In chronic diarrhoea, you will have loose stools 3-4 times daily over a period of weeks. There are many causes of diarrhoea, but usually it is caused by a virus or bacterium. Here are the 2 most frequent forms of infections, which include:
Gastroenteritis
Viruses and bacteria, such as salmonella, can often cause diarrhoea. The infection can occur if you have eaten food that has been contaminated with germs or been in contact with a person with poor hand hygiene. Therefore, proper hand hygiene is essential after each toilet visit. What happens in your stomach is that these tiny microorganisms irritate the mucus membrane in the intestine, which then causes the amount of fluid in the stool to increase significantly. In addition, the irritation increases bowel movements, you become bloated, and you experience stomach aches. In some cases, the bacteria can irritate the mucus membrane to such degree that bleeding wounds occur. If you have become infected with a virus, you will often experience nausea and vomiting, along with the diarrhoea.
Food poisoning
Bacteria, such as staphylococcus bacteria, can also release toxins capable of irritating both the stomach and the intestinal mucus membrane. Although, many bacteria are eliminated by the stomach acid, their toxins may survive and cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
How is chronic diarrhoea treated?
If you wish to treat your diarrhoea, you should contact your GP and ask for antibiotics, but this only helps against bacteria, not against viruses. However, most cases of diarrhoea actually pass on their own after a couple of days. It is possible to treat diarrhoea with non-prescription drugs and herbal medicine - i.e. lactic acid bacteria and drugs that reduce the quick movements of the bowel. If you suffer from chronic diarrhoea, the underlying cause can be unusual bacteria. Contact your GP if you have had diarrhoea for several weeks. To avoid diarrhoea in the future, you can use the following advice:
- Think about how you handle and store your food as well as your prepared food.
- Always be very observant about hand hygiene
- When using knives or additional kitchen equipment, it is important to clean it after each use.
References:
- http://www.netdoktor.dk/sygdomme/fakta/diarre.htm
