Profuse diarrhea is a condition that almost all of us have encountered in our lives. This is diarrhea, which is accompanied by a large amount of watery discharge. Depending on the presence or absence of parallel symptoms, we can talk about serious consequences, including death. The article describes the most common causes of profuse diarrhea, its symptoms, as well as effective treatment methods.
Types of Profuse Diarrhea
Depending on the severity of the symptoms and their duration, gastroenterology distinguishes the following classification of the condition:
- Profuse watery diarrhea. As the name suggests, it is characterized by the presence of extremely liquid secretions. The main danger of this type of ailment is severe dehydration, which has an extremely negative effect on the condition of the whole organism as a whole and on the functioning of the cardiovascular system in particular.
- Bloody diarrhea. This is a disease in which blood and a uterus are mixed with secretions from the rectum.
Profuse diarrhea is a rather dangerous condition. This type of diarrhea differs from ordinary diarrhea in that it produces very watery and copious discharge, as a result of which the body in any case loses a large amount of fluid. A person who is not sophisticated in medicine may not attach importance to this fact. Meanwhile, fluid loss is a direct threat to health and well-being. If dehydration is great, then many side effects can develop - even death due to impaired renal function or interruptions in the cardiovascular system.
Symptoms of watery diarrhea
How to understand that adult diarrhea is just profuse, how to assess the theoretical danger of such a condition to the patient’s health and life? You should listen to yourself and assess the presence or absence of the following symptoms:
- Pain in the epigastric region is just above or below the navel. If it bothers on the right, there may be a pathology of the liver or gall bladder, if on the left, the pancreas. But if the pain is deployed in the center of the abdomen - most likely, it makes the stomach (if the pain is above the navel) or the intestines (if the pain is deployed below the navel) make itself felt. A similar symptom with the parallel development of watery diarrhea can indicate the presence of the so-called "acute abdomen" - in medicine this condition is classified as serious and requiring urgent medical attention, and sometimes surgical intervention.
- Very liquid discharge during the day with a time interval of about an hour, and sometimes more often - this, in fact, is profuse diarrhea. The urge to the toilet is strong, they cannot be restrained. Since feces are thinned as much as possible, to an almost completely watery state, this causes severe sphincter tension and pain in its area.
- The presence of mucus, blood, bile in liquid secretions is also a dangerous symptom, which suggests that urgent medical attention is needed. Such conditions are quite difficult to treat at home. Profuse diarrhea is often one of the harbingers of the "acute abdomen", and this condition, as already mentioned, is often life-threatening and requires qualified medical intervention.
Bloody stool symptoms
Upon examination, the doctor will certainly ask the patient the question of what kind of discharge he had from the rectum, whether the pain was present and what kind of pain it was. And the patient should describe the entire gamut of symptoms as fully as possible without hesitation - the accuracy of the diagnosis will depend on this.
If, during the bowel movement, the patient has found the remains of a uterus or blood, you should find a way to inform your treating gastroenterologist as soon as possible. If at the same time the person has a fever, decreased working capacity, profuse diarrhea is observed - this may be the beginning of internal bleeding. This is a very dangerous condition that can theoretically be fatal.
A stool with blood is less common than regular diarrhea - as fluid as water. However, the presence of scarlet inclusions in the discharge is a more serious symptom compared to ordinary profuse diarrhea.
When to sound the alarm
If the patient observes the following symptoms, then you should call an ambulance or another way to get qualified medical support as soon as possible:
- temperature rise;
- vomiting
- profuse diarrhea (watery and very thin);
- pain in the epigastric region, or in the left or right hypochondrium;
- the presence of mucus and blood in the discharge (in feces or vomiting).
Such symptoms are dangerous, and delay in calling an ambulance can be very expensive for the patient.
The consequences of profuse diarrhea
The described condition may be one of the symptoms of the following pathologies:
- a serious illness in the acute stage - pancreatitis, cholecystitis, some liver diseases;
- polyps or neoplasms in the intestine;
- internal bleeding;
- intestinal infections in the acute stage;
- intoxication of the body.
If you do not seek timely medical professional help, then virtually any of these diseases can be fatal. Therefore, it is very important not to hesitate if the patient has found symptoms of profuse liquid diarrhea, especially if pain is present in parallel or the temperature rises. In the literal sense of the word, the life of a sick person can depend on the operative call of the ambulance crew. If he himself is not able to call an ambulance, his relatives should do it.
Rules of treatment: how not to aggravate the situation
In the case of the development of profuse diarrhea, the first task of the patient is not to aggravate the condition until the doctors arrive. To do this, observe the following rules:
- Drink as much clean water as possible to prevent critical fluid loss.
- If poisoning is suspected, take a small dose of Enterosgel.
- Refuse to eat - it is permissible to eat rice porridge on the water.
- Observe bed rest.
- Exclude for a while all bad habits (alcohol, smoking).
Diagnostic methods in gastroenterology
For accurate diagnosis in gastroenterology, the following research methods are used:
- Blood and secretion analysis in the laboratory.
- Examination of feces for occult blood. An analysis is carried out - a coprogram of bowel movements - for the presence of fatty deposits, fiber debris, pieces of incompletely digested food in the feces. A study is conducted on the presence of harmful parasites (worms, giardia).
- Colonoscopy It is carried out using an endoscope to examine the condition of part of the intestine (internal).
- An X-ray method for examining the colon is computed tomography and ultrasound of the abdominal cavity.
- Attraction of additional doctors, for example, endocrinologist, coloproctologist.
Nutrition Rules for Watery Diarrhea
If liquid diarrhea has begun in a child or adult, special attention should be paid to nutrition. It is necessary for a while to completely abandon the use of sharp and fatty foods, carbonated drinks. At the time of exacerbation, it is better to eat only liquid rice or oatmeal porridge, drink clean water or weak tea. Until an accurate diagnosis is made, it is not clear which diet a patient should adhere to.
If possible, you should get to the hospital as soon as possible and find out the exact name of the disease. Based on this information, you can choose medical nutrition - a special "medical table", which is shown to any patient with diseases of the digestive system.
What drugs to take with watery diarrhea
Treatment of profuse diarrhea is carried out using certain drugs:
- Medicines for the restoration of intestinal microflora - Linex, Bifidumbacterin.
- Drugs with antibiotic effect - only as directed by a doctor.
- In case of poisoning and intoxication - Enterosgel and other adsorbents (for example, based on activated carbon).
- With dysbiosis, antifungal drugs for oral administration can also be used.
- With bleeding - drugs against ulcers, infusion therapy.
- After recovery, vitamin-mineral complexes and a healthy lifestyle are shown to strengthen immunity.
Prevention of diarrhea
Any painful condition is always easier to prevent than to treat. However, it is rather difficult to prevent profuse diarrhea - often it appears suddenly and "knocks" the patient out of the usual life rut. However, if you follow some rules of prevention, then you can prevent the development of this condition:
- always wash your hands and cutlery thoroughly before meals;
- stop drinking alcohol and smoking;
- adhere to a healthy lifestyle - always get enough sleep, try to eat right;
- refuse fatty foods, fast food, confectionery, carbonated drinks;
- in the presence of chronic diseases of the digestive tract, visit the doctor on time and fully comply with his instructions;
- if there is pain in the epigastric region or in the right hypochondrium - be sure to undergo an ultrasound of the internal organs in this area;
- if there are pets at home - bathe them regularly and give them anthelmintic drugs.
Compliance with these recommendations will minimize the likelihood of profuse diarrhea and other diseases of the internal organs.