What Happens If Diarrhea Persists?

Diarrhea, or loose, watery stool passage, is a common and often not serious condition. It can be the only symptom of a condition or associated with other symptoms. Severe diarrhea can lead to significant loss of fluids and electrolytes, making it difficult for the body to function normally and potentially causing blood pressure to drop to dangerously low levels. Kidney failure can also occur when dehydration occurs so quickly that kidney function rapidly deteriorates. Diarrhea typically lasts 2 to 3 days and can be caused by infections, medication side effects, diet changes, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), or more serious disorders like ongoing infection, celiac disease, or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Current diarrhea involves having loose stools regularly for more than four weeks, and can be watery, fatty, or inflammatory. Diarrhea may cause dehydration due to more fluids being lost than normal and can also lead to an imbalance in electrolytes. Persistent diarrhea can be a sign of an allergy or a chronic condition, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), or may occur after an infection.

If you have loose or watery stools that last more than three or four weeks, seek medical attention as they can cause rapid fluid loss and put you at risk for dehydration. If you don’t receive treatment for diarrhea, it can have severe effects. Most cases of diarrhea clear up after a few days without treatment, and it is important to drink plenty of fluids to maintain proper health.

When should you worry about diarrhea?

Schedule a doctor’s visit for an adult with these symptoms: Diarrhea lasts more than two days without improvement. Excessive thirst, dry mouth or skin, little or no urination, severe weakness, dizziness or lightheadedness, or dark-colored urine, which could indicate dehydration. Severe abdominal or rectal pain.

How long is too long for diarrhea?

The duration of diarrhea symptoms can provide a clue to the underlying cause. Acute diarrhea lasts from 2 days to 2 weeks. Persistent diarrhea lasts 2 to 4 weeks. Acute and persistent diarrhea are typically caused by a bacterial, viral or parasitic infection of some sort.

What does it mean when you keep having diarrhea?

Some infections from bacteria and parasites that cause diarrhea do not go away quickly without treatment. Also, after an infection, people may have problems digesting carbohydrates such as lactose or proteins in foods such as cow’s milk, milk products, or soy. Problems digesting carbohydrates or proteins can prolong diarrhea.

Allergies to foods such as cow’s milk, soy, cereal grains, eggs, and seafood may cause chronic diarrhea.

Lactose intolerance is a common condition that may cause diarrhea after eating foods or drinking liquids that contain milk or milk products.

What are the side effects of constant diarrhea?

Physically, chronic diarrhea puts you at risk of dehydration and its side effects. You lose a lot of water and electrolytes — minerals found in your body fluids — with chronic diarrhea.

Electrolyte losses can have serious consequences. They can affect your heart, lungs, brain and nervous system. Dehydration also stresses your kidneys and can lead to kidney disease.

Does diarrhea cause weight loss?

Diarrhea is an extremely common illness. Most of the time, it causes inconvenience and discomfort, but if it’s severe it can also cause serious risks to health. Unintended weight loss can sometimes result from persistent or chronic diarrhea —aka diarrhea that lasts for more than two weeks—but it’s not something to aspire to. The weight loss you see after a couple of days of diarrhea is usually caused by losing lots of fluids ( dehydration ), and not by a reduction in fat tissue.

Short-term (acute) diarrhea is often caused by infections —bacteria and viruses—and medical professionals call it acute gastroenteritis. It typically lasts 1 or 2 days and goes away on its own. If you notice that you’re slightly lighter after it resolves, it’s likely because you’ve passed fluids that your body would typically hang on to. You also may have eaten slightly less if you felt unwell, making it feel like you’ve lost weight. However, once you are drinking and eating normally again and your fluid levels replenish, your weight should return to normal. Diarrhea itself can’t decrease body fat.

That being said, if diarrhea becomes chronic (lasting more than four weeks), it does have a more substantial impact on your weight and health through malnutrition and dehydration– including diarrhea caused by laxatives.

Should I drink water if my diarrhea doesn’t stop?

These things may help you feel better if you have diarrhea:

• Drink 8 to 10 glasses of clear fluids every day. Water is best.
• Drink at least 1 cup (240 milliliters) of liquid every time you have a loose bowel movement.
• Eat small meals throughout the day, instead of 3 larger meals.
• Eat some salty foods, such as pretzels, soup, and sports drinks.
• Eat some high potassium foods, such as bananas, potatoes, and fruit juices.

