Diarrhea for a long time in an adult causes. Causes and treatment of chronic diarrhea in adults

Persistent diarrhea is an intestinal disorder that does not stop for a long time: three weeks or more, in severe cases - more than a month. The reasons for this phenomenon can be very different.

But it should always be understood that diarrhea is a protective reaction of the body: in this way it tries to cleanse itself and throw out accumulated toxins.

Therefore, if an adult has prolonged diarrhea that does not stop for a day, two or three days, but for a whole month or more, this indicates that there are serious problems in his body.

In any case, diarrhea is accompanied by rather unpleasant symptoms: flatulence, bloating, colic, loss of appetite, and if diarrhea bothers you for several days, does not go away for more than 10 days, then this is also dehydration of the body. Not to mention the fact that every hour is required to use the toilet, it is simply impossible to engage in work activities and lead a full life. Therefore, this condition must be treated by finding its cause and choosing the appropriate methods.

Before wondering why diarrhea does not go away for several days in a row, you first need to decide what is considered diarrhea in medicine. So, diarrhea in an adult is frequent loose stools, repeated three or more times a day. Long-term acute diarrhea is diarrhea that does not go away for more than 10 days or recurs at intervals of several days every month.

The reasons may be as follows:

1. Inflammatory bowel disease - colitis, enterocolitis, dysbacteriosis.
2. Infections caused by viruses or bacteria - adenoviruses, salmonellosis, cholera, dysentery.
3. Any poisoning - food, drug or chemical.
4. Malignant tumors in the small or large intestine.
5. Exacerbations of peptic ulcer of the stomach or intestines.
6. Abuse of diets with the use of laxatives.
7. Congenital functional insufficiency of the digestive tract.
8. Hormonal changes.
9. Taking certain medications.
10. Stress - diarrhea in an adult can occur due to nervous overexertion and chronic overwork.

Sometimes diarrhea that does not go away for more than a month is a side effect of surgery, often this is one of the signs of helminthic invasion. It is sometimes difficult to establish the cause, since quite a long time has passed since the moment when the diarrhea just started, the clinical picture has changed.

Therefore, self-treatment in this case is unacceptable. Only a doctor will help solve the problem.

Clinical picture of persistent diarrhea

Prolonged diarrhea has the same symptoms as regular diarrhea:

• bloating, rumbling and colic;
• flatulence;
• cramping pains in the stomach and intestines;
• frequent urge to defecate - sometimes every hour throughout the day.

If severe diarrhea in an adult lasts for several days in a row, the clinical picture changes. The patient can have a fever all the time, shiver, often there is an increase in body temperature and weight loss - the reason is severe dehydration, which invariably occurs if diarrhea does not go away for more than 10 days and worries every hour.

Anxiety should be caused by symptoms such as an admixture of blood or pus in the feces - in this case, you can’t hesitate, every hour is expensive, you need to go to the hospital as soon as possible. It is not surprising if pieces of undigested food are found in the feces - this indicates that the digestive system does not produce the enzymes necessary for the absorption of food in the right amount, the irritated intestine simply does not perceive it.

But it often happens that a chair occurs in an adult every hour or two, but at the same time he does not feel any ailments, in addition to the quite natural discomfort associated with constant trips to the toilet.

Only laboratory tests and examination of the patient will help to establish the causes.

What diagnostic methods are used

To find out why an adult does not stop having severe diarrhea for more than 10 days, the following tests are done:

• General blood and urine tests.
• Fecal analysis.

• Bakposev.
• Testing for worm infestations.
• Coprogram for occult blood.
• Steatorrhea test.
• Test for the detection of infectious agents of diarrhea.

Instrumental diagnostics is also used, especially if there is blood in the stool and other signs of the possible development of cancerous tumors. This is a biopsy, sigmoidoscopy, irrigography. Differential diagnosis plays an important role. Sometimes the cause of a long stool is established only by excluding all possible pathologies.

How to treat prolonged diarrhea

If severe diarrhea has been bothering you for more than 10 days, then it can only be cured with an integrated approach.

It no longer makes sense to take activated charcoal and other sorbents at this stage.

Toxins from the intestines have already moved into the blood, and coal still will not help to remove them. But he can absorb liquid, which is already so small, and thereby only worsen the patient's condition.

