Diarrhea

Loose but non-watery stools in babies who are exclusively breastfed, however, are normal.

Breastfeeding decreases the risk of respiratory tract infections and diarrhea, both in developing and developed countries.

These include lactose intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, hyperthyroidism, bile acid diarrhea, and a number of medications. Common causes include ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, microscopic colitis, celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome and bile acid malabsorption.

It has been classified into four main types depending on whether diarrhea is common, constipation is common, both are common, or neither occurs very often (IBS-D, IBS-C, IBS-M, or IBS-U respectively).

The short duration watery diarrhea may be due to an infection by cholera, although this is rare in the developed world.

The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days.

The most common cause is an infection of the intestines due to either a virus, bacteria, or parasite – a condition also known as gastroenteritis. Acute diarrhea is most commonly due to viral gastroenteritis with rotavirus, which accounts for 40% of cases in children under five.

Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.

If blood is present it is also known as dysentery.

Dysentery is an inflammatory disease of the intestine, especially of the colon, which always results in severe diarrhea and abdominal pains.

These include lactose intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, hyperthyroidism, bile acid diarrhea, and a number of medications.

Symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea, gas, and nausea.

These include lactose intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, hyperthyroidism, bile acid diarrhea, and a number of medications.

Signs and symptoms vary between people and may include irritability, muscle weakness, sleeping problems, a fast heartbeat, heat intolerance, diarrhea, enlargement of the thyroid, hand tremor, and weight loss.

Loperamide may help decrease the number of bowel movements but is not recommended in those with severe disease.

Loperamide, sold under the brand name Imodium, among others, is a medication used to decrease the frequency of diarrhea.

Diarrhea can be prevented by improved sanitation, clean drinking water, and hand washing with soap.

For example, diarrhea, a main cause of malnutrition and stunted growth in children, can be reduced through sanitation.

These infections are often acquired from food or water that has been contaminated by feces, or directly from another person who is infected.

Types 5–7 are associated with increasing tendency to diarrhea or urgency.

These include lactose intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, hyperthyroidism, bile acid diarrhea, and a number of medications.

Gastrointestinal symptoms may include any of the following: abdominal pain, bloating, bowel habit abnormalities (either diarrhea or constipation), nausea, aerophagia, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and aphthous stomatitis.

Zinc tablets are also recommended.

In children, deficiency causes growth retardation, delayed sexual maturation, infection susceptibility, and diarrhea.

This occurs with inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, and other severe infections such as E. coli or other forms of food poisoning. Common causes include ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, microscopic colitis, celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome and bile acid malabsorption.

Signs and symptoms often include abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody if inflammation is severe), fever, and weight loss.

This occurs with inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, and other severe infections such as E. coli or other forms of food poisoning. Common causes include ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, microscopic colitis, celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome and bile acid malabsorption.

The primary symptoms of active disease are abdominal pain and diarrhea mixed with blood.

These include lactose intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, hyperthyroidism, bile acid diarrhea, and a number of medications. This occurs with inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, and other severe infections such as E. coli or other forms of food poisoning.

In spite of Crohn's and UC being very different diseases, both may present with any of the following symptoms: abdominal pain, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, severe internal cramps/muscle spasms in the region of the pelvis and weight loss.

Or it can be caused by osmotic laxatives (which work to alleviate constipation by drawing water into the bowels).

Sufficiently high doses of laxatives may cause diarrhea.

Acute diarrhea is most commonly due to viral gastroenteritis with rotavirus, which accounts for 40% of cases in children under five. Norovirus is the most common cause of viral diarrhea in adults, but rotavirus is the most common cause in children under five years old.

Rotaviruses are the most common cause of diarrhoeal disease among infants and young children.

These include lactose intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, hyperthyroidism, bile acid diarrhea, and a number of medications. Common causes include ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, microscopic colitis, celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome and bile acid malabsorption.

Classic symptoms include gastrointestinal problems such as chronic diarrhoea, abdominal distention, malabsorption, loss of appetite and among children failure to grow normally.

Common causes include ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, microscopic colitis, celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome and bile acid malabsorption.

Microscopic colitis refers to two related medical conditions which cause diarrhea: collagenous colitis and lymphocytic colitis.

Other long term problems that can result include stunted growth and poor intellectual development.

It is a primary manifestation of malnutrition (or more precisely undernutrition) and recurrent infections, such as diarrhea and helminthiasis, in early childhood and even before birth, due to malnutrition during fetal development brought on by a malnourished mother.

Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose or liquid bowel movements each day.

If defecation occurs too fast, before excess liquid is absorbed, diarrhea may occur.

In persons who have fructose malabsorption, excess fructose intake can also cause diarrhea.

Fructose malabsorption may cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, flatulence or diarrhea.

Norovirus is the most common cause of viral diarrhea in adults, but rotavirus is the most common cause in children under five years old.

Infection is characterized by diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain.

In 2012, it was the second most common cause of deaths in children younger than five (0.76 million or 11%).

Seven out of ten childhood deaths are due to infectious diseases: acute respiratory infection, diarrhea, measles, and malaria.

Adenovirus types 40 and 41, and astroviruses cause a significant number of infections.

Astroviruses are a type of virus that was first discovered in 1975 using electron microscopes following an outbreak of diarrhea in humans.