Ask your health care provider if you should take a multivitamin or drink sports drinks to boost your nutrition. Also ask about taking a fiber supplement, such as Metamucil, to add bulk to your stools.

Your provider may also recommend a medicine to slow down your diarrhea. Take this medicine as you have been told to take it.

What is type 7 diarrhea?

Diarrhea: Type 7. Type 7 describes very loose stools or fully liquid diarrhea. With this type, you may feel an urgent need to have a bowel movement and may not be able to hold it. If the diarrhea persists, you may also become dehydrated or malnourished.

This type of diarrhea is most often caused by a viral or bacterial infection such as norovirus. Parasitic infections such as Giardia lamblia can cause watery diarrhea. Certain medical conditions can cause type 7 stools as well, including celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, or ulcerative colitis.

How the Bristol Stool Chart Is Used. Your healthcare provider may use the Bristol Stool Chart if you have unusual bowel symptoms or notice a change in your bowel habits or the way your stools look.

What if diarrhea is not stopping?

Call your healthcare provider if you have diarrhea that doesn’t improve or go away within a few days.

How is diarrhea treated?. Usually, you can get rid of diarrhea at home. Over-the-counter (OTC) medicines for diarrhea, like bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol® or Kaopectate®), often help people feel better quickly. You’ll need to see a healthcare provider for diarrhea that doesn’t improve or that happens alongside symptoms of severe diarrhea.

• Antibiotics or antiparasitics. These drugs kill infection-causing germs.
• Medications that treat chronic conditions. Treating underlying conditions that cause diarrhea, like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and IBS, can help.
• Probiotics. Probiotics introduce good bacteria into your gut to combat diarrhea. Your healthcare provider may suggest you try them. Always talk to your provider before starting a probiotic or any supplement.

Can I stop diarrhea without taking anti-diarrhea medicine?. You can often get rid of acute diarrhea through lifestyle changes you can make at home.

What are the danger signs of diarrhea?

Signs and symptoms of severe diarrhea Severe pain. Vomiting. Blood or mucus in your stool. Weight loss (this can be a sign that your body’s not absorbing enough nutrients).

How is diarrhea treated?. Usually, you can get rid of diarrhea at home. Over-the-counter (OTC) medicines for diarrhea, like bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol® or Kaopectate®), often help people feel better quickly. You’ll need to see a healthcare provider for diarrhea that doesn’t improve or that happens alongside symptoms of severe diarrhea.

• Antibiotics or antiparasitics. These drugs kill infection-causing germs.
• Medications that treat chronic conditions. Treating underlying conditions that cause diarrhea, like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and IBS, can help.
• Probiotics. Probiotics introduce good bacteria into your gut to combat diarrhea. Your healthcare provider may suggest you try them. Always talk to your provider before starting a probiotic or any supplement.

Can I stop diarrhea without taking anti-diarrhea medicine?. You can often get rid of acute diarrhea through lifestyle changes you can make at home.

Should I eat if I have diarrhea?

• Drink 8 to 10 glasses of clear fluids every day. Water is best.
• Drink at least 1 cup (240 milliliters) of liquid every time you have a loose bowel movement.
• Eat small meals throughout the day, instead of 3 larger meals.
• Eat some salty foods, such as pretzels, soup, and sports drinks.
• Eat some high potassium foods, such as bananas, potatoes, and fruit juices.

Ask your health care provider if you should take a multivitamin or drink sports drinks to boost your nutrition. Also ask about taking a fiber supplement, such as Metamucil, to add bulk to your stools.

Your provider may also recommend a medicine to slow down your diarrhea. Take this medicine as you have been told to take it.

What is the fastest way to stop diarrhea?

What is the fastest way to cure diarrhea? Modifying your diet to eat plain, bland food; drinking water and other clear liquids; and taking anti-diarrheal medications may help you get rid of diarrhea quicker if your case is mild.

You usually don’t need medical treatment for diarrhea. In most cases, it will go away on its own in a few days. But there are some things you can do to treat it at home that can help it resolve faster and ease your symptoms. If you have the runs for more than a few days, or you have other symptoms, it might be a good idea to give your doctor a call.

Diarrhea should go away in a few days without treatment. Until you feel better, rest, drink enough of the appropriate fluids, and watch what you eat. Some foods can help stop your diarrhea, while others may make it worse.

Your body loses water with each trip to the bathroom. If you lose too much water, you can get dehydrated. It’s important to keep drinking fluids.