Introduction
Diarrhea is one of the most common diseases that occur in the population. It is defined by a high stool frequency (> 3 defecations per day) and a reduced stool consistency (>75% water content). One can roughly divide the triggers of diarrhoea into two categories: Infectious and non-infectious. Infectious triggers are viruses and bacteria, which can be highly contagious. Chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, food poisoning or food intolerances are among the non-infectious triggers.
How do I recognize an infectious diarrhea?
The most important criterion for the assessment of infectious diarrhea is the time course. Before the outbreak of the disease, the affected persons feel limp and listless. After about 1-3 days, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea occur.
Consequently, infectious diarrhea becomes acute. In contrast, non-infectious diarrhea is usually chronic. Examples are a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (e.g. Crohn’s disease) or an irritable bowel syndrome.
The patients suffer from recurrent diarrhea. Symptoms such as nausea and vomiting are completely absent. In the case of food intolerance, a temporal connection with eating can be established.
A classic example is lactose intolerance. Those affected suffer from flatulence, abdominal pain and sometimes diarrhoea shortly after consuming dairy products. However, a reliable diagnosis can only be made after a medical examination. During this examination, the blood is examined for infection parameters and a pathogen detection test is also carried out in the stool.
The incubation period of infectious diarrhea
The incubation period describes the period of time between the infestation of the body by the pathogen and the complete outbreak of the disease. No generally valid statement can be made, since each pathogen has a different incubation period. The most common viral pathogens are the Noro- and Rotavirus, both of which have an incubation period of about 1-3 days. The adenovirus needs 5-8 days until the disease breaks out. The most common bacterial pathogens are Campylobacter jejuni with an incubation period of 2-5 days and E. coli, which can lead to abdominal pain and diarrhoea within hours.
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