Comprehensive Health Blog » GIT Problems

Treatment of Chronic Diarrhea

admin — Sat, 08 May 2010 15:56:32 +0000

Treatment of chronic diarrhea depends on the cause of the chronic diarrhea. Depending on the cause of chronic diarrhea, the treatment may be curative (for example if chronic diarrhea is due to a drug, withdrawal of the drug will cure the chronic diarrhea), suppressive, or empirical treatment. Chronic diarrhea due to infectious agent can be cured by administration of appropriate antibiotics.

Chronic diarrhea can be suppressed by suppressing the underlying mechanism of chronic diarrhea. Examples of suppression of mechanism of chronic diarrhea include removing lactose (milk disaccharide) from diet in lactase deficiency, provision of gluten free diet in celiac sprue etc. Use of proton pump inhibitor drugs such as omeprazole in gastric hyper-secretion of gastrinomas, prostaglandin inhibitors such as NSAIDS (like indomethacin, diclofenac etc.) for medullary carcinoma of the thyroid gland, and pancreatic enzyme replacement for pancreatic insufficiency which cause chronic diarrhea are also examples of suppression of mechanism of chronic diarrhea.

What are the Causes of Chronic Diarrhea?

admin — Wed, 05 May 2010 00:05:45 +0000

Diarrhea lasting more then 4 weeks can be termed as chronic diarrhea. Chronic diarrhea may be indication of some potentially serious underlying pathology and need thorough investigation. Most commonly chronic diarrhea is due to non infectious cause, unlike acute diarrhea, which are commonly due to infectious cause.

The causes of chronic diarrhea can be grouped in seven groups and they are (1) secretory causes, (2) inflammatory causes, (3) osmotic causes, (4) dysmitility causes, (5) due to steatorea, (6) factitial causes and (7) iatrogenic causes or caused due to hospital/medical intervention.

Principles of Management of Acute Diarrhea

admin — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 06:27:01 +0000

The important principle of management of diarrhea is to determine the severity of dehydration and treat diarrhea according to the severity of dehydration. Severity of dehydration can be assessed clinically. The severity of dehydration is actually due to loss of fluid and electrolytes and the more the loss of fluid and electrolytes the severe is dehydration. Whenever there is loss of fluid by gastrointestinal route (vomiting or diarrhea or loose motion) there is always accompanying loss of electrolytes.

Dehydration is divided into mild, moderate and severe dehydration. The treatment of diarrhea generally depends on the severity of diarrhea. The severe the dehydration, the vigorous is the treatment.

Treat Acute Diarrhea Promptly

admin — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 02:12:09 +0000

Acute diarrhea is fairly common problem, especially in the developing countries and among children of less than 5 years of age. Diarrhea is one of the leading cause of death among infants and children below 5 years of age in developing countries and acute diarrhea causes an economic loss or economic burden at the tune of more than $20 billions per annum worldwide. This staggering figure of financial burden can be reduced to a great extent by treating diarrhea promptly and adequately at home. Most of the cases of diarrhea can be treated at home with ingredients available at home.

Diarrhea is in most cases mild to moderate severity, but if left untreated it may be fatal in extreme cases. Prompt treatment and correct treatment of acute diarrhea is the answer to reduce mortality and morbidity from diarrhea.

Who are at High Risk of Acute Diarrhea?

admin — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 16:13:26 +0000

If you are living in the United States or in other developed industrial countries you may be at high risk of contacting acute diarrhea, especially due to pathogenic microorganisms. The are five different groups of people who are at high risk of acute diarrhea in compare to normal population.

These five high risk groups include (1) travelers, especially international travelers to developing countries, (2) immunocompromized persons (e.g. AIDS patients), (3) consumers of certain foods, (4) hospitalized persons, especially long term hospital stay, and (5) attendants of day care centers and their family members.

