Diarrhea Explained (Main Types of Diarrhea)
Main Types of Diarrhea

March 29th 2008 - When diarrhea suddenly hits you, this is called acute diarrhea and oftentimes is caused by something you ate, anxiety, or the medication that you just started taking. If your diarrhea continues for more than four weeks, the condition is now referred to as chronic diarrhea, which may be a sign of an intestinal problem such as Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or irritable bowel syndrome.

Main types of diarrhea:
1. Osmotic diarrhea: When there is an imbalance of fluid in the cells, where the nutrients in the lumen naturally attract fluids inside such as Celiac disease..
2. Secretory Diarrhea: As the name implies, it is when there is an increase or decrease of secretion like in the case of cholera and when there is no damage to the intestinal lining.
3. Motility Disorder: This is when the movement inside the intestinal tract moves too quickly, and so there is not enough time for the fluids and nutients to be absorbed by the body.
4. Inflammatory Diarrhea: There is a decreased ability of the mucosal lining to absorb fluids when it is damaged.

Other links/ where to get additional information:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003126.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diarrhea
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/diarrhea/




Contact Member:
Dr. Marsha Peterson

,
United States
Credits:
Gut Reactions by Raphael Kellman, M.D., Optimal Digestive Health Edited by Trent W. Nichols,MD, Digestive Wellness by Elizabeth Lipski, Ph.D., CCN, No More Digestive Problems by Cynthia M. Yoshida, MD., The Gastro-Intestinal Sourcebook by M. Sara Rosenthal, Body Reflexology by Mildred Carter, The Doctor's Guide to Gastrointestinal Health by Paul Miskovitz, MD, Perfect Digestion by Deepak Chopra, MD, Inner Cleansing by Carlson Wade, Get to know your Gut by Joan Sauers,