Common Signs of Diarrhea

Diarrhea is a very common condition, which is associated with the passage of the ingested fluids and foods through your colon more frequently than usual or in huge amounts. This condition is mostly caused by the action of viruses, parasites, bacteria, medications like antibiotics, certain digestive disorders, abdominal surgery, lactose intolerance, and consumption of an excessive amount of alcohol etc. Here are some of the common symptoms, which indicate that you are suffering from diarrhea:

Passing watery and loose stools
Frequent bowel movements
Pain or cramps in the abdomen
Feeling of nausea
Vomiting
Bloating in the stomach

If you are suffering from a more serious form of diarrhea, you might also experience symptoms like:

Presence of mucus, blood and traces of undigested food in your stool
Fever

Diarrhea mostly gets cured even without consuming any medicines within a couple of days. However, you need to consult a doctor and get proper treatment for diarrhea in the following cases:

If you are continuously experiencing the condition for more than two days
Your stools contain blood or are black
Severe pain in the rectum or abdomen is bothering you
You experience signs of dehydration like excessive thirst, weakness, dizziness, dry mouth, urine of dark color or reduced frequency and amount of urination
Your body temperature exceeds 102 F (39 C)



Common Signs of Diarrhea

Diarrhea is never a pleasant experience especially for children. Thankfully, diarrhea does not last long. Loose common stools are the most recognizable symptom of diarrhea. This can often be accompanied by vomiting, nausea, cramps and dehydration. If your child also suffers from fever and weight loss or can see bloody mucus in their stool, you should contact your doctor at the earliest.

Some of the common causes of diarrhea in children are:

Gastrointestinal infections -viruses like rotavirus and parasites like giardia are the most common causes of diarrhea in children. This type of diarrhea can last from 5 to 14 days and can be cured with the help of laxatives and antibiotics.

Food poisoning -diarrhea caused by food poisoning usually lasts for not longer than 24 hours.
Food allergies -diarrhea is a common symptom of a food allergy. It usually stops once you stop eating whatever you are allergic to.
Crohn's disease -this is a chronic inflammatory disease of the digestive system. With crohn's disease, the loose stool is often accompanied by blood.
Celiac disease -if your body cannot digest gluten, you may be suffering from celiac disease.
Diarrhea is highly contagious. It can spread through

Dirty hands
Contaminated food or water
Direct contact with fecal matter
Touching a contaminated surface

Diarrhea on its own is not a very serious issue. However, it may cause dehydration which can lead to a number of further complications. Some of the signs of dehydration cased by diarrhea are dizziness, dry mouth, dark urine, dry skin and lack of energy. Thus if your child is suffering from diarrhea, give him plenty of water and lots of rest.

To protect your child against diarrhea, all you need are a few lifestyle ensure your child washes their hands well before

Caring for your child at home-

Make washing hands after using the toilet a part of toilet
Make sure your child drinks plenty of fluids.
Do not feed them foods that seem to trigger diarrhea.
Wash your hands often, especially after each diaper change, to avoid spreading bacteria in the home.
You should continue breast-feeding when your baby has diarrhea. Breast milk can help ease symptoms of diarrhea and speed up recovery.
Continue your child's regular diet and give more liquids to replace those lost while the diarrhea continues if there are no signs of dehydration.
Use an oral rehydration solution (ors) to replace lost fluids in non-dehydrated children.
Keep all bathroom surfaces clean. It is also a good idea to flush the toilet only after the lid has been lowered.
Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly before eating
Wash all utensils that have come in contact with raw meat well before using them for anything else.
Keep all raw meats refrigerated or frozen. Once meat has been defrosted, do not freeze the raw meat again.
Food cooked like boiled, fried or those which can be peeled eg boiled egg, banana, orange, boiled rice, etc. Can be eaten when out of home.
Teach your child to only drink from purified sources of water.
Do not wash pet utensils in the same sink used for cooking vessels and food items.
Keep an eye on what your child eats to heck if they may be allergic to anything.

How to Deal with Diarrhea in Children?

Diarrhea, one of the most common but curable disease. It usually happens due to unhealthy food consumption or for an unpleasant digestive system. In today s lifestyle, there may be hundreds of reasons behind an unpleasant digestive system like consumption of junk food, drinking impurified water etc.

The symptoms of diarrhea can be determined by simply examining the stool. Where a usual and healthy stool is brown, soft and shaped, diarrhea effected stool can be seen in the form of liquid. There are several types of diarrhea and the colour of the stool helps determine the type of it. Though it is a perfectly curable disease but the type  red diarrhea  is not a good sign for your health. In this article, we will learn about the bloody or red diarrhea briefly.

