Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsTypesCausesComplicationsTreatmentPreventionSee a Doctor
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Types
Causes
Complications
Treatment
Prevention
See a Doctor
Chronicdiarrheais defined as having three or more loose bowel movements a day for at least four weeks. Diarrhea occurs when there is a problem with the digestive process.
When this process is disrupted, the waste can move too quickly through the large intestine. As a result, the fluid is not absorbed, and the stool comes out watery instead of solid.
This article discusses chronic diarrhea. It explains the symptoms that may accompany chronic diarrhea and its potential causes. It also details how chronic diarrhea is treated and strategies for prevention.
Nausea and Diarrhea: Causes and Treatments
What Are the Symptoms of Chronic Diarrhea?
Diarrhea is most commonly thought of as loose orwatery bowel movements.
The medical definition of diarrhea is three episodes of loose or watery stool in a 24-hour period. Its termed chronic diarrhea when it persists for four or more weeks.
In addition to loose stool, symptoms that may accompany chronic diarrhea include:
These symptoms can provide clues to the cause of chronic diarrhea. However, some people with chronic diarrhea do not experience any symptoms other than loose or watery stools.
1:57Click Play to Learn the Causes and Risk Factors of Diarrhea
1:57
Click Play to Learn the Causes and Risk Factors of Diarrhea
What Are the Different Types of Diarrhea?
Medical professionals break down diarrhea into three categories: watery, inflammatory, and fatty diarrhea. Some people have a combination of two or more types of diarrhea.
Watery Diarrhea
Watery diarrhea occurs when your colon is unable to absorb enough water or is secreting more fluid than it is absorbing.
Watery diarrhea can be the result of too much bile, irritable bowel syndrome, hyperthyroidism, neuropathy, or other medical conditions.
Inflammatory Diarrhea
Inflammatory diarrhea is associated with:
Fatty Diarrhea
Fatty diarrhea occurs when the body has difficulty breaking down and absorbing fats or intestinal bacteria produce excess fatty acids.
What Are the Causes of Chronic Diarrhea?
There are many potential causes of chronic diarrhea, and it’s possible that more than one may be at play in your particular case.
Medical Conditions
An underlying medical condition could very well be at the root of your symptoms. Many conditions that can cause diarrhea can be adequately managed with proper treatment.
It’s important to talk to your healthcare provider about your symptoms so you can get a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.
A few causes of your chronic diarrhea that may be considered include:
Malabsorption
Malabsorption of fats causes a distinct kind of diarrhea called steatorrhea.Diseases linked to fat malabsorption include:
Other forms of malabsorption that cause diarrhea include:
Motility Issues
Conditions and disorders that affect gastric motility, the rhythmic movement of food and waste through the digestive tract, can cause chronic diarrhea for varying reasons.These include:
Medications
Some medications can cause diarrhea either as an allergic reaction or as a normal medication side effect. You can develop chronic medication-induced diarrhea even if you have already been taking a particular medicine without problems for years.
Can Antibiotics Cause Diarrhea?
Complications of Chronic Diarrhea
Dehydration
When you lose fluid in the stool, you can becomedehydrated. Chronic diarrhea causes mild dehydration, which makes you thirsty.Severe dehydration results in decreased urine volume, dark urine, fatigue, lightheadedness, and low blood pressure.
Interestingly, dehydration is more dangerous if you have acute diarrhea, as your body tends to compensate better for dehydration if you have chronic, recurrent diarrhea.
Nutrition
You can also miss out on vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fats when your diarrhea is associated with a lack of absorption of these vital nutrients.Chronic diarrhea can alsoresult in weight lossif you aren’t absorbing enough carbohydrates and calories from the food you eat.
Bleeding and Irritation
Chronic diarrhea can cause irritation of the colon or the rectum, potentially resulting in fragile tissue and bleeding.
How to Treat Chronic Diarrhea
Chronic diarrhea is treated in a variety of ways depending on the cause:
Methods for Getting Rid of Diarrhea Fast
How to Prevent Chronic Diarrhea
If you have a history of chronic diarrhea, following your treatment plan can help to prevent further episodes. This may include medication, following a specific diet, or avoiding certain foods.
Keep a Food Journal
If you haven’t already identified foods that aggravate your symptoms, your healthcare provider may recommend keeping a food diary and symptoms log. This can help pinpoint specific foods that trigger your chronic diarrhea.