Usually prescribed drugs of several different groups:

1. Enzymes that support the pancreas and help digest food - Mezim Forte, Pancreatin, Creon.
2. Drugs that reduce increased irritable bowel motility are Imodium and Loperamide. But their use is contraindicated if it is established that severe diarrhea is caused by a bacterial infection.
3. Antibiotics only if bakposev showed that the causative agents of the infection were staphylococci, streptococci, dysenteric bacillus and other bacteria.

If it is determined that diarrhea that lasts three or four days is caused by poisoning of any kind, a gastric lavage is performed. To do this, you need to prepare at least two liters of a weak solution of potassium permanganate and drink it in one gulp. You also need to do a cleansing enema. An hour later, you can take medication.

If the cause of diarrhea that does not stop for a long time is dysbacteriosis, preparations containing probiotics and prebiotics will help. This is Linex and its analogues. You need to take drugs from this group every day for at least three weeks. To restore the water-salt balance, you can take Regidron or Electrolyte - these are powdered products that need to be diluted in warm water and drunk a little every hour. If cramps and pains in the abdomen are very strong, No-shpa or Papaverine are prescribed.

Folk remedies and diet for prolonged diarrhea

If you do not follow the diet during prolonged diarrhea, none of the medications will be effective.

First of all, the diet involves the use of a large amount of fluid in order to restore its loss.

But in no case should it be coffee, purchased juices or soda.

The list of foods that can be included in the diet if diarrhea bothers you for several days in a row:

• stale or dried without butter wheat bread;
• viscous rice porridge in water without oil;
• hard-boiled eggs;
• lean beef or turkey;
• steam fish of low-fat varieties (for example, cod);
• mashed potatoes on the water;
• pureed soups with carrots and potatoes, you can add a little rice cereal;
• various kissels;
• baked apples and bananas.

If diarrhea is caused by dysbacteriosis and has been bothering you for more than the first or second day, fermented milk products with bifidobacteria will be useful - low-fat kefir, natural yogurt, cottage cheese.

The food rules are:

1. All dishes need to be steamed or boiled, in extreme cases, baked without oil and spices.
2. Drink compotes, tea or just water every hour for at least one glass. In total, you should drink at least three liters of fluid per day.
3. It is advisable to wipe or chop meat and vegetables.
4. You need to eat often, every 3-4 hours up to 6 times a day, but in small portions.

Even when the functioning of the stomach and intestines is fully restored, you can not abruptly return to your usual diet, this can provoke a relapse.

Introduce one new product per day. If everything is in order, then after 1-2 days you can enter the next product. But a sparing diet will have to be followed for some time.

From folk remedies, bird cherry helps very well. You can simply pass it through a meat grinder, sprinkle with sugar and put it in a glass jar. Take such a tasty medicine every hour with severe diarrhea, then you can three or four times a day, a teaspoon before meals.

Pomegranate peels have a fixing effect. Take 2 tablespoons of dry and crushed peels, pour boiling water and cook over low heat for at least 10 minutes. Then cool for half an hour, strain and take 1/3 cup an hour before meals.

Prolonged diarrhea usually occurs if the patient has not properly treated ordinary diarrhea, neglected the recommendations of the doctor and did not follow the diet. Sometimes this is a symptom of a serious pathology - advanced hemorrhoids, duodenal ulcer or malignant neoplasms. This condition is very dangerous dehydration. Therefore, in no case should you endure, you need to see a doctor, look for the cause and be treated.

Prolonged diarrhea is a dangerous phenomenon. In cases where the duration of diarrhea is about three days or more, it can be said that the diarrhea is prolonged. And if the liquid stool began in an acute form and lasts about two weeks, then this is already doubly dangerous.

Consequences of prolonged diarrhea

In such cases, urgent action should be taken. After all, this is dehydration, and it is a rather dangerous consequence.

With diarrhea, a person not only feels uncomfortable, but also when diarrhea is prolonged, mental and autonomic system disorders occur.

• Head spinning, general weakness of the body, as well as seizures appear. Basically, this phenomenon occurs after taking antibiotics.
• In addition, prolonged diarrhea may be due to intestinal infection, childhood anemia, transfer to feeding with artificial mixtures.
• Bacterial infections are among the causes of severe diarrhea. These are the consequences of dirty food as well as drinks. Food poisoning is accompanied by vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.

If the treatment is carried out correctly, then diarrhea passes in a few days. But if everything remains the same, then you need to contact the doctor. Based on the tests taken, the doctor will be able to find the causes and understand why the diarrhea is prolonged.

