[Click! Health] Causes of Diarrhea Vary... Ways to Escape the Pain

As the heatwave continues day after day, more people are experiencing diarrhea symptoms due to food poisoning. In fact, there are various causes of diarrhea that disrupt daily life. Specifically, we looked into what these causes are and diagnosis and treatment methods with the help of Professor Goseongjun from the Department of Gastroenterology at Seoul National University Hospital on the 6th.

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Diarrhea refers to having bowel movements more than three times a day than usual or passing loose stools weighing more than 250g per day. Diarrhea is broadly classified into ‘acute diarrhea’ and ‘chronic diarrhea.’

Acute diarrhea usually lasts less than two weeks, and most cases are caused by infectious diarrhea due to bacteria or viruses. Symptoms such as vomiting, fever, and abdominal pain may appear in these cases, with norovirus, rotavirus, drugs, and antibiotic-associated diarrhea being representative examples. Most cases improve naturally without special treatment. Chronic diarrhea usually lasts more than four weeks, requiring various diagnostic tests, including colonoscopy. The most common cause of chronic diarrhea is irritable bowel syndrome, and medications currently being used can be a major cause.

To differentiate diarrhea, various tests such as blood and stool tests or detecting viruses or bacteria are possible. Recently, a method using the protein level called ‘calprotectin’ in stool has been used to distinguish inflammatory diarrhea from irritable bowel syndrome. Also, if necessary, colonoscopy or biopsy can help differentiate chronic or inflammatory bowel disease. Especially, as the number of patients with inflammatory bowel disease has been increasing recently, colonoscopy is helpful for diagnosis in patients with diarrhea who have bloody stools, mucus stools, weight loss, a family history of inflammatory bowel disease, or other types of immune diseases.

Among inflammatory bowel diseases, early diagnosis of ‘Crohn’s disease’ is very important. If diarrhea lasts more than four weeks with bloody or mucus stools, or if there is abdominal pain for more than three months or weight loss, it is advisable to suspect the possibility of inflammatory bowel disease and undergo necessary tests.

Treatment for diarrhea involves correcting electrolyte imbalances and symptomatic therapy to relieve symptoms. In the case of acute diarrhea, since infectious diarrhea is common, it is important to practice handwashing and follow preventive measures well, and especially in summer, it is better to avoid eating raw food. Additionally, minimizing unnecessary antibiotic use is also helpful.

Professor Goseongjun said, “Since medications are the most important cause of chronic diarrhea, it is recommended to consult a specialist to check whether the medications you are taking can cause diarrhea.”

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