Chronic diarrhea

What is chronic diarrhea?

Diarrhoea is a thin, watery stool. There are two different forms of diarrhoea: acute and chronic. Acute diarrhoea occurs suddenly and goes away on its own within a few days. Chronic diarrhoea usually lasts longer than three weeks. Diarrhoea symptoms include a watery stool and holding a stool is difficult or impossible. Often, watery stools have a different colour and smell to normal stools. Additional symptoms include:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Fever
• Abdominal pain
• Abdominal cramps

If symptoms become serious; for example if you have a high fever or severe abdominal pain, always consult a doctor.

Traveller’s diarrhoea

Traveller’s diarrhoea is a special type of diarrhoea, caused by poor hygiene. As the name suggests, this type of diarrhoea can be common on holidays when standards of hygiene may not be as good. To prevent traveller’s diarrhoea, it is important to check whether or not you can drink the tap water in the country you are visiting. For more tips on how to prevent traveller’s diarrhoea, contact your country’s main health organization.

Causes of chronic diarrhea

Chronic diarrhea can have many different causes. The most common are listed below:

• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Food intolerance
• Overflow diarrhea (diarrhea caused by constipation)
• Chronic inflammation of the bowel, in cases such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis
• Chronic disorders of the pancreas, liver, and bile ducts
• Inconsistent eating patterns
• Medication.
• Stress.
• Accelerated metabolism.
• After gastrointestinal tract surgery

Diagnosing chronic diarrhea

If diarrhea persists for a longer period of time, the family doctor may recommend that the stool be examined. After this additional examination, the diagnosis of ‘chronic diarrhea’ can be made.

What can you do about chronic diarrhea?

The treatment of chronic diarrhea depends on the cause. When the underlying cause is treated, the diarrhea symptoms will decrease. Only in some exceptional cases will long-term diarrhea inhibitors be prescribed.

Dietary solutions

There are a number of solutions to help with diarrhea:

• Drink enough. Drink at least 2-3 litres a day. With diarrhea you lose a lot of fluids, so all the fluids that are lost need to be replenished.
• Try to keep eating normally and preferably choose fiber-rich products such as whole grain foods, fruits, and vegetables. Fibre draws moisture from the stool, making the stool thicker.

The cause of chronic diarrhea should be established to determine the most appropriate dietary solutions. For example, if you suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or a food intolerance, an appropriate dietary solution should be explored.

If you still suffer from diarrhea after adjusting your diet by drinking enough fluids and eating enough fiber it is advisable to contact a doctor or a dietitian.

Supplements

If chronic diarrhea is caused by a food intolerance and you know which food components you are intolerant to, you can take supplements containing digestive enzymes. These will help you to properly digest the components in food to which you are intolerant. For most intolerances, there are supplements on the market. The supplements come in different types, sizes, and doses. There are also combination supplements containing several enzymes that you can use if you suffer from different intolerances.