Chronic Diarrhea and its Causes

Posted on May 07, 2008 under Diarrhea |

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The common causes of chronic diarrhea includes irritable bowel syndrome, over growth of bacteria in small intestine, carbohydrate Malabsorption, diseases which causes infection, post-infectious, colon cancer, laxative abuse, Fat Malabsorption, Endocrine diseases etc.

Irritable bowel syndrome – Irritable bowel syndrome is the main cause of chronic diarrhea which generally occurs when intestinal contents rapidly passages through the colon.
Bacterial overgrowth – In these condition bacteria generally spread into the small intestine and affects the digestion of food which results in diarrhea.
Carbohydrate Malabsorption - It is the problem when body generally not properly absorb or digest the sugar because of absence of lactase (intestinal enzyme). This condition is known as lactase deficiency. In this condition body cannot absorb the unbroken lactose and this unbroken lactose passes through the colon and pulls water into the colon which leads to diarrhea.
Infectious diseases – Some of infectious diseases like Giardia lamblia is also the cause chronic diarrhea.
Post-infectious – Cause of this type of diarrhea is not very clear and this generally happens after the bacterial, viral and parasite infection.
Colon cancer – Colon cancer also leads to diarrhea and constipation. Colon cancer generally blocks the passage of stool which causes releasing of water behind the blockage and results in diarrhea. This generally results in thin stool.
Laxative Abuse – Sometimes excessive use of laxatives can also cause diarrhea.
Fat Malabsorption – It is the inability to digest or absorb fat, caused by reduced pancreatic secretions which are necessary for fat digestion. Undigested fat enters into the small intestine which results in leakage of water from small intestine cause diarrhea.
Endocrine diseases – Some diseases like imbalance of hormones also results in diarrhea.