What is the major concern with prolonged diarrhea?

It’s important to drink plenty of fluids with electrolytes when you have diarrhea. This allows your body to replace the fluid and electrolytes that are lost with the diarrhea. In some parts of the world, diarrhea is a life-threatening condition because of dehydration and electrolyte loss.

What is the most common cause of diarrhea in hospitalized patients?

Clostridium difficile is the most common infectious cause of nosocomial diarrhea, representing 10%–20% of cases [12, 13, 19, 21, 23, 35]. CDI is typically associated with prior antibiotics but may follow other exposures that also disrupt the microbiota.

When to tell your doctor about chronic diarrhea?

Also, be sure to let your doctor know about your diarrhea if you have cancer, or have had recent treatment for it. If you still have diarrhea after 4 weeks, then you have chronic diarrhea. To figure out the cause, your doctor will want to know your symptoms and medical history. You’ll get the most out of your appointment if you can tell him:

Are there any new treatments for chronic diarrhea?

New Relief for Chronic Diarrhea. But now a study in the August issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology shows that people with chronic, intractable diarrhea may be suffering from gallbladder dysfunction. Treatment with a drug known as cholestyramine, or Questran, originally developed for patients who have had their gallbladders removed,…

What causes diarrhea for more than 2 weeks?

When diarrhea occurs frequently for more than two weeks, you might be dealing with a bowel disease. Here are conditions that can cause chronic diarrhea. Ongoing infections from bacteria and parasites.

Who is the author of the chronic diarrhea study?

Study author Saad Habba, MD, a gastroenterologist in private practice in Summit, N.J., tells WebMD that chronic diarrhea afflicts approximately 10% of patients who have undergone gallbladder removal. He decided to perform this study when he noticed that many of his chronic diarrhea patients were “behaving as if they didn’t have a gallbladder.”