Causes of Diarrhea

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Causes of Diarrhea

Diarrhea (common American English spelling) is also spelt diarrhoea (British English spelling).

What is Diarrhea ?
Diarrhea or "diarrhoea" is an increase in the volume and fluidity of faeces (also spelt feces). It is also defined as frequent bowel evacuation involving passage of abnormally soft or liquid faeces.
Diarrhea is unpleasant and often inconvenient, distressing and embarrassing. Severe or prolonged diarrhea can have serious medical implications due to excessive loss of fluid, salts and nutrients from the body.

There are several types of diarrhea and many possible causes of diarrhea.
Causes of diarrhea can be classified in various ways, e.g. as due to

Infections or the consequences of having had an infection
incl. viral, bacterial, parasitic
Something ingested (swallowed)
e.g. certain drugs - esp. in inappropriate doses, or toxins (poisons) in food
Some metabolic conditions
e.g. due to imbalances in the endocrine system
Some long-term (i.e. chronic) illnesses
especially those affecting the digestive system

The following table lists some specific causes of diarrhea for each of these categories of causes of diarrhea.

General Type of Cause of Diarrhea	Sub-classification of cause	Examples of specific cause / agents (listed in alphabetical order)

1. Infections & Pathogens
	Viruses	Enteric adenovirus Norwalk agent Rotavirus
	Bacterial Toxins (Bacteria)	Bacillus cereus Clostridium botulinum Clostridium difficile Clostridium perfringens Escherichia coli (Toxigenic Escherichia coli) Staphylococcus Vibrio cholerae
	Bacterial invasions (Bacteria)	Campylobacter fetus Campylobacter jejuni E. coli (Invasive E. coli) Gonorrhea (= Gonorrhoea = Gonorrhoeae) Salmonella Shigella Vibrio parahaemolyticus Yersinia enterocolitica
	Parasites	Cryptosporidium Giardia lamblia Entamoeba histolytica
	After-effects of infections (in general)	Bacterial overgrowth ( bacterial imbalance) Other imbalances or deficiencies in the digestive system, e.g. insufficient lactase
2. Ingested Substances
	Drugs / Pharmaceuticals in the wrong circumstances or doses	Antacids with magnesium Laxatives - obviously !
	Toxins in Food	Ciguatoxin Pufferfish Scombroid
	Bacterial Toxins (Bacteria) - as above	See the Bacterial Toxins listed above. Some of those might also be ingested with food e.g. due to poor kitchen hygiene.
3. Metabolic Conditions
	certain diseases & disorders of the endocrine system	Adrenal insufficiency Diabetes Mellitus Hyperparathyroidism Hyperthyroidism
4. (Other) Chronic Medical Conditions
	e.g. certain diseases & disorders of the digestive system	Bowel Disease (inflammatory bowel disease) Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Ischaemic colitis Malabsorption conditions

Note: The above lists of viruses, bacteria and parasites that may cause diarrhea are examples, not complete lists. In some cases, there are "safe" levels of bacteria, the risk of diarrhea being if or when the bacteria are either in a part of the body that cannot tolerate them and/or if/when they are present in excessive quantities.



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