Diarrhea Specialist

What is diarrhea?

Diarrhea is where you pass soft, often liquid stools. You may also experience abdominal cramps and bloating, particularly in your lower abdomen. Depending on the cause of your diarrhea, you might have blood in your stools or suffer from nausea and vomiting.

Frequently passing liquid stools can make you feel weak and sore, and having to sit on the toilet repeatedly because of diarrhea can sometimes lead to the development of hemorrhoids. Most often, diarrhea is nothing to be alarmed about, but it can sometimes be a sign of a more serious condition.

It's important to stay hydrated when you have diarrhea, as you can lose a lot of liquid.

Why would I get diarrhea?

Diarrhea can arise from eating rich foods and is often a sign of a viral or bacterial infection. Certain medications, especially ones like antibiotics that affect the gut flora, can cause diarrhea as well. In these cases, your symptoms should resolve in a few days.

Persistent diarrhea could be a sign of a chronic problem such as:

• Diverticulitis
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Celiac disease
• Crohn's disease
• Ulcerative colitis

Food allergies, intolerances, and sensitivities can also trigger an attack of diarrhea.

To make an accurate diagnosis of the reason for your diarrhea, the GI Specialists of Houston, LLP, team performs a comprehensive exam and may take blood and stool samples for analysis.

What treatments can help with diarrhea?

The diarrhea treatment your provider at GI Specialists of Houston, LLP, recommends depends on what's causing your symptoms. Very often, making changes to your diet clears up diarrhea. Bacterial infections might require a course of antibiotics, but these drugs won't help if you have a viral infection.

If your symptoms and the results of your lab tests suggest you might have a gastrointestinal disease, you may need to undergo further tests, such as a colonoscopy, CT scan, or MRI scan.

If you have an allergy or a condition like celiac disease, you might need to cut that food out of your diet completely. Inflammatory bowel diseases (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease) might require long-term use of anti-inflammatory drugs and immunosuppressants.

Whatever the cause of your diarrhea, GI Specialists of Houston, LLP, can help resolve your symptoms. Call the closest office today or book an appointment online.