Diarrhea

Sometimes, the causes of diarrhea are relatively less difficult to guess:

• If you ate suspicious food before the diarrhea, it may be caused by food poisoning
• If you are travelling, it may be a condition called traveler's diarrhea
• If you eat something special (such as wild mushroom) that you do not eat regularly, it may be caused by toxin (mushroom toxin)
• Some medications, laxative and alcohol abuse can cause diarrhea
• Competitive running can also cause diarrhea too

So if you eat something special or did something special before you have diarrhea, that special thing might be the cause. It can be further confirmed if the diarrhea stops if you stop that special thing.

If there is nothing special, then it is likely caused by diseases. For acute diarrhea which lasts no more than a couple of days, it is most often caused by virus (such as norovirus, rotavirus) or bacteria (such as Campylobacter, Salmonellae, Shigella, and E. Coli ) infection.

Chronic diarrhea is most commonly caused by these diseases:

• Celiac disease
• Inflammatory bowel diseases (including Crohn's disease, , ulcerative colitis etc.)
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Lactose intolerance
• Pseudomembranous colitis

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