Having a bowel movement or passing stools is a normal part of life. It is the process that rids the body of digestive waste. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean it is immune to irregularities.
Sometimes, people experience frequent, watery, loose, or soft stoos. If this is what’s happening to you now, then there’s a good chance that you have diarrhea.
In some cases, diarrhea comes with abdominal bloating or cramps; other times, it doesn’t. It may also be signaled by flatulence or the frequent passing of gas.
For most people, this happens a few times every year and can easily be solved by anti-diarrhea medicine for adults. But while it is a perfectly normal phenomenon, there are ways that you can reduce its occurrence.
For effective prevention, you need to find out the reason why it happens in the first place. To help you out, this article tackles the basics of how the digestive system works, and the six different types of diarrhea that people experience.
What Normally Happens During Digestion
Diarrhea occurs due to changes in the digestive process. This means that knowing how the intestine works can help you ensure that it runs more smoothly.
The digestive system processes food and transforms it into nourishment that fuels the body. To do what it’s supposed to, it needs to break down food into small parts through various stages.
Food enters the mouth and is initially ground through biting and chewing. From there, it goes down to the stomach for further processing.
Upon reaching the stomach, the food is broken down by powerful enzymes and stomach acid. Then, it moves towards the small intestines where 90 percent of the entire digestion and absorption process happens.
Digestive juice mixed with pancreatic juice and bile works to break down carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in food completely. The small intestines also move water from the bloodstream to the gastrointestinal tract to support the process. All in all, food remains in the small intestines for about four hours until all the nutrients have been absorbed.
Once this is done, waste passes onto the large intestine where more water and nutrients are taken, and stool is formed. The process usually takes 36 hours before waste passes out of the body.
6 Types of Diarrhea
When people experience diarrhea, the normal digestive process is often hastened. This is why diarrhea patients visit the bathroom more often than they normally would.
Still, it is worth noting that not all diarrhea is similar. In fact, many different types of diarrhea indicate various things about a person’s digestive health.
With that said, determining the specific type you’re suffering from is vital in identifying the appropriate treatment for your diarrhea.
1. Acute Diarrhea
Acute diarrhea is arguably the most common of all types of diarrhea and is usually caused by viruses (i.e., viral gastroenteritis). It is generally not a cause for concern as it only lasts for only a few days. However, it is important that you seek medical attention if it persists longer.
2. Chronic Diarrhea
Diarrhea can be classified as chronic if it lasts for about four weeks or a month. Often, chronic diarrhea is a sign of an underlying health issue, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, chronic infections, and malabsorption syndromes (failure of food digestion and absorption).
If diarrhea comes with high fever, severe pain, and dehydration, call the doctor immediately.
3. Osmotic Diarrhea
Osmotic diarrhea occurs when there is too much water in the bowels. It often results in liquid stools and often indicates that something you’ve eaten or drunk is not being absorbed properly.
One potential cause of osmotic diarrhea is lactose intolerance. It can also be caused by the consumption of artificial sweeteners.
To avoid this type of loose bowel movement, consider cutting back on dairy and artificial sweeteners.
4. Secretory Diarrhea
Although it looks much like osmotic diarrhea, secretory diarrhea can occur even if you’ve been avoiding dairy and sugar that causes the former.
When you still experience loose bowel movements even after avoiding potential osmotic causes, your intestines may be secreting electrolytes into the colon that causes water buildup in the GI tract.
This phenomenon can be caused by various factors, ranging from infections to rarer conditions such as an endocrine problem. If this happens, it is best to seek medical help.
5. Traveler’s Diarrhea
Traveler’s diarrhea is a common occurrence when people are still getting used to new foods, drinks, or new methods of food preparation when they visit a new place. Sometimes, consuming contaminated food and drinks may also trigger this type of diarrhea.
6. Runner’s Diarrhea
Aside from traveling, another activity that may lead to frequent trips to the bathroom is running. This condition is aptly called “runner’s diarrhea.”
This type of diarrhea is common in long-distance runners and is often characterized by loose stools right after a run. Although the exact cause isn’t clear, experts believe that the physical jostling of the organs, changes in intestinal hormone levels, decreased blood flow to the intestines, increased consumption of food, and pre-race anxiety and stress may contribute to its occurrence.
What is clear, however, is that food tends to move faster through the digestive system when athletes are in training.
Stress and Diarrhea
Aside from underlying conditions, intolerance to specific foods, and germs that may have entered your body through ingestion, diarrhea can also be caused by emotional stress you experience in life.
When people talk about their “gut feeling,” they often do so under situations that they’re not used to, like meeting new people, making important decisions, and winning a competition (as in athletes experiencing runner’s diarrhea). While the phrase may seem figurative, the connection between the mind and the gut is quite direct. This means that the state of the intestines can reflect how you’re feeling, and vice versa.
This is because microorganisms that live inside the human body – 95 percent of which are in the large intestine – produce biochemicals that trigger changes in a person’s mood and stimulate stomach nerves.
A Final Word
Aside from learning about effective diarrhea remedies, understanding how your digestion works can help you manage the condition better. Consider this helpful guide when learning about diarrhea, especially when determining the classification of the ailment you’re suffering from.
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