Types of persistent diarrhea

Daily diarrhea manifests itself in the form of liquid stools in the morning, and then during the day stools of normal consistency. It is not dangerous if one-time liquid stools occur. If there is no water, blood, mucus in the feces, there is no vomiting and pain sensations, then the cause of such diarrhea can be malnutrition, the use of laxatives, pregnancy, and chronic alcoholism.

Toxic diarrhea

Toxic diarrhea may be the result of damage to the intestinal mucosa by various toxins. We are talking about poisoning with heavy metals, nicotine, and ethyl alcohol. When a person is poisoned with arsenic, vomiting, pain in the abdomen, severe diarrhea, and severe dehydration occur. Such a diagnosis is confirmed by chemical analysis of the nail plate and hair.

diarrhea after sex

Diarrhea after sex is a consequence of having anal sex. Experts are sure that anal sex does not harm the body. But you have to do it right. Sometimes it contributes to diarrhea. This is due to the fact that before the copulation itself, enemas are made for cleansing. After all, the intestines can not absorb all the water, so it remains. And then he wants to go outside. In addition, if the enema is done with hot water, then this can also lead to diarrhea. During anal sex, the walls of the rectum are relaxed. If a person ate a heavy meal before the act, then there may also be diarrhea. There are products that transit through the body. Therefore, loose stools may also appear.

Differential Diagnosis

If loose stools last for a long time, then differential diagnosis is used to identify its causes. The presence of blood in the feces is excluded. Also, pay attention to signs of dehydration. If dehydration of the body is suddenly observed, then the person is issued for inpatient treatment. If there is no dehydration, then the disease is treated. This usually happens within five days.

In a conversation with the patient, the doctor finds out why the patient has diarrhea, what kind of feces, what kind of food the patient has, whether he is drinking enough liquid. The main role is given to the physical examination. We are talking about the moments how often a person goes to the toilet, whether certain impurities are present in the feces, what else is accompanied by diarrhea.

An important point is whether there are disturbances in consciousness, anxiety, thirst.

As soon as the causes of prolonged diarrhea are found out, treatment can also be selected. The main goal is to normalize the consistency of feces. Patients are prescribed a diet, undergo therapy. Products should not load the digestive tract, food must be processed. No raw vegetables or fruits. It is allowed to cook food in a double boiler. It is not recommended to use foods that irritate, contribute to the formation of fermentation processes. With the help of medications, they get rid of dehydration, replenish vitamins and minerals, metabolic processes, intestinal microflora.

Diarrhea is a rather unpleasant condition, and it can happen to absolutely anyone, and sometimes just when there is an important meeting or an urgent need to run to work. There are quite a few reasons for it. And, of course, if loose stools are taken by surprise, everyone frantically begins to look for solutions to this delicate problem. How to stop diarrhea in an adult? Does it need to be done? What preparations will help to cope with the sudden onset of loose stools?

Diarrhea is a pathological condition, the main symptom of which is frequent defecation, during which shapeless liquid, almost watery feces come out. It also has another, more delicate and correct name - diarrhea. Diarrhea can be both single and torment a person several times in a row during the day and longer.

Attention! Diarrhea that lasts longer than 2 weeks is considered an acute form of diarrhea. And if it continues further, then, most likely, the condition has become chronic.

The main signs of diarrhea:

• strong urge to defecate;
• feces are liquid, almost watery;
• possible presence of symptoms such as vomiting and nausea;
• abdominal pain;
• flatulence, rumbling;
• in a certain state - elevated temperature;
• general weakness and lethargy.

Loose stools are a natural way to protect the body from the effects of toxic or toxic substances that have entered the digestive tract. Diarrhea can be caused by a variety of reasons:

• eating low-quality or expired products;
• eating junk food that has a high concentration of preservatives and dyes;
• entry into the body of pathogens of infectious diseases;
• dysbacteriosis;
• stress;

• wrong diet;
• taking a number of medications;
• the use of unusual food for the body, new dishes;
• the presence of various pathologies.

Important! When buying food, you should always take the freshest and most natural. It is better to refuse to buy products that are about to expire, even if they are offered at a very attractive price.

Table. Types of diarrhea.

On a note! Experts identify another form of diarrhea - traveler's diarrhea. It occurs in people making long trips or hikes, and is associated with a violation of sanitary and hygienic standards. Bacteria that live in a particular area and are characteristic of it can provoke diarrhea - the traveler's body may not have the necessary degree of immunity to them.

