Diarrhoea
A change in the consistency or frequency of stool. Under two weeks is called acute; beyond four weeks it is chronic, and the causes are entirely different.
What is happening
Acute diarrhoea is usually infection or a medication. Chronic diarrhoea raises other possibilities - irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, coeliac disease, bacterial overgrowth, chronic pancreatitis, lactose intolerance, thyroid disease, or occasionally colon cancer. Breath tests and stool studies usually resolve it.
What helps
- Fluids and oral rehydration solution first
- Avoid caffeine
- Note any link to milk, wheat or specific foods - it is genuinely useful information
See a doctor promptly if you have
- Blood in the stool
- High fever
- Signs of dehydration
- Diarrhoea lasting more than two weeks
- Diarrhoea that wakes you at night
How we investigate it
Almost always the answer comes from a careful history first, and only then a targeted test — not a panel of everything. Depending on what we find, that may be an endoscopy, a colonoscopy, a Fibroscan or a breath test. We will tell you why a test is being suggested, and what we would do differently depending on the result.
Speak to a gastroenterologist about diarrhoea
Consultations at all four centres — Vastrapur, Bopal, Bapunagar and Nikol.