Common problematic foods for people with chronic diarrhea include:
Other Dietary Strategies
Additional tips for preventing a recurrence of chronic diarrhea include:
Hygiene and Food Safety
When to See a Healthcare Provider
If you have long-term diarrhea, don’t put off seeing your healthcare provider. Signs that you should see your healthcare provider include:
Your healthcare provider may order blood tests or astool sampleto check for blood in the stool or an infection due to bacteria, a virus, or a parasite.
You may need acolonoscopyor flexible sigmoidoscopy, which may identify IBD or early signs of colon cancer.Even if it turns out that you have colon cancer, it is usually curable, particularly if detected early.
Summary
Chronic diarrhea is defined as three or more loose bowel movements a day for four weeks or longer. Diarrhea may occur on its own or alongside other symptoms, like abdominal cramping, bloating, nausea, or vomiting.
Complications of chronic diarrhea include dehydration, nutritional deficiencies, and irritation of the colon or rectum. If you experience chronic diarrhea, see your healthcare provider. Treatment for chronic diarrhea depends on the cause.
24 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Your digestive system and how it works.
Schiller LR, Pardi DS, Sellin JH.Chronic diarrhea: Diagnosis and management.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2017;15(2):182-193.e3.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms and causes of diarrhea.
Binder HJ.Causes of chronic diarrhea.N Engl J Med. 2006;355(3):236-9. doi:10.1056/NEJMp068124
Wenzl HH.Diarrhea in chronic inflammatory bowel diseases. Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2012;41(3):651-75.
Zopf Y, Baenkler HW, Silbermann A, Hahn EG, Raithel M.The differential diagnosis of food intolerance.Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2009;106(21):359–370. doi:10.3238/arztebl.2009.0359
Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG).Infectious diarrhea: Overview.
Del Giudice ME, Vella ET, Hey A, Simunovic M, Harris W, Levitt C.Systematic review of clinical features of suspected colorectal cancer in primary care.Can Fam Physician. 2014;60(8):e405–e415.
Mohammadi R, Hosseini-Safa A, Ehsani Ardakani MJ, Rostami-Nejad M.The relationship between intestinal parasites and some immune-mediated intestinal conditions.Gastroenterol Hepatol Bed Bench. 2015;8(2):123–131.
Azer SA, Sankararaman S.Steatorrhea. StatPearls.
Rubio-Tapia A, Barton SH, Murray JA.Celiac disease and persistent symptoms.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2011;9(1):13–e8. doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2010.07.014
Deng Y, Misselwitz B, Dai N, Fox M.Lactose intolerance in adults: Biological mechanism and dietary management.Nutrients. 2015;7(9):8020–8035. doi:10.3390/nu7095380
von Volkmann HL, Brønstad I, Gilja OH, et al.Prolonged intestinal transit and diarrhea in patients with an activating GUCY2C mutation.PLoS One. 2017;12(9):e0185496. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0185496
Maser C, Toset A, Roman S.Gastrointestinal manifestations of endocrine disease.World J Gastroenterol. 2006;12(20):3174–3179. doi:10.3748/wjg.v12.i20.3174
Hamdeh S, Micic D, Hanauer S.Review article: drug-induced small bowel injury.Aliment Pharmacol Ther.2021 Dec;54(11-12):1370-1388. doi:10.1111/apt.16642
U.S. National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus.Drug-induced diarrhea.
Manual for the Health Care of Children in Humanitarian Emergencies. Geneva: World Health Organization. 3,Diarrhoea and dehydration.
National Research Council (US)Subcommittee on Nutrition and Diarrheal Diseases Control. Nutritional Management of Acute Diarrhea in Infants and Children. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 1985. 1, NUTRITIONAL CONSEQUENCES OF ACUTE DIARRHEA.
Descoteaux-Friday GJ, Shrimanker I.Chronic diarrhea. StatPearls.
International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders.Diet strategies for managing chronic diarrhea.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Fast facts about food poisoning.
Ejemot-Nwadiaro RI, Ehiri JE, Arikpo D, Meremikwu MM, Critchley JA.Hand washing promotion for preventing diarrhoea.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;2015(9):CD004265. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004265.pub3
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Travelers’ diarrhea.
Srinivasan R, Friedel DM.Colonoscopy versus flexible sigmoidoscopy in evaluation of chronic diarrhea. Gastrointest Endosc. 2000;52(4):589-90. doi:10.1067/mge.2000.109724
Wilson DP, Patni N.Should children with chronic diarrhea be referred to a lipid clinic?J Clin Lipidol. 2018 Jun 25. pii: S1933-2874(18)30262-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jacl.2018.06.004. [Epub ahead of print]
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