What is Red Diarrhea?
After the consumption of food, it takes some time to get digested and later stored in the intestine. There the digested remaining turns to a solid material which we know as stool. In case of diarrhea, the digested materials come out of the intestine without spending there enough time to form into a solid material. Diarrhea effected stool comes out in liquid form.

As we mentioned earlier, there are several types of diarrhea, Red Diarrhea or also known as bloody diarrhea is one of them. It is not much harmful and can be cured easily with proper medicine and diet. Below we have discussed the major reasons behind red diarrhea.

Strange Reasons behind Red Diarrhea:
There are five major reasons that may cause red diarrhea.

Anal Fissure: A tiny tear in the anus pipe, known as anal fissure can be the cause of your red stool. In such case, the stool won t be fully red coloured but partially red.
Haemorrhoids: In case you don t know about the haemorrhoids, these are puffy blood vessels inside the anus or rectum. It is one of the major reason behind the red diarrhea and rectal bleeding.
Dysentery: diarrhea effected stool with blood is known as dysentery. Parasites named entamoeba histolytica and shigella bacteria are the reason behind it. These parasites may affect your intestine so badly that it can even start bleeding and cause red diarrhea.
Red Coloured Food: Yes, consuming unhygienic red coloured food may cause food poisoning and result red diarrhea. We must be focused on about our daily foods, the healthier the better.
GI (Gastro Intestinal) Bleeding: Gastric cancer and IBD are the two major reasons behind GI bleeding. It may cause high blood release via anus which can turn bloody diarrhea.
How to Get Rid of Red Diarrhea:
There is nothing to scare about red diarrhea. A simple treatment with proper diet can cure your body in few days. Here are the treatments for red diarrhea you can try.

As our body loses huge amount of liquid in diarrhea, one must consume plenty of water or other liquids.
Drinking ORS is must or your body may become weak.
One should not eat unhealthy or spicy food when they are already effected by diarrhea.
In serious cases one must consult to the doctor.
Hope we have successfully provided you all the needed information. If you have any query regarding this please comment below. 

All You Need to Know About Red Diarrhea!

Chronic Diarrhoea is a condition that results in watery or loose stools. While most diarrhoea subsides within a few days time, the chronic ones persist up to a couple of weeks. Some common symptoms that can help to identify chronic diarrhoea include bloating, nausea, fever, blood in the stool, abdominal cramps etc. Here is a brief look at the possible causes of chronic diarrhoea:

What are the possible causes of chronic diarrhoea?
Parasites and bacteria: Parasites and bacteria are often transmitted from contaminated food and water. Certain parasites such as the cryptosporidium and Giardia lamblia can lead to chronic diarrhoea. Some common bacteria include Escherichia coli, Campylobacter, Shigella, and Salmonella. In the more developed countries, diarrhoea is often referred to as the traveller s syndrome. Diarrhoea can also result from a course of antibiotics due to an infection from Clostridium difficile.

Viruses: Some of the common viruses that can lead to chronic diarrhoea include viral hepatitis, Norwalk virus, and cytomegalovirus. A certain virus known as the Rotavirus can lead to an acute childhood diarrhoea.
Medication: Certain medication is known to be the culprit when it comes to causing diarrhoea. Antibiotics, for instance, tend to equally destroy both the good and the bad bacteria thereby disturbing the bacterial balance of the intestine leading to chronic diarrhoea. Certain other drugs related to cancer, antacids containing magnesium etc can also lead to chronic diarrhoea.
Artificial Sweeteners: Certain artificial sweeteners are known to be causing chronic diarrhoea. Compounds such as Mannitol, Fructose etc found in certain sugar-free products or chewing gum can lead to chronic diarrhoea in otherwise healthy people. It is, therefore, advised not to consume too many artificial sweeteners in excess at one go.
Intolerance of lactose: Lactose is a type of sugar that is mostly found in dairy products. People who find it difficult digesting this compound often tend to suffer from diarrhoea when they consume dairy products. Our body produces an enzyme to digest lactose. However, this enzyme tends to rapidly feds away from the body with age. Lesser the amount of this enzyme, greater is the chance of lactose intolerance leading to an increased risk of chronic diarrhoea.
Surgery: There are surgeries that can begin the onset of chronic diarrhoea. Certain procedures such as the gallbladder removal surgery and abdominal surgery run a high risk of chronic diarrhoea.
Fructose: For people who find it hard to digest fructose can suffer from chronic diarrhoea. Fructose is a naturally occurring sweetener found in honey, fruits etc and is often added to beverages to enhance the taste.
Certain digestive disorders: Certain other situations such as celiac disease, microscopic colitis, Crohn s disease, ulcerative colitis irritable bowel syndrome etc can lead to chronic diarrhoea. 