Acute Diarrhea

admin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:23:03 +0000

Most of the cases of acute diarrhea (as many as more than 90%) are caused by some infectious agents. Diarrhea due to some infectious agents generally produce symptoms such as fever, vomiting and pain in the abdomen. The rest of (less than 10% of the cases of acute diarrhea) the cases of acute diarrhea are caused by ingestion of toxic substances, medications (there are many drugs or medicines which produce diarrhea as side effect, such as broad spectrum antibiotics by reducing normal flora), ischemia and others conditions.

Infectious agents which can cause acute diarrhea are mostly acquired by humans through fecal-oral route, either by ingestion of contaminated water or food. Water or food generally get contaminated by pathogens from the human or animal feces.

The Burden of Constipation

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 01:48:50 +0000

Constipation is one of the commonest cases a clinician or doctor comes across, especially in the developed countries. The main reason of exceedingly common occurrence of constipation in the developed countries is the consumption of less dietary fibers. Constipation is not as common in developing countries as it is in developed countries due to the food habit, which includes the whole grains and lots of vegetables and fruits in developing countries. Western diet is mainly include refined and processed foods with little if any fiber, which leads to constipation. The only permanent solution to chronic constipation in absence of any underlying serious pathophysiology, is to change lifestyle (regular aerobic physical activity) and food habit permanently.

Constipation is one of the commonest medical problem that leads to self medication. According to reports only approximately one third of individuals suffering from constipation seek medical attention and most others indulge in self medication.

Causes of Chronic Diarrhea

admin — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:21:22 +0000

Diarrhea lasting for more than 4 weeks is considered as chronic diarrhea and need to be evaluated to exclude serious underlying pathology. Chronic diarrhea is one of the common cause of bad health state of many persons. In contrast to acute diarrhea, most of the causes of chronic diarrhea are generally noninfectious. The following are the causes of chronic diarrhea:

Secretory causes of chronic diarrhea: Excessive use of stimulant laxatives, chronic ingestion of alcohol, certain drugs and toxins, endogenous laxatives like bile acids, idiopathic secretory diarrhea; bowel resection, disease, or fistula (reduced absorption), certain bacterial infections, Addison's disease, congenital electrolyte absorption defects, partial bowel obstruction which may be due to fecal impaction, hormone-producing tumors (carcinoid, medullary cancer of thyroid, mastocytosis, gastrinoma, colorectal villous adenoma) are the secretory causes of chronic diarrhea.

Colon Cleansing: An Overview

admin — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:44:31 +0000

Colon cleansing is part of alternative medicine and covers broad areas of removing toxins (that are not clearly identified) from gastrointestinal tract and removal of fecal waste from GIT. Colon cleansing is also sometimes called colon hydrotherapy, as it uses colonic irrigation with enema. But colon cleansing is also done with oral therapy. Generally herbs of medicinal value are added to the water which is used as enema for purpose of cleansing the gastrointestinal tract of toxins (can be called detoxification) and fecal waste.

How to Diagnose Indigestion?

admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:24:28 +0000

Diagnosis of the cause of indigestion may pose a problem. Proper history (a thorough interview) with a thorough physical examination may be essential for diagnosis of indigestion. Most of the cases of indigestion are generally due to GERD and functional dyspepsia. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) produces heartburn, that is exacerbated by meals and may even awaken the patient in the night. Individuals with functional dyspepsia have epigastric pain as the main symptom. As most of the cases of indigestion are due to gastroesophageal reflux disease and functional dyspepsia, the general principle of diagnostic testing are directed at diagnosing gastroesophageal reflux disease and functional dyspepsia.

Differential Diagnosis of Indigestion

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:07:50 +0000

Many other diseases cause symptoms of indigestion and it is important to find out the actual disease that is causing indigestion. Sometimes it becomes difficult to find out the actual disease which is causing indigestion and health state of the patient can not be improved much.

The Global Burden of Diarrhea

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:00:17 +0000

Diarrhea is extremely common health problem all over the world, including in the developed countries. In the developing countries diarrhea is one of the leading cause of mortality and morbidity, especially among infants of below one year of age and children below five years. Diarrhea exerts an enormous toll in terms of mortality, morbidity, social inconvenience, loss of work and productivity, and utilization of medical resources of a nation. In developing countries acute infectious diarrhea is one of the common cause of mortality, especially among children below five years of age and estimated to cause 2-3 million deaths every year. Diarrhea is one of the common cases faced by doctors in developing countries.

