What is chronic diarrhea?
Diarrhea is loose, runny poop. We’ve all probably had it at one time or another. It tends to come out fast, suddenly and urgently, and you may have cramping or spasms in your colon when you go.
If you have food poisoning or the flu, you might have diarrhea for a day or so. It goes away when the original infection does. Chronic diarrhea is persistent diarrhea that continues for more than four weeks.
How common is this condition?
An estimated 1% to 3% of the population has chronic diarrhea. But these estimates may be low, as many people don’t seek treatment unless they have other symptoms, such as pain or bleeding.
Is it normal to have diarrhea all day every day?
Chronic and frequent diarrhea is an everyday experience for some people, but under normal circumstances, it shouldn’t be. Your colon, where poop is formed, is reacting to something abnormal.
Some people have chronic bowel diseases that cause chronic diarrhea. These diseases may not be curable, but you can treat the symptoms. Other causes are often curable with the right treatment.
What does persistent diarrhea indicate?
Normally, your colon receives liquefied food waste from your small intestine and gradually condenses it into solid poop. But with diarrhea, something impairs this process, leaving you with liquefied poop.
Something is making it hard for your colon to absorb water as it normally would, or making it excrete extra water, or both. It may be a problem with your colon itself or something abnormal inside it.
Symptoms and Causes
What are some common causes of chronic diarrhea?
Many diseases can cause chronic diarrhea. But before looking for diseases, a healthcare provider will ask you about your diet and medications. These are some of the most common causes of self-induced chronic diarrhea, and also some of the easiest causes to fix. Possible causes include:
Diet
Certain foods and drinks can cause diarrhea. If you eat or drink excessive amounts of them on a regular basis, or if you’re particularly sensitive to any of them, they might cause chronic diarrhea. Isolating the offending food or drink and reducing it or eliminating it from your diet may solve the problem. Consider:
Coffee/Tea : Coffee affects your motility, speeding up your colonic transit time. Too much can make the food waste in your colon hastily exit before it has time to solidify. It’s unclear whether this is due to the caffeine or other chemicals in coffee. Some people experience similar effects from caffeinated tea or decaffeinated coffee. Different people may be more or less sensitive to different chemicals in these products. (You may also be sensitive to the milk or sweeteners added to them.) If you drink them often enough, you might have chronic side effects.
Alcohol : Alcohol also speeds up your gut motility and your colonic transit time, especially on an empty stomach. It might be more likely to occur with moderate amounts than with excessive amounts. Too much alcohol may slow your digestion and dehydrate you, causing constipation. But regular, heavy drinking can cause diarrhea for a different reason — inflammation. If your colon is irritated and inflamed by alcohol, it can’t absorb water and minerals as it normally would. If the mucous lining of your colon has been damaged, it might even leak fluids.
Specific sugars : Some sugars are harder to digest, and too much may cause diarrhea. Your intestines may lack the necessary enzymes to break them down, or there may be no such enzyme. Artificial sweeteners, such as sorbitol, mannitol and lactulose, are among the sugars that can’t be digested by human intestines. That’s why they don’t add calories. When your intestines can’t break the molecules down, they draw in extra water to help usher the oversized molecules out of your body. Fructose can have this effect in certain quantities and proportions, which is why products made with high fructose corn syrup may cause diarrhea. Some people also have specific intolerances to specific sugars. Lactose intolerance is the most common.
Food intolerances : You might have a food intolerance if you have difficulties digesting a particular type of food. This often means that you lack an enzyme necessary to break the food down in your digestive system. Gluten intolerance, histamine intolerance and certain sugar (carbohydrate) intolerances are common examples of this. Unabsorbed foods cause diarrhea.
Complications :
Diarrhea can cause dehydration, which can be life-threatening if untreated. Dehydration is particularly dangerous in children, older adults and those with weakened immune systems.
If you have signs of serious dehydration, seek medical help.
Indications of dehydration in adults
These include:
Excessive thirst.
Dry mouth or skin.
Little or no urination.
Weakness, dizziness or lightheadedness.
Fatigue.
Dark-colored urine.
Indications of dehydration in infants and young children
These include:
Not having a wet diaper in three or more hours.
Dry mouth and tongue.
Fever above 102 F (39 C).
Crying without tears.
Drowsiness, unresponsiveness or irritability.
Sunken appearance to the belly, eyes or cheeks.
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