Chronic Diarrhea - A Common Symptom of Intestinal Parasites

A typical digestion process involves your body converting your food into liquid form, absorbing the nutrients and liquid it needs, and then passing the rest through a semisolid stool. However, diarrhea can occur when the food and water passes through the body too quickly, not allowing the body to absorb the required water resulting in a watery bowel movement. Diarrhea is a common occurrence, since it can potentially happen after you've eaten something too greasy, but it's when it becomes chronic diarrhea - persistently occurring for more than two weeks - that a more serious foe may be to blame.

Chronic diarrhea is one of the most common symptoms of intestinal parasites. Whether they're hookworms, tapeworms, roundworms, pinworms, or any other parasite, they can cause a variety of symptoms including abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, gas, stomach pain, weight loss, and of course, diarrhea. Other causes of constant diarrhea include:

• Bacteria - can be transmitted into the body via contaminated food or water. Common forms of bacteria that cause chronic diarrhea include salmonella, Escherichia coli, and more.
• Viruses - are easily spread from person to person. They include the Norwalk virus, viral hepatitis, and rotavirus, which is the most common cause of acute diarrhea in children.
• Medications - constant diarrhea is a common side effect of some medications. The most common are antibiotics since they can affect the natural balance of bacteria in the intestines. This can lead to an infection known as Clostridium difficile, which also causes diarrhea.

More serious causes can include tumors, AIDS, intestinal disorders such as Crohn's disease and colitis, as well as disorders of the thyroid or the pancreas. If an otherwise healthy person comes down with chronic diarrhea, the ailment will be uncomfortable. However, if chronic diarrhea affects someone with an already weak immune system, the illness could be life threatening.