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The extent of diarrhea is graded based on severity, from 1 to 5. Grade 1 diarrhea is defined by an increase in the number of stools below four per day (compared with baseline). Grade 2 diarrhea is defined by an increase of 4–6 bowel movements per day. Grade 3 diarrhea is defined by an increase by 7 or more bowel movements per day.
There are many causes of infectious diarrhea, which include viruses, bacteria and parasites. [29] Infectious diarrhea is frequently referred to as gastroenteritis. [30] Norovirus is the most common cause of viral diarrhea in adults, [31] but rotavirus is the most common cause in children under five years old. [32]
Where diarrhea is caused by temporary problems such as mild infections or food reactions, incontinence tends to be short-lived. Chronic conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn's disease , can cause severe diarrhea lasting for weeks or months.
Diphenoxylate/atropine, also known as co-phenotrope and sold under the brand name Lomotil among others, is used to treat diarrhea. [2] [3] It is a fixed-dose combination of the medications diphenoxylate, as the hydrochloride, an antidiarrheal; and atropine, as the sulfate, an anticholinergic. [1]
Federal health officials are investigating overdoses and deaths involving the use of anti-diarrhea drugs.
Signs and symptoms of CDI range from mild diarrhea to severe life-threatening inflammation of the colon. [16]In adults, a clinical prediction rule found the best signs to be significant diarrhea ("new onset of more than three partially formed or watery stools per 24-hour period"), recent antibiotic exposure, abdominal pain, fever (up to 40.5 °C or 105 °F), and a distinctive foul odor to the ...
Antimotility agents are drugs used to alleviate the symptoms of diarrhea. These include loperamide (Imodium), bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol), [1] diphenoxylate with atropine (Lomotil), and opiates such as paregoric, tincture of opium, codeine, and morphine.
While medications used to decrease diarrhea such as loperamide are not recommended on their own, they may be used together with antibiotics. [11] [4] Shigella results in about 165 million cases of diarrhea and 1.1 million deaths a year with nearly all cases in the developing world. [5]