Causes and symptoms of diarrhea. Treatment of diarrhea with tablets
Diarrhea, vomiting and fever are frequent companions of gastrointestinal disorders and some other pathological conditions. This "three" can significantly spoil the quality of life, even for a short time. Let's consider the causes of diarrhea and how to get rid of it.
Why does diarrhea occur
Diarrhea (diarrhea) - loose stools due to a malfunction in the digestive system. Diarrhea is not a separate disease, it is one of the symptoms of a certain pathology.
When figuring out what and how to treat diarrhea in a child or an adult, you should first determine its exact cause. The most common factors that provoke the occurrence of diarrhea are disorders from the gastrointestinal tract:
- consumption of contaminated unboiled water;
- consumption of infected products that have not been processed by any of the culinary methods (meat, fish) or simply not washed (vegetables, fruits);
- food intolerance of some biological compounds (eg lactose);
- intestinal irritation syndrome (functional intestinal disorders in the absence of organic damage);
- intolerance to any of the medicines. There have been described cases when diarrhea medicines caused diarrhea due to individual intolerance;
- allergic reaction to a food product;
- Crohn's disease (formation of granules on the intestinal mucosa);
- ulcerative colitis (ulcerative-inflammatory impression of the mucous membrane of one or more sections of the large intestine);
- rectal cancer;
- malabsorption syndrome (a pathology characterized by shifts in the absorption of nutrients in the intestine).
Other factors that cause diarrhea that are not directly related to diseases or malfunctions of the gastrointestinal tract have also been studied. It:
- irritation of the intestine by neighboring structures - a tumor or uterus in the late stages of pregnancy (thanks to this, it becomes clear why liquid stool occurs during pregnancy);
- stressful situations accompanied by a pronounced emotional shift.
Causes of diarrhea in children
In some cases, indigestion in children does without hyperthermia. Causes of diarrhea without fever in a child:
- in children up to one year of age - a reaction to complementary food that is introduced for the first time. In such cases, it should be canceled;
- children under two years of age have bacteria new to the body, which entered the gastrointestinal tract for the first time;
- stress - due to punishment of parents, remarks of a teacher in kindergarten, control work at school. Such situations are repeated periodically, so it is not difficult to establish that the child's diarrhea was caused by emotional stress;
- unripe fruits, berries, vegetables. In childhood, the digestive system is not yet fully formed, and some products, once in the gastrointestinal tract, can start fermentation processes;
- excessive use of sweets.
Young parents are worried about green diarrhea in the baby. It can often be observed for reasons that should not cause panic:
- discharge of meconium residues (primary feces);
- formation of the gastrointestinal tract and its adaptation to breast milk;
- too liquid breast milk;
- features of the mother's breast - the milk ducts are too narrow and the child sucks only the liquid part of the milk.
But it should also be taken into account that green feces can appear as a result of pathogenic factors - such as:
- the occurrence of dysbacteriosis. It can occur with improper introduction of supplementary food, the presence of Escherichia coli in the gastrointestinal tract, due to antibiotic treatment;
- a number of intestinal infectious diseases - primarily rotavirus infection, escherichia, campylobacteriosis. Dysentery and salmonellosis, which occurs due to the consumption of salmonella-infected chicken eggs, are considered particularly dangerous.
Symptoms of diarrhea
Symptoms of diarrhea:
- liquid (in some cases – smelly) stools. Sometimes they can resemble a liquid without solid impurities;
- increased frequency of defecation;
- often – high temperature and vomiting.
In many cases, diarrhea, vomiting and fever can be accompanied by sharp abdominal pains of the type of spasms. After visiting the toilet, the pains go away for a while, but vomiting and hyperthermia continue to bother me.
If diarrhea is prolonged, it affects the patient's general well-being. The reason is the loss of fluid (dehydration) and electrolytes with feces. The following signs are observed:
- dry tongue and lips;
- sensation of increased thirst;
- with less frequency than normal, urination (sometimes - 1 time a day or less);
- expressed general weakness;
- fatigue;
- a sharp decrease in working capacity.
In the case of a number of diseases that are accompanied by profuse (non-stop) diarrhea, disturbances may occur on the part of the peripheral nervous system and cardiovascular activity. They are also explained by violations of the water-electrolyte balance.
What and how to treat diarrhea in children and adults
If diarrhea occurred due to a banal food disorder, it can be dealt with at home (in particular, with the help of non-medicinal means). But the treatment of diarrhea with tablets, which helped before, must be carried out under the supervision of a doctor. Recommendations with which you can normalize the work of the gastrointestinal tract:
- drink as much liquid as possible (water or weak green tea);
- exclude milk, coffee, vegetable and fruit juices from your diet;
- if nausea bothers you and loss of appetite – stop eating for 4-6 hours (depending on the condition);
- forced hunger should not be prolonged - gradually start taking an egg with a liquid yolk, dried white bread, rice or oatmeal on water, thin mashed potatoes, boiled vegetables.
Even if the diarrhea is gone, still stick to a diet for some time, excluding fatty, fried, spicy food.
What and how to treat diarrhea in a child should be determined by a doctor (even if diarrhea occurs in a child for the first time and it was successfully overcome at home). If the baby has diarrhea, breastfeeding should be continued.
You should not think about what to do when an adult has diarrhea with blood - it is necessary to immediately go to the clinic to an experienced doctor, because the combination of these signs may indicate a serious infectious, surgical or oncological pathology.
You can learn more about the treatment of diarrhea on the pages of our website https://dobrobut.com.
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