Profuse diarrhea: causes, symptoms and treatment

Almost everyone in their life has experienced an intestinal disorder. When diarrhea appears, it is necessary to take measures to eliminate it, otherwise, after a short interval of time, undesirable and unpleasant complications may appear.

Profuse diarrhea is a type of diarrhea characterized by strong watery discharge and frequent bowel movements. Such discharge indicates the damage to intestinal bacteria by toxins. The mechanism of occurrence of profuse diarrhea - electrolytes begin to actively move into the intestines and draw out a significant amount of water.

Signs diarrhea water in adults and children are similar - there are abdominal pains, bloating, severe rumbling, nausea. Vomiting with diarrhea occurs rarely, more often occurs once and not abundantly.

Reasons for the appearance

Profuse diarrhea can appear as an independent disease, but more often it leads to:

• Bacterial infection - bacteria of cholera, salmonella, Escherichia coli.
• Viral infections - herpes, cytomegalovirus.
• Intoxication with toxins - mercury, lead.
• If you are allergic to food.
• Hormonal disruption in the body - thyroid disease, pregnancy, hormonal tumors.
• Taking large amounts of antibiotics without probiotics.
• Inflammation of the lining of the colon (colitis).
• Other chronic diseases - cholecystitis, "irritable bowel syndrome", cholelithiasis.
• "Traveler's diarrhea" - occurs when adapting to a new place, disappears in 3 days.

Disregard of sanitary and hygienic standards is considered one of the most common factors in the appearance of a profuse disorder. With a disease of the intestinal system, in addition to diarrhea, other symptoms occur. A severe case if profuse diarrhea leads to dehydration, hypokalemia (dysfunction of the heart), severe weight loss. On the basis of a complete examination of the patient, the doctor makes an accurate diagnosis and carries out the appropriate treatment.

Types of profuse diarrhea

In medical practice, there are two types of profuse diarrhea: bloody and watery.

Watery diarrhea

Feces with diarrhea contain almost 95% water, which is a cloudy liquid with a characteristic odor.

Reasons for the appearance:

• Viral infection;
• Infection with bacteria;
• Poisoning with toxins.

Watery "indomitable" diarrhea occurs with intestinal infections and intoxication with toxins.

Bloody diarrhea

This type of bowel movement occurs less frequently than watery, but is considered the most dangerous, causing risks to health and life. Discharge of red-colored fluid or the appearance of blood in the stool indicates damage to the intestinal mucosa. Bloody stools often occur with dysbiosis.

After surgical interventions in the gastrointestinal tract, bleeding is often observed.

In medical practice, there is also the concept of chronic profuse diarrhea. It occurs with peptic ulcer, hemorrhoids, pancreatitis, diabetes.

Symptoms

When contacting a doctor with a deterioration in health and diarrhea, it is necessary to honestly tell about all the symptoms that have arisen.

The main symptoms of diarrhea are:

• Discharge - liquid, frequent, watery (5 to 10 liters per day).
• Pungent, typical feces odor.
• Abdominal pain and flatulence.
• Symptoms of intoxication often do not occur, when they appear, nausea and vomiting join.
• False urges do not appear.
• Body temperature will not rise above 38 degrees.
• A sharp decrease in potassium ions in blood counts - can lead to the appearance of seizures.
• In a laboratory study of feces, a strong decrease in leukocytes and an overestimated level of sodium chloride are found.
• Even with a decrease in food intake, liquid diarrhea does not stop.

With profuse diarrhea, the body loses a lot of water - dehydration sets in, the signs of which are: thirst and dryness of the mucous membranes, decreased blood pressure, weakness and lethargy, tachycardia. Dehydration is especially dangerous for children, they quickly develop cachexia (loss of a large amount of fluid) - the last degree, after which death can occur.

When dangerous

Any intestinal disorder is dangerous to the body! With a large loss of fluid, dehydration occurs.

Cases when urgent medical attention is required:

1. The appearance of blood clots in the feces.
2. There are black impurities and a lot of mucus in the feces.
3. Against the background of diarrhea, frequent vomiting begins - the cause leading to rapid dehydration. In this situation, it is necessary to put droppers.
4. "Acute" diarrhea does not stop for a long time (3 weeks or more).
5. The appearance of a liquid light stool is a symptom of liver diseases (cirrhosis, hepatitis).

