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What is it?
Diarrhea may be loose stools, watery, mucousy, or dark colored.
Three or more unformed stools a day is the cutoff for diarrhea.

Black or bright red diarrhea may mean there is blood in your stool, which is a serious condition that needs immediate medical care.

Causes:
Diarrhea caused by stomach flu or food poisoning usually goes away in 3-8 days.
Diarrhea that lasts more than 4 weeks can be due to:
Celiac Disease - Gluten reaction.
Food Intolerance - e.g. Lactose intolerance.
Inflammatory bowel disease includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Antibiotics and chemotherapy, can cause diarrhea.

Terms:
Celiac disease is a condition that damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents it from absorbing parts of food that are important for staying healthy. The damage is due to a reaction to eating gluten, which is found in wheat, barley, rye, and possibly oats.
The disease can develop at any point in life, from infancy to late adulthood.
See PubMed CrohnÕs disease is a disease that causes inflammation, or swelling, and irritation of any part of the digestive tractŃalso called the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The part most commonly affected is the end part of the small intestine, called the ileum. CrohnÕs disease occurs in people of all ages, but it most commonly starts in people between the ages of 13 and 30. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) - Things like Chron's Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a functional bowel disorder of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract characterized by recurrent abdominal pain and discomfort accompanied by alterations in bowel function, diarrhea, constipation or a combination of both, typically over months or years. The cause of IBS is unknown. A diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome has been reported by approximately 15% of adults in the United States. See PubMed

Links:
Traveler's Diarrhea
Causes of Diarrhea Š What Are The Causes of Diarrhea
Probiotics
Chronic Diarrhea after Food Poisoning/Virus? - (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) IBSgroup.org Germs, Microbes and Pathogens
Diarrhea Recovery Diet


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last updated 18 Nov 2009