Indigestion and its Causes

admin — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 11:36:35 +0000

Indigestion is a nonspecific term that covers a variety of upper abdominal complaints such nausea, vomiting, heartburn, regurgitation, dyspepsia (the presence of symptoms thought to originate in the gastro-duodenal region) etc. which affect patients’ health state in a negative way. Dyspepsia may be reported by some individuals as epigastric burning, gnawing discomfort in abdomen, or abdominal pain. Some individuals with dyspepsia experience a constellation of symptoms such as postprandial fullness (feeling of fullness of stomach for long time after meal), early satiety (an inability to complete a meal due to premature fullness), bloating, eructation or belching and anorexia.

Causes of Nausea and Vomiting

admin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:19:25 +0000

The causes of nausea and vomiting can be divided into three broad categories namely intra-peritoneal, extra-peritoneal and due to medications/metabolic disorders.

Intra-peritoneal (due to some pathology inside peritoneum) causes:

Obstructing disorders like obstruction of pyloric part of stomach, obstruction of small bowel, obstruction of colon and superior mesenteric artery syndrome.
Inflammatory diseases such as cholecystitis (inflammation of gall bladder and inflammation is generally due to infection), hepatitis (infection/inflammation of liver), pancreatitis (infection/inflammation of pancreas), appendicitis (infection/inflammation of appendix) etc.

Symptoms & Diagnosis of Peptic Ulcer

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:50:04 +0000

Peptic ulcer is a chronic disease with spontaneous remission and relapses which can last for decades or in some cases may last life-long. There is a popular saying among medical fraternity (doctors) “once you are ulcer patient, you are life-long ulcer patient” (which means it is very difficult to cure ulcer permanently and relapses are common, so peptic ulcer should be suppressed adequately).The commonest symptom of peptic ulcer is recurrent pain in upper abdomen or epi-gastric part of abdomen. The pain is felt about 2 to 3 hours after food depending on the location of ulcer. Sometimes pain may be felt on empty stomach and patient may mistake it as “hunger pain” as the pain is relieved by eating. Patient of peptic ulcer may wake up in the middle of night from sleep due to pain and if this symptom is present it is diagnostic of peptic ulcer (no other disease has this type of long standing pain which wakes up the patient during sleep).

What is Peptic Ulcer & Causes of Peptic Ulcer

admin — Sun, 31 May 2009 12:25:43 +0000

What is an ulcer and what is peptic ulcer? Before we define peptic ulcer, we should know what an ulcer is. Ulcer is a break in the epithelial lining in skin or mucosa, which is more than 3 millimeter in diameter. If ulcer is situated in the lower esophagus, stomach, duodenum, in jejunum, or in ileum [...]

Constipation: the Solution

admin — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 14:20:53 +0000

Treatment can be started once the cause of constipation can be found. Slow transit constipation requires aggressive medical or surgical management. But only approximately 60% of patients with constipation are found to have such a physiologic disorder and half of them with colonic transit delay and half with evacuation disorder.

Patients with slow transit constipation are treated with bulk, osmotic, prokinetic, secretory, and stimulant laxatives. Some of the laxatives are fiber, psyllium, milk of magnesia, lactulose, polyethylene glycol (colonic lavage solution), lubiprostone, and bisacodyl. Latest treatment of constipation is aimed at increasing motility of intestines. For 3 to 6 months patient should be tried with medical management, but if it fails to give proper result than surgical management can be decided. But surgical management should not be considered if motility disorder is present, because it will not improve the problem of constipation.

Constipation: The Problem

admin — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:05:09 +0000

Constipation is a common problem in clinical practice. Because of the wide range of normal bowel habits, constipation is difficult to define precisely. Constipation refers to persistent, difficult, infrequent, or seemingly incomplete defecation. It is a common problem in clinical practice. Most persons have at least three bowel movements per week in western countries due to [...]