The greatest danger threatens people of the following categories:

• Children under 5 years of age.
• Seniors over 60 years old.
• People with diseases of the immune system.
• Consuming alcohol constantly.
• With diseases of the circulatory system.
• After or during a course of chemotherapy.
• Carriers of HIV, at the stage of AIDS.
• People taking corticosteroids.

If profuse diarrhea occurs, medical advice should be sought.

Treatment

In the treatment of profuse disorder, one drug is not used, but a whole complex diagnosis and therapy is carried out.

Diagnostics

Before therapy, it is necessary to conduct laboratory tests:

• Visual examination of the patient.
• Conduct a blood test in the laboratory.

• Study of feces for occult blood. An analysis is carried out - a coprogram of feces - an analysis for the presence of fatty deposits, fiber residues, pieces of not fully digested food in the feces. An analysis is carried out for harmful parasites (worms, lamblia).
• Colonoscopy. It is carried out using an endoscope to examine the condition of a part of the intestine (internal).
• X-ray examination of the large intestine - computed tomography and ultrasound of the abdominal cavity.
• Involvement of additional doctors, for example, an endocrinologist, a gastroenterologist.

To identify the cause of an intestinal disorder, it is worth considering the patient's chronic illnesses. With an exacerbation of such diseases, profuse defecation often appears. If during the study it is incorrect to determine the cause of profuse diarrhea, this will cause problems with treatment, which can provoke serious consequences.

How to treat

First of all, it is necessary to prevent dehydration of the body. To do this, restore the water-salt balance using rehydration agents. At home, you can make a glucose and salt solution, an effective fluid replenishment agent. in the body (1 teaspoon of salt, soda, 1/4 potassium chloride and 4 tablespoons of soda are dissolved in 1 liter of water).

After each bowel movement, you should drink water, saline solutions so that dehydration does not occur. If the patient gets worse, the doctor will prescribe IVs.

When prescribing drugs, take into account the cause of watery diarrhea:

• With a bacterial, viral infection, antibiotics, antiviral drugs, sorbents are prescribed, intestinal antiseptics, motor regulators, enzymes.
• In case of intoxication - gastric lavage, sorbents, motor controllers.
• For dysbiosis - antibiotics, sorbents, antifungal agents, probiotics.
• For bleeding - medications against ulcers, infusion therapy, vitamins.

Foods that irritate the intestines are excluded from the patient's menu - dairy, juices, sweet products, vegetables that cause fermentation. If, with a profuse disorder, severe abdominal pain appears, the patient should go on a special diet developed by the attending physician.

A typical diet includes:

• Food intake - fractional, in small portions five times a day.
• Dishes should be steamed or cooked. Acceptance of baked products is allowed. It is recommended to wipe the food before use for better digestibility.
• Forbidden to eat - spicy, fried, salty and smoked foods.
• The food temperature should be no higher than 35 degrees.

Foods allowed for profuse diarrhea:

• White bread rusks, no raisins, no spices.
• Chicken broth soups and vegetable soups.
• Porridge - buckwheat, oatmeal - boiled in water.
• Boiled eggs.
• Stewed vegetables without peel.
• From liquid - tea without sugar, fruit drinks, mineral water without gas.

It is not recommended to consume - alcoholic beverages, carbonated drinks with dyes, strong coffee - until complete recovery.

To avoid profuse diarrhea, you must adhere to preventive measures. During the summer period, dangerous microorganisms are especially active, therefore, before eating fruits and vegetables, it is worth rinsing them thoroughly and pouring boiling water over them. In order not to get sick with intestinal infections that cause frequent diarrheahands should be washed after each contact with contaminated items. Food products must not expire when purchased and used. Freshly prepared meals and raw food should be stored in separate storage systems. When visiting public places, you must make sure that sanitary standards and requirements are observed.

When the first signs of a profuse disorder appear, you should immediately seek medical advice. Only a qualified doctor will make the correct diagnosis and identify the main cause of profuse diarrhea, he will be able to cure and prevent complications in a short time!