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What Causes Intermittent Episodes Of Diarrhea?
Posted on
Thu, 5 Jan 2017
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Thu, 5 Jan 2017
Answered on
Wed, 25 Jan 2017
Last reviewed on
Question : I've been experiencing off and on diarrhea. It comes on suddenly an hour after eating . No change in diet . I have been prescribed a few new medications in the last 6 mos . Blood pressure med, an anti inflammatory for a tennis elbow . Sometimes I can't get to the toilet in time . It's very worrisome
Brief Answer:
different possible causes
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
If the diarrhea has be ongoing for at least 4 weeks, it would be called chronic diarrhea.
If it has been going on for a shorter period of time, it would be acute diarrhea. The most common reason for acute diarrhea is infection of the gastrointestinal tract. A stool sample to the lab would determine if this is the case.
Medications can cause diarrhea as well, the names are not stated here but you can either add them later or review them on your own to see if any can cause diarrhea to occur.
Chronic diarrhea has different possible causes such as: (1) prolonged or long term infection, again a stool sample to the lab would be helpful
(2)food allergy or intolerance- this can sometimes develop in adulthood. A food diary for 1 to 2 weeks would determine if there are particular foods that cause this problem
Lactose intolerance
(3)irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
(4)inflammatory bowel disease- particularly crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis
(5)thyroid disease- high levels of thyroid hormone
(6)diabetes- this is due to nerve changes to the gastrointestinal tract
(7)medication
You should consider the following: (1) a visit to your doctor for abdominal and general examination
(2)stool sample to the lab
(3)blood tests such as complete blood count and ESR- these would identify infection and also check for signs of inflammation
Treatment would depend on the cause found but you can continue the imodium for now, pepto bismol can be added to this, the combination may help
I hope this helps,feel free to ask any other questions
different possible causes
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
If the diarrhea has be ongoing for at least 4 weeks, it would be called chronic diarrhea.
If it has been going on for a shorter period of time, it would be acute diarrhea. The most common reason for acute diarrhea is infection of the gastrointestinal tract. A stool sample to the lab would determine if this is the case.
Medications can cause diarrhea as well, the names are not stated here but you can either add them later or review them on your own to see if any can cause diarrhea to occur.
Chronic diarrhea has different possible causes such as: (1) prolonged or long term infection, again a stool sample to the lab would be helpful
(2)food allergy or intolerance- this can sometimes develop in adulthood. A food diary for 1 to 2 weeks would determine if there are particular foods that cause this problem
Lactose intolerance
(3)irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
(4)inflammatory bowel disease- particularly crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis
(5)thyroid disease- high levels of thyroid hormone
(6)diabetes- this is due to nerve changes to the gastrointestinal tract
(7)medication
You should consider the following: (1) a visit to your doctor for abdominal and general examination
(2)stool sample to the lab
(3)blood tests such as complete blood count and ESR- these would identify infection and also check for signs of inflammation
Treatment would depend on the cause found but you can continue the imodium for now, pepto bismol can be added to this, the combination may help
I hope this helps,feel free to ask any other questions
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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