Infectious Diarrhea

Infectious Diarrhea General Information

Diarrhea is a common medical condition that is described as runny and frequent (sometimes even watery) faeces (bowel movements). The cause of this medical condition is a GI (an abbreviation for gastro-intestinal infections that can be caused by parasites, bacteria and / or viruses). The germ that is known to lead to the appearance of Infectious Diarrhea varies depending on geographic regions (some factors such as hygiene, economic development, level of sanitation, and so on are very important). It has been shown that countries that have poor sanitation or where human faeces are a common fertilizer are prone to experiencing infectious outbreaks of diarrhea (because the intestinal parasites and / or bacteria contaminate the drinking water, the crops, and so on).

In the case of well developed countries, an outbreak of Infectious Diarrhea is generally linked to the consumption of contaminated water (due to an unwanted contamination of water supplies), to food poisoning (in such cases the sickness is due to the consumption of food that has been contaminated with a certain type of bacteria – preserved foods are known to be the most dangerous ones from this point of view), person to person direct contact, and so on. Unfortunately, the infection that leads to the appearance of Diarrhea is very contagious. While in most cases the disease can spread as long as the patient presents the common symptoms of this medical disorder, in other clinical cases, the infection can still be contagious after all the specific symptoms (runny, watery, frequent faeces) have disappeared. The most common germs that can lead to the appearance of this disorder include: E. coli bacteria, Salmonella enteritidis bacteria, Campylobacter bacteria, Shigella bacteria, Giardia parasite, Cryptosporidium parasite, and others.

Infectious Diarrhea Symptoms

Infectious Diarrhea Treatment

In the case of a mild form of an Infectious Diarrhea, the easiest therapy option is maintaining the individual well hydrated (to ensure that he or she intakes an adequate amount of fluids per day). In the severe (potentially dangerous) cases of Diarrhea, the physician will probably ask the patient to submit a stool sample; after carefully analyzing the sample, the physician will be able to set a proper diagnosis (the sample will give him or her sufficient information to determine the underlying cause of your medical condition; for example, the presence of  faecal leukocytes is known to predict a medical disorder that affects the colon, either an inflammatory or an infectious disease). If the test has shown that the true cause of the patient’s medical condition (Infectious Diarrhea) is a parasite (amoeba and / or worms), the individual should be treated with antimicrobial medicines. In most cases, patients are generally prescribed a medication therapy in order to keep under control / treat their condition. For example, a treatment trial with Loperamide (an effective antimotility agent), can effectively reduce the symptoms of this medical condition if it has been proven that the Infectious Diarrhea is due to shigella. However, a therapy with this medical product is ineffective against traveler’s diarrhea that is known to be caused by another germ (enterotoxigenic E. coli). However, a therapy with this medicine is not recommended in the case of patients (children) who are younger than three years of age.

A therapy with antisecretory agents (like Racecadotril, a popular enkephalinase inhibitor) can effectively reduce the amount of watery faeces. A therapy with antibiotics is always useful in the case of patients who are suffering from an infectious disease (that also applies for individuals with Infectious Diarrhea). The intake of Norfloxacin (a powerful antibiotic) can effectively diminish the length of the patient’s diarrhea, if his or her condition was caused by any kind of bacterial pathogens. However, a therapy with this drug might cause several complications if the cause of the patient’s Diarrhea is salmonella. For further information regarding the most common (and most effective) ways of treating Infectious Diarrhea or any other similar medical conditions, we strongly advise all patients to seek further help at the nearest emergency room, at their personal health care provider’s office, at the nearest pharmacy, and so on. During your therapy for this disorder, you should follow each and every one of the instructions that your personal physician has given you. Disobeying any of them might affect the effectiveness of your treatment trial. If any disruptions alter your daily treatment (over doses, unwanted allergic reactions, missed doses, and so on), you should alert your personal health care provider as soon as possible and ask him or her for further pieces of advice (further directions).