Profuse diarrhea is a condition that almost every one of us has experienced in our lives. This is diarrhea, which is accompanied by a lot of watery discharge. Depending on the presence or absence of parallel symptoms, we can talk about serious consequences up to death. The article describes the most common causes of profuse diarrhea, its symptoms, as well as effective treatments.
Types of profuse diarrhea
Depending on the severity of symptoms and their duration, gastroenterology distinguishes the following classification of the condition:
- Profuse diarrhea of the watery type. As you might guess from the name, it is characterized by the presence of extremely liquid secretions. The main danger of this type of disease is severe dehydration, which has an extremely negative effect on the state 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 ichor are mixed with the discharge from the rectum.
Profuse diarrhea is a rather dangerous condition. This type of diarrhea differs from the usual one in that it has a 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 experienced in medicine may not attach importance to this fact. Meanwhile, fluid loss is a direct threat to he alth and well-being. If dehydration is severe, many side effects can develop - up to death due to impaired kidney function or disruption of the cardiovascular system.
Symptoms of watery diarrhea
How to understand that liquid diarrhea in an adult is precisely profuse, how to assess the theoretical danger of such a condition for the he alth and life of the patient? You should listen to yourself and evaluate the presence or absence of the following symptoms:
- Pain in the epigastric region - just above or below the navel. If it bothers you on the right, it is possible that there is a pathology of the liver or gallbladder, if on the left - the pancreas. But if the pain is located in the center of the abdomen - most likely, this makes itself felt in the stomach (if the pain is above the navel), or the intestines (if the pain is located below the navel). A similar symptom with the parallel development of watery diarrhea may indicate the presence of the so-called "acute abdomen" - in medicine, this condition is classified as serious and requiring urgent medical attention.help, and sometimes surgery.
- Very liquid discharge throughout the day with a time interval of about an hour, and sometimes more often - this, in fact, is profuse diarrhea. The urge to go to the toilet is strong and impossible to contain. Since the stool is liquefied as much as possible, to an almost completely watery state, this causes a strong tension of the sphincter and pain in its area.
- The presence of mucus, blood, bile in liquid secretions is also a dangerous symptom that indicates that urgent medical attention is needed. Such conditions are quite difficult to treat at home. Profuse diarrhea is often one of the harbingers of an "acute abdomen", and this condition, as already mentioned, is often life-threatening and requires qualified medical intervention.
Symptoms of bloody stools
When examining, the doctor will definitely ask the patient a question about what kind of discharge from the rectum he had, whether there was pain and what kind it was. And the patient should describe the full range of symptoms as fully as possible without hesitation - the accuracy of the diagnosis will depend on this.
If during the act of defecation the patient found the remains of ichorus or blood - you should find a way to inform your treating gastroenterologist as soon as possible. If, in parallel, a person's temperature has risen, working capacity has decreased, profuse diarrhea is observed - this may be the beginning of internal bleeding. This is a very dangerous condition.which could theoretically be fatal.
Blood stools are less common than regular diarrhea - liquid like water. However, the presence of scarlet inclusions in the discharge is a more serious symptom than the usual profuse diarrhea.
When to sound the alarm
If the patient observes the following symptoms, then you should call an ambulance as soon as possible or otherwise get qualified medical support:
- temperature increase;
- vomit;
- profuse diarrhea (watery and very runny);
- pain in the epigastric region, either in the left or right hypochondrium;
- presence of mucus and blood in discharge (feces or vomit).
Such symptoms are dangerous, and delay in calling an ambulance can be very costly for the patient.
Consequences of profuse diarrhea
The described condition may be one of the symptoms of the following pathologies:
- serious disease in the acute stage - pancreatitis, cholecystitis, some liver diseases;
- polyps or neoplasms in the intestines;
- internal bleeding;
- intestinal infections in the acute stage;
- intoxication of the body.
If you do not seek professional medical help in a timely manner, almost any of these diseases can lead to death. Therefore, it is very important not to hesitate if the patient has symptoms of profuse liquid diarrhea, especially if there are parallel pains orthe temperature has risen. The life of a sick person may depend on the prompt call of an ambulance in the truest sense of the word. If he himself is not able to call an ambulance, his relatives should do it.
Treatment rules: how not to aggravate the situation
In case of development of profuse diarrhea, the first task of the patient is not to aggravate the condition until the doctors arrive. To do this, follow the following rules:
- Drink as much clean water as possible in order to prevent critical fluid loss.
- If there is a suspicion of poisoning, take a small dose of Enterosgel.
- Refuse to eat - it is permissible to eat rice porridge on the water.
- Comply with bed rest.
- Exclude for some time all bad habits (alcohol, smoking).
Diagnostic methods in gastroenterology
For accurate diagnosis in gastroenterology, the following research methods are used:
- Analysis of blood and secretions in the laboratory.
- Study of feces for occult blood. An analysis is carried out - a coprogram of feces - for the presence of fatty deposits in the feces, fiber residues, pieces of incompletely digested food. Conduct a study of the presence of harmful parasites (worms, Giardia).
- Colonoscopy. It is carried out using an endoscope to examine the condition of a part of the intestine (internal).
- X-ray method for examining the colon - computed tomography and ultrasoundabdomen.
- Involvement of additional doctors, for example, endocrinologist, coloproctologist.
Eating 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 consumption of spicy and fatty foods, carbonated drinks. During an exacerbation, it is better to eat only liquid rice or oatmeal, drink clean water or weak tea. Until a definite diagnosis is made, it is not clear which diet the patient should follow.
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 for watery diarrhea
Profuse diarrhea is treated with certain medications:
- Drugs to restore the intestinal microflora - Linex, Bifidumbacterin.
- Antibiotic drugs - by prescription only.
- In case of poisoning and intoxication - "Enterosgel" and other adsorbents (for example, based on activated carbon).
- Oral antifungals may also be used for dysbacteriosis.
- For bleeding - anti-ulcer drugs, fluid therapy.
- After recovery forstrengthening immunity shows vitamin-mineral complexes and a he althy lifestyle.
Prevention of diarrhea
Any painful condition is always easier to prevent than to cure. However, it is quite difficult to prevent profuse diarrhea - it often appears suddenly and "knocks" the patient out of his usual life rut. However, if you follow some prevention rules, you can prevent the development of this condition:
- always wash hands and utensils thoroughly before eating;
- quit alcohol and smoking;
- stick to a he althy lifestyle - always get enough sleep, try to eat right;
- give up fatty foods, fast food, confectionery, carbonated drinks;
- in the presence of chronic diseases of the digestive tract, visit a 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 anthelmintics.
Compliance with these recommendations will minimize the likelihood of profuse diarrhea and other diseases of the internal organs.
