Patient education: Diarrhea in teens and adults (The Basics)

What is diarrhea? — 

This means bowel movements that are runny or watery, and happen 3 or more times a day. Diarrhea is very common. Most teens and adults have diarrhea about 4 times a year. Most people have it at some point.

What causes diarrhea? — 

Diarrhea can be caused by:

●Viruses

●Bacteria that live in food or water

●Parasites, such as tiny worms you can catch in some countries

●Side effects from some medicines

●Problems digesting certain types of food

●Diseases that harm the digestive system (figure 1)

What can I do on my own to feel better? — 

You can try to:

●Drink plenty of fluids – When you have a lot of diarrhea, your body loses both water and salt. Drinking fluids that contain some salt can help replace what your body lost. Examples include "oral rehydration solutions" or broth.

●Eat a little food – Good choices are potatoes, noodles, rice, oatmeal, crackers, bananas, soup, and boiled vegetables. Salty foods also help.

Should I see a doctor or nurse? — 

See your doctor or nurse if you:

●Have more than 6 runny bowel movements in 24 hours

●Have blood in your bowel movements

●Have a fever higher than 101.3°F (38.5°C) that does not go away after a day

●Have severe belly pain

●Are 70 or older

●Are dehydrated – This means your body lost too much water. Signs include:

•Lots of very watery diarrhea

•Feeling very tired

•Thirst

•Dry mouth or tongue

•Muscle cramps

•Dizziness

•Confusion

•Very yellow urine, or not urinating for longer than 5 hours

Will I need tests? — 

Many people do not need to have tests. But it's possible your doctor will do tests to check if you are dehydrated or to figure out what is causing your diarrhea.

Tests might include:

●Blood tests

●Tests on a sample of your bowel movement

How is diarrhea treated? — 

It depends on what is causing your diarrhea. You might not need any treatment. If you do, your doctor might recommend:

●Fluids through an "IV" – This is a thin tube that goes into a vein. People with a lot of diarrhea might need IV fluids to treat or prevent dehydration.

●Stopping some medicines

●Changing what you eat

●Antibiotics – These medicines treat infections caused by bacteria. Most people do not need them, even if they have a bacterial infection. But if you are very sick with fever and blood in your bowel movements, antibiotics might help you get better faster.

●Medicines to ease diarrhea – These include loperamide (brand name: Imodium), diphenoxylate-atropine (brand name: Lomotil), and bismuth subsalicylate (brand names: Pepto-Bismol, Kaopectate). Do not take loperamide or diphenoxylate-atropine if you have a fever or blood in your bowel movements. Also, taking too much loperamide has led to serious heart problems in some people. If you have health problems or already take other medicines, talk to your doctor or nurse before trying loperamide. For all these medicines, do not take more than the label tells you to.

Can diarrhea be prevented? — 

You can reduce your chances of getting and spreading diarrhea if you:

●Wash your hands after changing diapers, cooking, eating, going to the bathroom, taking out the trash, touching animals, and blowing your nose.

●Stay home from work or school until you feel better.

●Pay attention to food safety. Tips include:

•Do not drink unpasteurized milk or foods made with it.

•Wash fruits and vegetables well before eating them.

•Keep the refrigerator colder than 40°F and the freezer below 0°F.

•Cook meat and seafood until well done.

•Cook eggs until the yolk is firm.

•Wash hands, knives, and cutting boards after they touch raw food.

For more tips on food safety, see the table (table 1).

More on this topic

Patient education: Diarrhea in children (The Basics)
Patient education: Managing diarrhea from your medicines (The Basics)
Patient education: Travelers' diarrhea (The Basics)
Patient education: E. coli diarrhea (The Basics)
Patient education: Viral gastroenteritis in adults (The Basics)
Patient education: Food poisoning (The Basics)
Patient education: Bloody stools in adults (The Basics)
Patient education: Bloody stools in children (The Basics)
Patient education: High-fiber diet (The Basics)

Patient education: Acute diarrhea in adults (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Acute diarrhea in children (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Chronic diarrhea in adults (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Antibiotic-associated diarrhea caused by Clostridioides difficile (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Foodborne illness (food poisoning) (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Blood in the stool (rectal bleeding) in adults (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Blood in bowel movements (rectal bleeding) in babies and children (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: High-fiber diet (Beyond the Basics)