General principles of treatment

As a rule, diarrhea, if it is not caused by an infection or a pathological condition of the body, in adults resolves quite quickly on its own. The main thing is that it does not drag on for a long time. However, it should not be left unattended - it can cause dehydration. The general principles for treating the condition are as follows.

Medical preparations

To eliminate toxic substances from the body and remove some of the pathogenic intestinal bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract, doctors recommend using sorbents. It can be Enterosgel, activated carbon, Smecta, Biligin, Kaolin and other drugs. Activated charcoal should be in every first aid kit, and it is also recommended to take it with you on the road.

Important! Sorbent preparations are able to remove not only harmful, but also useful substances from the body, as well as smooth out the effect of other medicines. Therefore, they should be taken along with other drugs with an interval of at least 2 hours. But modern remedies usually act selectively - they cleanse the body only of toxins.

If diarrhea was caused by long-term use of any drugs, it is important to contact the doctor who prescribed them in order to stop them. The specialist will be able to recommend another remedy. If the cause of diarrhea is problems with the absorption of nutrients in the intestines, then the doctor will recommend taking enzymatic preparations. It can be Creon, Pancreatin, Mezim, etc.

If diarrhea is accompanied by pain in the abdomen, then it is necessary to take antispasmodic drugs such as Drotaverine or No-Shpy. And to restore the intestinal microflora at the end of treatment, Lactobacterin, Linex, Hilak-Forte, Enterol, etc. are used.

If you need to stop the diarrhea itself as soon as possible, then doctors recommend using a drug such as Loperamide. He copes with his task perfectly, but it is impossible to take it if the diarrhea is caused by an intestinal infection. They delay fecal masses in the body, and in such a situation it is contraindicated.

If you want not only to stop the symptoms of diarrhea, but to get rid of the cause of its occurrence - an intestinal infection, then you need to take antimicrobial drugs, for example, Ecofuril. Its active ingredient, nifuroxazide, eliminates pathogenic microorganisms that cause intestinal infection, and the excipient lactulose (prebiotic) creates a nutrient medium in the intestine for the reproduction of its own beneficial microflora. Doctors recommend taking Ecofuril for 5-7 days. After the end of the drug, no additional course of pro- or prebiotics is required for recovery. The medicine for adults and children from 3 years old is available in capsules.

Ecofuril allows you to get rid of one of the causes of diarrhea - intestinal infection

Folk methods

There are many traditional medicine methods that ease the course of diarrhea or eliminate it altogether. Most of them can be used without consulting a doctor. As a rule, the effect of their application is achieved within a couple of hours.

Perhaps this is the most popular and affordable way to deal with diarrhea. In addition, it is one of those means that belong to the category of absolutely safe for the body. Rice broth envelops the intestines and does not allow gastric juice to negatively affect it, improves peristalsis, and helps the formation of feces. Due to the starch, which is part of the rice cereal, the product has the ability to absorb excess fluid and thicken liquid feces. In addition, rice water perfectly eliminates flatulence and inhibits fermentation processes.

On a note! Rice broth can be given even to children.

Cooking it is simple: just boil a couple of teaspoons of rice soaked in cold water in a liter of boiling water. You need to cook for about 50 minutes. Then the broth is cooled, filtered through a fine sieve and taken 150 ml every 3 hours.

Bird cherry is great for treating diarrhea, if the latter did not develop against the background of infections. But you should not abuse the decoction - bird cherry contains amygdalin, which, splitting in the body, gives hydrocyanic acid, which is a poison. You need to prepare the decoction according to the prescription and you should not drink it without the consent of the doctor. Breastfeeding mothers and pregnant women should not use it.

To prepare a decoction, cherry berries washed with clean water (0.5 cups) are used. They are poured with boiling water and put in a water bath for 30 minutes. After that, the broth is infused for half an hour, closed with a lid. Next, you need to strain it and dilute it with blueberry juice in the same amount. You need to drink every hour for 1 tbsp. l.

Dense, red dry crusts from pomegranate, peeled from the white layer - an excellent remedy. They contain about 30% tannins and are effective against diarrhea and almost any intestinal disorder. They are also able to suppress the pathogens of dysentery. However, the remedy has contraindications and a doctor's consultation is required before using it.

