Causes
Acute Diarrhea
Acute diarrhea may be due to infections with bacteria, viruses or parasites. Diarrhea is more common in children attending day care and is usually due to a virus. While cases of diarrhea due to infection are usually mild and go away on their own, it is important to avoid becoming dehydrated from loss of body fluid in diarrheal stools.
Chronic Diarrhea
There are many causes of chronic diarrhea. Chronic diarrhea is due to a disease that causes inflammation of the bowel and/or malabsorption of nutrients.
Common causes of chronic diarrhea are shown below:
Diarrhea following infection (post infectious diarrhea):
– Infections such as giardia can lead to chronic diarrhea
Chronic nonspecific diarrhea:
– Seen in toddlers and is usually dietary in origin, such as from drinking too much juice or carbohydrate sweetened liquids such as sports drinks or other products. It resolves by simply limiting the amount of juice or carbohydrate sweetened liquid intake.
Celiac disease (gluten intolerance):
– With an estimated incidence of 1:133 individuals, Celiac disease presents with chronic symptoms including constipation, diarrhea, poor weight gain, decreased energy, and abdominal distension. Children with type I diabetes and other autoimmune disorders as well as Down’s syndrome are at increased risk for Celiac disease.
Inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn disease):
– A disease where there is inflammation of the intestines and/or colon that can lead to chronic diarrhea. Other symptoms include weight loss or poor weight gain, poor growth and abdominal pain.
Lactose intolerance:
– An inability to digest lactose, a sugar found in milk and milk products, can lead to chronic diarrhea. Other symptoms include abdominal pain and distention, excessive burping and gas.
Irritable bowel syndrome:
– A common cause of diarrhea in teenagers, although many patients will present with abdominal pain and diarrhea that alternates with constipation.
Diarrhea after antibiotic use (antibiotic associated colitis):
– Diarrhea can be seen after antibiotic use and is thought to be due to an imbalance between the ‘good and bad’ bacteria in the intestine. One such bacterium is called Clostridium difficile.
Food allergies:
– Food allergies can present with diarrhea as well as skin rashes, abdominal pain, poor growth, nausea and vomiting.
Risk Factors