Chronic Diarrhoea - What Causes It?

Diarrhea occurs when the body is expelling germs out of it. An episode of diarrhea can last anywhere from a couple of days to a week. Dehydration, cramps, vomiting, nausea and fever often accompany diarrhea. Usually, children tend to get diarrhoea more than adults.

Diarrhea treatment according to causes behind it

Treating diarrhea due to infection: Some common causes of diarrhea include infection from rotavirus, salmonella (a type of bacteria) and rarely giardia (a type of parasite). In children, virus is a common cause of diarrhea. Besides watery or loose stools, viral gastroenteritis infection symptoms include fever, headache, stomach ache and vomiting. Gastroenteritis diarrhoea can last for 5-14 days. During this time, fluid loss must be prevented. In younger children, oral rehydration solution (ORS) or breast milk is enough. Just feeding them water won t replenish the potassium, sodium and other nutrients they lose. Older children, to prevent fluid loss, can be given ORS and popsicles to counter dehydration and vomiting.
Treating diarrhea due to medications: Antibiotics or laxatives can cause diarrhea in children. If the diarrhea is mild, make sure your child is hydrated. If the antibiotics are causing diarrhoea, you need to continue medication, but do consult your doctor immediately.
Treating diarrhea due to food poisoning: When it comes to food poisoning induced diarrhea, the same method as countering infection-induced diarrhea should be followed. Keep your child hydrated and call your doctor.
Diarrhea and children - recognising dehydration

The most serious complication of diarrhea is dehydration, especially if the diarrhea is severe. Severe dehydration is critical as it can cause brain damage, seizure, even death. Your child may need immediate medical attention, if you notice the following symptoms:

Light-headedness and dizziness
Sticky, dark mouth
Dark yellow urine
No or few tears when crying
Dry, cool skin
Loss of energy
When should you visit a doctor

Diarrhea resolves within a few days, but it can have serious complications. Call your doctor if you notice signs such as:
1. Looks very sick
2. Diarrhea has persisted for more than 3 days
3. Your child is less than 6 months old
4. Your child is vomiting bloody yellow or green fluid
5. Seems dehydrated
6. The fever reads above 105 degree Fahrenheit
7. Bloody stools
8. Rashes
9. Stomach pain persists for more than 2 hours
10. Infrequent urination

Diarrhea - How to Treat it in Children?

Diarrhea is not usually a serious condition but can be very uncomfortable and embarrassing. This can be caused by a number of factors including bacterial or viral infections, food poisoning, contaminated water etc. Thankfully, it is easy to treat and does not require medication unless it is very severe. Let us take a look some of the most effective ways to treat diarrhoea:

Drink Plenty of Water: Keeping your body hydrated when dealing with diarrhoea is very important. This is because your body loses a lot of water while passing stool. To hydrate your body, drink lots of water. You could also add oral rehydration salts to the water. Avoid drinking sodas, packaged juices and caffeinated drinks such as coffee as they can further dehydrate the body.
Probiotics: To function optimally, your digestion system requires good bacteria. Diarrhea is usually a sign that the bad bacteria levels have overtaken the good bacteria levels. Thus, you need to balance this equation. Probiotics are a source of good bacteria and are available in powder or pill form. It is also available naturally in foods like yoghurt, pickles and kimchi.
Eat the Right Food: When suffering from an upset stomach, eat food that is easy to digest. Food items such as bananas, rice, apples and dry toast are easy to digest and can help bulk up your stool. This is also known as the BRAT diet. You could also include a simple chicken soup, baked skinless chicken and oatmeal in your diet.
Drink a Little Tea: Tannins in black tea are good for the digestive system. They help calm inflammation in the intestines and help the body absorb fluids. Raspberry and blackberry leaf tea are ideal for diarrhoea. You could also try sipping caraway tea. Other teas such as chamomile tea help reduce spasms and calm the stomach. When looking for such teas, ensure that they are made from the leaf and not powdered. Also, do not drink any form of caffeinated tea.
Avoid Spicy Foods: Do not eat anything that is spicy or fried when you have an upset stomach. Also, avoid eating foods rich in fibre as they can make you feel bloated. Alcohol and milk are best left aside until your stomach has healed. Other foods you should avoid include chewing gums with artificial sweeteners, berries, beans, peas, prunes, peppers and ice cream.
If your diarrhoea does not improve, consult a doctor. If it lasts for more than 2 weeks, it could be a symptom of another underlying condition. 

Diarrhea - 5 Ways It Can Be Treated Effectively!

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