Dried pomegranate peels are crushed to a powder state, after which 1 tsp. of this powder is poured with boiling water (1 tablespoon) and boiled in a water bath for 60 minutes, after which it is infused for 40 minutes. You need to take 1 tsp. about 4 times a day until the diarrhea clears up.

Blueberry

It turns out that this plant benefits not only the eyes, but also the gastrointestinal tract. To eliminate diarrhea, dried berries are used - fresh ones have the opposite effect and are used for constipation. Blueberries are rich in pectin and tannins, effective and safe. You can make decoctions, jelly, compotes from dried blueberries.

Oak bark is an excellent remedy for inflammation, it fights pathogenic microorganisms, has an astringent effect, and is able, by combining with proteins, to form a protective layer on the intestinal walls. It is also effective for diarrhea. You can prepare tinctures, decoctions, enemas from oak bark.

Pepper "black peas"

The simplicity and availability of this remedy for diarrhea has made black peas, along with rice water, the most used folk remedy for loose stools. Black pepper normalizes the digestive process by activating the production of enzymes and gastric juice. Using it is simple: you need to take 10 pcs. peas and just swallow them with water. But the remedy, unfortunately, has contraindications - pepper cannot be used for ulcers, anemia, inflammatory processes in the kidneys or urinary.

When to See a Doctor

Usually, adults cope with diarrhea on their own and fairly quickly. But in some cases, a visit to the doctor is still necessary. You need to visit a specialist's office if:

• symptoms do not go away for a long time;
• the intensity of diarrhea does not decrease;
• severe pain in the abdomen;
• the patient has a fever;
• there is severe dehydration;
• pallor of the skin is noted;
• feces are very dark in color.

The doctor will definitely take a history to determine the duration of the period of diarrhea and try to find out its cause. Then he will send you for a series of tests to establish an accurate diagnosis. In some cases, the patient may be hospitalized according to indications.

How to quickly get rid of diarrhea?

Step 1. The very first action in diarrhea should be attempts to replenish the level of fluid in the body. Diarrhea can seriously undermine its reserves in the body. It is required to drink as much water, broths as possible. On this day, if possible, it is better to cancel all cases and lie down at home, not far from the toilet.

Step 2 You can try over-the-counter anti-diarrhea medications.

Step 3 Analgesics should not be taken even in the presence of pain, without first consulting a doctor.

Talk to your doctor about painkillers

Step 4 Requires as much rest as possible, and better - sleep.

Step 5 If diarrhea persists throughout the day, then the next day you should consult a doctor.

Step 6 If diarrhea is accompanied by severe pain, high fever, then you should immediately call an ambulance.

Step 7 It is important to refuse the use of sweets, soda, coffee. It is best to drink natural jelly.

Step 8 In order not to aggravate diarrhea, you should eat foods low in dietary fiber. And the first few hours it is better to go hungry altogether.

Step 9 It is strictly forbidden to eat fatty foods and unhealthy foods.

Step 10 At the end of treatment, it is required to eat foods rich in probiotics in order to restore the intestinal microflora.

Step 11 If the cause of diarrhea is an intestinal infection, then it is important to take all measures to cope with it.

Step 12 No need to be nervous and worried - stress should be minimized.

Video - How to get rid of diarrhea? Folk methods

Diarrhea can dramatically change a person’s plans for the day and unsettle him. However, it can be dealt with quickly if you know how. As a rule, all the above remedies have a fairly quick effect, and as soon as the diarrhea subsides, you can return to the usual rhythm of life.

Diarrhea (medical name - diarrheal syndrome, diarrhea) is an acute or chronic disorder of the digestive tract, characterized by frequent and profuse bowel movements and liquefaction of the stool to a watery consistency. In children, diarrhea can be triggered by the introduction of complementary foods, intestinal infections, the use of low-quality foods and raw water. In adults, diarrhea usually occurs as a result of food poisoning, poisoning, the introduction of foods that are not typical for the region of residence (for example, while on vacation in southern countries). Acute diarrhea can last up to 2 weeks and is accompanied by painful cramps in the lower abdomen, fever, and vomiting.

Persistent diarrhea lasting more than 14 days or occurring intermittently over a long period of time is almost always a symptom of various disorders in the digestive system. Chronic diarrhea is not very common: according to WHO, no more than 14% of people suffer from long-term diarrhea, and more than half of them are men. Persistent diarrhea in an adult male that lasts for a long time is a warning sign that may indicate surgical pathologies that require emergency hospitalization, such as Crohn's disease. If the stool cannot be normalized within 5-7 days, it is necessary to consult a doctor, even if nothing else bothers the patient.

