Diarrhoea is the occurrence of a loose or watery faeces. Chronic diarrhoea is characterised by lasting for more than a month or by coming and going over a long period of time. People experiencing chronic diarrhoea need to seek medical help. While anyone can have chronic diarrhoea, it’s more dangerous in young children and older adults. In these age groups, it can more easily lead to complications and further health issues.
Aside from having loose and watery faeces, the main symptoms of chronic diarrhoea include:
People experiencing chronic diarrhoea are also more likely to develop severe symptoms like these:
If you’re experiencing chronic diarrhoea, it’s important to be familiar with the symptoms of dehydration. Dehydration is one of the most common and most harmful complications of diarrhoea. Symptoms include:
If you’re an adult that’s been experiencing diarrhoea for more than 2 days, seek medical help immediately. If you’re a young child or older adult that’s been experiencing diarrhoea for more than 24 hours, seek medical help.
Chronic diarrhoea is most frequently caused by a viral infection in the bowels. It can also be caused by bacterial infections, parasitic infections, eating food that does not agree with you, food allergies and intolerances, radiation therapy, certain medications, and an inability of the digestive tract to fully absorb food.
Travelling is a risk factor for chronic diarrhoea.
A doctor will take a medical history, discuss your current symptoms, and find out any travel history to help make a diagnosis. When someone has chronic diarrhoea, a medical provider will seek to identify the cause of the chronic diarrhoea so that it can be treated. A definitive cause can be diagnosed using several tests. These include:
Complications of chronic diarrhoea include dehydration, organ damage, and kidney failure. These complications are not likely to happen unless chronic diarrhoea goes untreated.
Chronic diarrhoea requires ongoing management to prevent complications and ensure a healthy, high-quality life for the person experiencing it. A medical provider will treat chronic diarrhoea based on the cause of the condition. Possible treatment options include:
Your doctor will also help treat the immediate effects of chronic diarrhoea by prescribing an anti-diarrheal medication and give you instructions on how to properly stay hydrated.