting, which does not allow him to take liquid orally, he should call an ambulance and go to the hospital.

If you are clearly something got poisoned, you feel nauseous, it is advisable before taking medications rinse the stomach(drink 1 liter of warm water, then bend over and press your fingers on the root of the tongue; then the whole procedure can be repeated). If the cause of nausea is food poisoning, you will immediately feel relief after gastric lavage. After this, you can take enterosorbent orally ( smecta, polyphepan, enterosgel, atoxil, polysorb).

If after 3 days If diarrhea persists after treatment, you should consult a doctor to determine its cause. Remember that diarrhea can be a sign of quite serious and even fatal diseases (even some forms of cancer). If chronic diarrhea(lasts over 3 weeks), you need to immediately go to the doctor, get examined and find out the cause. It is very advisable to remember after what it occurred, this will help you choose the right treatment. For example, if after taking antibiotics, then it should be treated as dysbacteriosis.

AVOID the following medications unless absolutely necessary:

• Activated carbon- this is an ineffective and outdated drug;
• - relieves symptoms of diarrhea, but does not cure. In case of intestinal infection, loperamide increases self-poisoning of the body. It is prohibited for young children and is dangerous for infectious diarrhea. Taking loperamide is possible only for chronic diarrhea after consultation with a doctor (for example, after removal of the gallbladder, irritable bowel syndrome, etc.). For acute diarrhea, take it only in desperate situations or if you are well aware of what you are doing;
• antibiotics and antibacterial drugs- they should be taken as prescribed by a doctor, since they themselves can cause diarrhea due to dysbacteriosis. Allowed exception - .

Diarrhea is usually treated at home. You need to see a doctor in the following cases:

• no effect from treatment for more than 3 days,
• diarrhea developed in a child under one year old or in an old (weak) person,
• diarrhea is accompanied by a temperature above 38° C (the above-mentioned Galavit is highly effective in these cases),
• emergence unclear adverse reactions for treatment (allergic skin rash, irritability, sleep disturbances, yellowness of the skin and sclera, dark urine, etc.),
• constant worries stomach ache,
• (!) black chair (tar look) may indicate bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal tract,
• (!) vomiting dark brown masses or with admixtures of fresh blood is possible with bleeding from the stomach or esophagus,
• (!) observed impaired consciousness or significant dehydration(dry mouth, weakness, dizziness, cold skin, little urine and it is dark with a strong odor, wrinkled skin and sunken eyes).

In the last three cases (!) you need not just see a doctor, but call an ambulance immediately and be prepared to transport the patient to the hospital.

Prevention of acute intestinal infections

Wash everything: vegetables and fruits, hands after using the toilet and before eating. Use clean water and fresh food.

Use the refrigerator and freezer - bacteria multiply more slowly in the cold. True, there is one exception - salmonella feel great on chicken eggs in the refrigerator.

In the home medicine cabinet, at the dacha and on long trips, have (per 1 person):

• smecta (5 sachets),
• enterol (bottle of 30 capsules or more),
• Galavit (10-tablet strip),
• rehydron or gastrolit,
• loperamide (2 capsules for emergency use).

To prevent diarrhea When traveling or during antibiotic therapy, it is recommended to take Enterol 1-2 capsules daily in the morning during the entire trip or while taking antibiotics.