Chronic diarrhea is diagnosed if the patient's stool has a watery consistency for 14 days or more. All patients who go to the doctor with such complaints are necessarily sent for examination of feces for worm eggs, coprogram and analysis for enterobiasis. Coprogram is a universal chemical method for examining feces, which allows you to identify signs of inflammatory and infectious processes, as well as symptoms of impaired absorption of various substances. The following are the main causes that can lead to prolonged diarrhea in adult men, but you cannot rely on these data and make a diagnosis yourself - this should be done by a specialist after studying the results of the initial diagnosis.

Infection with worms

irritable bowel syndrome

IBS, according to most experts, is of a psychosomatic nature, although the exact causes of the pathology have not yet been established. Of great importance are the social and living conditions of a man, the degree of his social activity, the state of the central and autonomic nervous system. Irritable bowel syndrome can be manifested by both chronic constipation and prolonged diarrhea, so it is important to know the symptoms of the pathology and the basics of treatment.

In addition to a violation of the stool, the following signs may indicate IBS:

• painful cramps in the lower abdomen;
• flatulence, increased gas formation, "rumbling" in the stomach "
• false urge to empty the bowels;
• lack of relief after defecation.

For the treatment of IBS, a man will have to follow a diet that limits the use of foods containing a large amount of purines or purine acid. These are various nuts, seeds, raw vegetables (especially cabbage and sorrel), legumes, some types of cereals (oatmeal, barley). Alcoholic drinks, lemonades and carbonated mineral water should be completely excluded from the diet.

Of the drugs, prebiotic cultures and probiotics are indicated. Capsules and powder " Enterol". The drug restores the intestinal microflora, stimulates the growth of its own beneficial flora, destroys pathogenic bacteria, and normalizes stools. The dosage for an adult male is 2 capsules per day. Duration of admission - from 10 to 30 days.

Exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis

Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the parenchymal tissue of the pancreas involving the mucosal and submucosal layers. Chronic pancreatitis occurs in about 20% of men. The main risk group includes men who make errors in nutrition, abuse fatty and spicy foods, and alcoholic beverages. Heavy smokers, people with chronic diseases, who are forced to constantly take strong drugs, also have an increased risk of inflammation of the pancreas and other digestive organs.

Exacerbation of the pathology leads to the appearance of pronounced symptoms, including:

• acute pain in the right hypochondrium;
• prolonged diarrhea with watery or frothy stools;
• profuse vomiting (may contain impurities of bile acids and lumps of undigested food);
• temperature rise.

One of the most serious consequences of pancreatitis is pancreatic fibrosis - the growth of the connective fibers of the organ with the formation of scar elements. Diarrhea with fibrosis of the pancreas in men can last more than 20 days in a row.

Important! Outside of an exacerbation of pancreatitis, the patient also often suffers from prolonged diarrhea, which in some cases may be the only clinical sign of pathology.

Can diarrhea last more than 10 days with infectious diseases?

Infectious bowel diseases are predominantly acute lesions of various segments of the large or small intestine, provoked by the active growth and reproduction of pathogenic flora in the intestinal lumen. The main causes of acute intestinal infections are the consumption of expired and low-quality foods, poor heat treatment and viral diseases caused by viruses from the group of rotaviruses and enteroviruses.

Intestinal infections have severe symptoms and are manifested by fever, profuse vomiting, abdominal pain, intestinal cramps, and acute diarrhea. It is diarrhea that is considered one of the main manifestations of AII: the patient's stool becomes watery, mucus, foam appear in it, and a sharp putrefactive odor appears. The number of bowel movements in bitches can reach up to 10-12 times, the process itself is painful, does not bring relief after completion.

In most cases, diarrhea completely resolves within 5-7 days from the onset of the first signs, but in some cases, recovery can take up to 2 weeks or more (for example, with an enterovirus infection). This is a clinically serious condition that requires specialized care in a hospital setting.

Diarrhea in a man does not go away for more than 1 month

There are a lot of reasons that can cause stable liquefaction of feces in an adult male. They can be associated with both malnutrition and severe diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, less often - the organs of the vascular and hematopoietic systems. The most common pathologies with similar symptoms are listed in the table below.

