Diarrhoea is a symptom consisting of frequent watery, loose bowel movements. It can be a symptom of disease, allergy, food intolerance, food borne illness, or excesses of vitamin C or magnesium, and may be accompanied by abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and weight loss.
It occurs when insufficient fluid is absorbed by the colon....
As part of the digestion process food is mixed with large amounts of water. Digested food is therefore essentially liquid prior to reaching the colon. The colon usually absorbs this liquid, leaving the remaining material as a semi-solid stool. If the colon is damaged or inflamed however, absorption is inhibited and watery stools result.
Diarrhoea is the body's way of quickly removing impurities and toxins from the digestive system. Salmonella and E.coli are common examples of bacterial infection. It can lead to severe dehydration and can become life-threatening without treatment...
Fact: In the Third World diarrhoea is the most common cause of death among infants, killing more than 1.5 million per year.
Diarrhoea can last one or two days, or can be chronic, depending on its cause.
Causes
Toxins (e.g. staphylococcal toxin), food poisoning and food allergy/sensitivity are the most common causes of diarrhoea, along with viral infections or bacterial toxins.
Parasites and worms are also responsible and are often accompanied by weight loss, irritability, rashes or anal itching.
It can also be a symptom of more serious diseases, such as dysentery, cholera, or botulism and can also be indicative of a chronic syndrome such as crohn's disease.
Other common causes include insufficient digestive enzymes and other digestive nutrients, caffeine, stress, contaminated water, heavy metal overload, coeliac disease (intolerance to gluten), ulcerative colitis, IBS, lactose intolerance, fructose malabsorption, Pernicious anaemia (inability to absorb vitamin B12), loss of pancreatic secretions and drugs such as chemotherapy, antibiotics and antacids can all cause diarrhoea.