Definition of Acute Diarrhea

Diarrhea means having more than three loose bowel movements a day.

Acute (Lat. acutus = sharp, pointed) diarrhea, by definition, lasts less than 3 weeks (1).

Causes of Acute Diarrhea

A) Acute INFECTIOUS Diarrhea

• Bacterial diarrhea usually occurs in food poisoning due to infection with bacteria, like E. coli or Salmonella.
• Parasitic diarrhea may be due to intestinal worms, or one-cell parasites like Entamoeba hystolytica, or Giardia.
• Viral diarrhea mainly affects small children in kinder-gartens due to stool-to-mouth infection from other children, or (in poor countries) due to infection by water, contaminated by rotavirus.

continue reading Causes of Sudden (Acute) Diarrhea

Find the Cause of Diarrhea from Symptoms

In this article, typical symptoms are paralleled with common causes of diarrhea. The cause of diarrhea can be also found by tests for diarrhea.

Causes of Diarrhea in Newborns

A newborn normally poops 8-10 times a day.

• Fever, vomiting, diarrhea: rotavirus, rarely other microbes;
• Mild diarrhea: overfeeding, neonatal drug withdrawal;
• Skin rash, strain to vomiting (gagging), irritability, diarrhea: allergy to cow’s milk or soy formula;
• Diarrhea in first 3 days of life: congenital diseases of the liver, pancreas, biliary tract, small or large intestine.

continue reading Loose Bowel Movements – Diagnosis from Medical Symptoms

What Is Diarrhea?

Diarrhea (Greek dia = through, rhein = flowing) means having more than three bowel movements or passing more than 300g of watery stool daily (1).

NOTE: American English spelling is diarrhea, UK English spelling is diarrhoea. Common misspellings for diarrhea: diarea, diahrea, diareah, diarreah.

What Is Not Diarrhea?

Ten diapers a day are usual in a 14 days old infant. Three soft bowel movements a day may be considered normal for adult on a fiber-rich diet. Stool soiling in children who are already toilet trained may be due to defective anus. Stool incontinence or mucus seeping in adults may be due to rectal inflammation, rectal prolapse, hemorrhoids, uncoordinated pelvic floor muscles, or anal muscle or nerve damage (2). In all mentioned cases, bowel movements tend to be of normal volume and consistency.

continue reading Definition of Diarrhea and Normal Bowel Movement (Stool)