Disease	Image	What it is?
		Inflammation of the mucous layer of the small intestine with signs of dystrophic and atrophic changes, in which the absorption and absorption of nutrients is impaired
		Obstruction of the bile ducts, occurring in 3-5% of men (mainly under the age of 30 years)
		Intolerance to a complex protein that is part of the chemical composition of most cereals (gluten)
		Chronic damage to the large intestine with signs of an inflammatory process that develops under the influence of external and genetic factors
		Disease of the stomach, in which there is a gradual atrophy of the mucous and submucosal layer of the gastric walls. It is more often diagnosed in men older than 45-50 years and is considered a precancerous condition.
		Milk sugar intolerance due to congenital or acquired deficiency of lactase, a digestive enzyme that breaks down lactose
		Inflammation of blood vessels, arteries and veins of various segments of the intestine
		Circulatory disorders in the intestinal vessels associated with blockage or narrowing of their lumen, as well as the formation of blood clots (intestinal thrombosis)
		Tumor process in the mucous layer of the small and large intestines, as well as the rectum

Important! Diarrhea that does not go away for more than 1 month can be one of the manifestations of colorectal cancer, so do not self-medicate if specialized therapy with antidiarrheal and antimicrobial drugs does not give positive results within a week.

Diagnosis for chronic diarrhea

The treatment of intestinal diseases is carried out by a coloproctologist (a narrower specialist is a proctologist - a doctor who treats pathologies of the rectum). If you suspect inflammation of the stomach or damage to the initial segments of the large intestine, a consultation with a gastroenterologist is indicated. If a man has chronic diseases of the endocrine system, for example, diabetes mellitus, treatment is prescribed together with an endocrinologist.

Turning to the hospital, a man should understand that he may have to undergo an examination by a proctologist or rectal examination using hardware methods, for example, irrigoscopy, colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy. When performed correctly, these procedures do not cause pain, but to facilitate the introduction of the endoscope, the patient must completely relax the muscles of the anus. In case of severe fear or psychological stiffness, you should consult your doctor about the possible use of sedatives and sedatives on the eve of the study.

Note! In some cases, additional examinations, such as tests of the functionality of the pancreas or the liver system, may be required to make an accurate diagnosis.

What to do if diarrhea persists for a long time?

Therapy of chronic diarrhea requires an integrated approach, so the use of one drug to get rid of the problem will not be enough. The basis of treatment in all cases are symptomatic drugs from the group of opioid receptor agonists. The drugs in this group are listed in the table below.

The listed drugs can be used for the treatment of functional diarrhea in allergic and alimentary gastroenteritis, malabsorption in the intestine, infectious bowel pathologies, and metabolic diseases. Short courses can be used for stable diet disorders, as well as digestive disorders caused by a change in the usual diet. If a man has had small bowel surgery and an ileostomy has been placed, loperamide-based drugs may be given on an ongoing basis to correct stool consistency.

A good therapeutic effect is given by the use of bifido drugs. They normalize the composition of the intestinal microflora and restore all its functions. Adult men can use one of the following drugs (before use, read the instructions):

• "Acipol";
• "Lineks";
• "Normaze";
• "Bifidumbacterin";
• "Bifiform".

To prevent dehydration with frequent diarrhea, it is recommended to drink plenty of water and use concentrated saline solutions, for example, Hydrovit or Regidron.

Nutrition for prolonged diarrhea

Correction of the diet is one of the most important tasks in the complex treatment of prolonged diarrhea. For men with similar symptoms, fractional meals and reduced portion sizes are recommended. From the menu it is necessary to exclude any irritating products and substances: vinegar, spices, flavorings. It is advisable to cook food in gentle ways (stewing, baking, boiling). With unspecified frequent diarrhea, it is recommended to limit the consumption of whole milk, spices, fatty sauces, fresh fruits. From vegetables, it is necessary to minimize the consumption of cucumbers, zucchini, radishes. Coffee and alcoholic drinks are allowed in small quantities and strictly outside the exacerbation period.

To alleviate the condition during the period of acute diarrhea, the diet should consist of sterilized applesauce, boiled rice, bananas, wheat crackers without the addition of flavorings and dyes. Meat should be consumed in the form of soufflés, meatballs and casseroles. Boiled pieces should be finely chopped with a meat grinder or blender.

Video - Persistent diarrhea: causes and effects