Diarrhea is more than three loose, liquid stools in a single day. It depletes your body of fluids and electrolytes. Diarrhea can be:

• Acute—occurring suddenly, and lasting briefly
• Chronic—long-term
• Recurring—occurring in recurrent episodes

If you lose too much fluid, you can become dehydrated . It is particularly dangerous for babies, young children, and elderly people.

Causes may include:

• Food intolerance, such as lactose intolerance
• Medications, including:
  • Antibiotics
  • Magnesium-containing antacids
  • High blood pressure medications
  • Quinine
  • Cancer chemotherapy
  • Laxatives
• Irritable bowel syndrome (episodes of diarrhea often alternate with periods of constipation )
• Injury to the bowel after radiation treatments for cancer
• Malabsorption syndromes, such as:
  • Celiac sprue
  • Tropical sprue
  • Short bowel syndrome
  • Whipple's disease
  • Intestinal lymphangiectasia
• Diseases of the pancreas and/or gallbladder
• Inflammatory bowel diseases ( ulcerative colitis , Crohn's disease )
• Chronic diseases, such as:
  • Liver disease
  • Diabetes
  • Hyperthyroidism
  • Addison's disease
  • Pellagra
  • Scleroderma
  • Amyloidosis
  • AIDS
  • Colon cancer
• Intestinal surgery
• Infections, including food poisoning, such as:
  • Bacterial: Campylobacter, Clostridium difficile, Salmonella, Shigella, and Escherichia coli
  • Viral: rotavirus , Norwalk virus , cytomegalovirus , herpes simplex virus , and viral hepatitis
  • Parasitic: Giardia lamblia , Entamoeba histolytica , Cryptosporidium,tapeworm , roundworm , flukes
  • Fungal: Candida (yeast)

Factors that can increase your chance of getting diarrhea include:

• Traveling to a developing country where the water and food supply may be contaminated
• Having a severely weakened immune system, such as with AIDS or after an organ transplant
• Taking certain medications

Symptoms include:

• Frequent, loose, liquid stools
• Abdominal pain, cramping
• Urgent need to defecate
• Blood and/or mucus in stool
• Fever
• Dehydration
• Nausea, vomiting
• Muscle aches and pains
• Weight loss
• Malnutrition

The doctor will ask about your symptoms and medical history. A physical exam will be done. To determine the cause of your diarrhea, the doctor will ask questions, such as:

• Does anyone else in your family have diarrhea?
• What kinds of food have you eaten recently?
• Do you drink well water?
• Do your children attend daycare?
• Have you traveled recently?
• Do you use laxatives?
• What medications do you take?
• Do you have any symptoms other than diarrhea (eg, fever, rash, aching joints)?
• What is your sexual history?
• Have you ever had abdominal surgery?

Tests may include:

• Laboratory analysis of a stool sample
• Blood tests
• Fasting or food elimination tests
• Digital rectal exam—examination of the rectum with the doctor's gloved finger inserted into your rectum
• Flexible sigmoidoscopy —a thin, lighted tube inserted into the rectum to examine the rectum and the lower colon.
• Colonoscopy —a thin, lighted tube inserted through the rectum and into the colon to examine the lining of the colon
• Biopsy —removal of a sample of colon tissue for testing. This may be performed as part of a flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy
• Upper GI Series —a series of x-rays of the upper digestive system taken after drinking a barium solution (also called barium swallow)
• Barium enema —insertion of fluid into the rectum that makes the lining of your colon show up on an x-ray

A medical condition may cause diarrhea. Treating the condition may help to relieve the diarrhea.

General recommendations for treating diarrhea include:

Plain water will not replace the electrolytes lost through diarrhea. Look for sports drinks or special solutions.

Some doctors suggest that you drink only clear fluids during severe phases.

Avoid the following foods:

• Very spicy foods
• Fatty foods
• Greasy foods
• High-fiber foods
• Dairy products in large amounts
• Caffeinated drinks

• Complex carbohydrates
• Yogurt
• Fruits and vegetables
• Lean meats

Use a hot water bottle or heating pad on your abdomen to relieve cramps and pain.

Your doctor may recommend medications, such as:

• Bismuth subsalicylate
• Codeine phosphate
• Loperamide hydrochloride
• Paregoric
• Psyllium or methylcellulose compounds
• Kaolin or pectin products
• Antibiotics may be indicated for certain bacterial causes of diarrhea.
• Probiotics (eg, lactobacillus , bifidobacterium) may be beneficial.
• Zinc supplementation may be recommended in certain cases.

Diarrhea can cause severe dehydration. You may need to be hospitalized. Fluids will be delivered through an IV.