How is diarrhea diagnosed like water?
The diagnosis of watery diarrhea (diarrhea like water) must first be made on a purely clinical basis.In most cases, diarrhea can be diagnosed based on the patient’s medical history (interview with the doctor) alone. Those who wish to have a more detailed diagnosis usually have to give a stool sample in which triggering pathogens and possibly antibodies of the body can be found. If the cause of the diarrhea is not infectious, such as water, blood tests or a gastroscopy and/or colonoscopy may follow.
When do I have to go to the doctor?
With diarrhea such as water, you do not necessarily need to see a doctor at first. Often, the symptoms can be cured within a few days with sufficient fluids and a gentle diet. If it does not succeed however to adjust the loss of liquid over the failure by means of the drinking quantity (plus for example soup) again, a physician should be visited absolutely.
Even if in the diarrhea blood admixtures are found, one must go to the physician. Thus chronic illnesses can be excluded or found as for example inflammatory intestine illnesses. However, since watery diarrhea is often caused by infectious pathogens, one should pay attention to strict hygiene when visiting a doctor.
In this way, other patients and medical staff can be protected from potential infections. However, since watery diarrhea is often caused by infectious pathogens, strict hygiene should be observed during visits to the doctor. This can protect other patients and medical staff from potential infections.
What additional symptoms can occur?
Aqueous diarrhea is often accompanied by other complaints in the abdominal area. For example, there is often abdominal pain and even cramps in the stomach and/or intestines. Diarrhea can also cause a particularly brisk activity of the intestine like water.
This manifests itself in loud intestinal noises or even a bubbling or gurgling in the stomach. It is not uncommon for other accompanying symptoms such as nausea and vomiting to occur. In addition, there is usually a loss of appetite, and affected persons are tired and exhausted.
Sudden severe diarrhea is often accompanied by a pronounced feeling of illness. Particularly with infectious diarrhoea but also with chronic inflammatory intestinal diseases, general symptoms such as fever and headaches can be added. Abdominal cramps are a common symptom of watery diarrhea.
Due to the high water content in the bowel movement, the way the bowel works is greatly altered. This can manifest itself by unusually strong peristalsis (movements of the bowel). This can lead to cramping of the smooth muscles in the intestinal wall, which can manifest itself as severe abdominal cramps and abdominal pain.
The complaints often have an inflammatory component, which can be caused by bacteria, viruses or chronic inflammatory processes. Stomach cramps are not uncommon, just like abdominal cramps with diarrhea like water. If the cramp-like pain can be clearly attributed to the stomach, the disease is often a bacterial infection, as can occur with spoiled food, for example.
At the latest in the stomach, the immune system begins to fight the foreign germs, so that strong cramps occur in the stomach area. In order to flush the pathogens out of the body as quickly as possible, the passage time of the spoiled food through the intestine is greatly reduced, so that little fluid can be absorbed from the intestinal contents, resulting in watery diarrhea. A bubbling in the abdomen is in most cases an indication of strong intestinal activity (peristalsis).
In diarrheal diseases, the intestine works particularly strongly in contrast to healthy phases. This results in more frequent and stronger tension of the intestinal muscles, which can manifest itself in the form of abdominal cramps. This pronounced peristalsis of the intestine quickly sets the very fluid contents of the bowel in motion, resulting in the typical chuckling and bubbling in the stomach.
The more watery the diarrhea is, the more pronounced these intestinal noises can be in the context of the diarrheal disease. Diarrheal diseases without pain usually speak against an inflammatory disease. Infectious diarrheal diseases include both infectious diarrheal diseases and chronic inflammatory bowel diseases.
The inflammation usually causes abdominal pain. If, on the other hand, diarrhea occurs without pain, it is usually a gradual process that intervenes in the mechanics of the intestine.For example, metabolic diseases, food intolerances and some drugs can lead to a strong influx of fluid into the intestine without an inflammatory component of the disease being present. Due to the high fluid content in the bowel movement, watery diarrhea occurs.