Anyone at any age can experience uncontrollable bowel movements from diarrhea—which typically declares its presence with overly soft, runny stools. There are numerous factors that could result in experiencing diarrhea, some of which are relatively common. Our team of gastroenterologists at Comprehensive Digestive Institute of Nevada in Henderson and Las Vegas, NV, encourages you to learn the identifiers of problematic diarrhea.
Common Causes and Symptoms of Diarrhea
Along with watery stools, you'll know you have diarrhea when you are noticing the unusual stools three or more times in a single day. Common symptoms of diarrhea may include:
- Immediate, frantic visits to the bathroom
- Nausea
- Discomfort in the abdomen
- Lack of control in bowel movements
Diarrhea is disruptive and uncomfortable, dehydrating the body potentially leading to other health concerns (e.g. fainting, low blood pressure, difficulty breathing, etc.).
It's at this point where you'll need to identify between the two forms: acute and chronic diarrhea. Acute diarrhea will not last longer than two weeks and is commonly a sign of food poisoning, an infection, or food intolerances, but eventually improves on its own. Chronic diarrhea lasts at least four weeks and is often a result of severe health problems (e.g. Chron's disease, celiac disease, ulcerative colitis, etc.).
Knowing When To Visit Us
Oftentimes, diarrhea will go away on its own, requiring no immediate visit with our team of specialists at Comprehensive Digestive Institute of Nevada in Henderson and Las Vegas, NV. However, we urge you to contact us if you notice the following:
- signs of blood in the stool
- waking up in the middle of the night due to irregular bowel movements
- signs of dehydration
- intense discomfort present in your abdomen or rectum
- a fever of 102 degrees or higher
- no improvement in condition over three days
Our team may require a physical examination or run tests of your stool or blood to better determine the cause of your diarrhea. In cases of chronic diarrhea, tests will be performed to identify signs of disease.
At Comprehensive Digestive Institute of Nevada in Henderson and Las Vegas, NV, our team of gastroenterologists recommend giving our office a call at (702) 483-4483 to best determine how to relieve discomfort from diarrhea and a personalized plan for your road to recovery!