Diarrhea can either be new onset (acute diarrhea) or it could be a problem you have had recurrently for a long time (chronic diarrhea).

This page is going to talk about the new onset or acute type of diarrhea.

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“Acute Diarrhea” means diarrhea that has just started, sometimes abruptly, and it only lasts less than 2 weeks.

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Causes:

The most common cause of new diarrhea is an infection of that the most common type is viral.

It is often associated with nausea, vomiting, and belly cramps.

Viral diarrhea usually lasts 3-7 days, although may last up to two weeks in some cases.

Unfortunately, there is no special medication you can take to clear the virus faster.

Antibiotics do not work on viruses, and in fact, they may only make the diarrhea worse!

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In rare cases, the diarrhea can be caused by a bacterial, but that is usually associated with certain risk factors like travel, recent antibiotic use, hospitalization, eaten spoiled food, recent camping trip or drinking from water outdoors.

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Treatment for Diarrhea:

Your body just needs time to fight off the virus. In the mean time, here are some things you can do:

• Drink plenty of fluids to prevent yourself from becoming dehydrated from all the fluids you are losing from diarrhea and/or vomitting.

• For nausea or vomitting, take over-the-counter Gravol.

• For belly cramps, you can take anti-inflammatories (i.e. Advil, Motrin, Aleve, Ibuprofen, Naproxen), as long as your doctor has not told you to avoid them for other reasons.

• You can also take Tylenol (a.k.a. acetaminophen) for pain, fever and muscle aches.

 

Reasons to see your doctor:

• Severe, watery diarrhea with signs of dehydration – such as, dry mouth and tongue, thirst, muscle cramps, very dark-colored urine, urinating infrequently, and dizziness or lightheadedness after sitting up.  (Note: if you are having these symptoms, you may need to go directly to ER for IV fluids instead of seeing your family doctor).

• Severe belly pains.

• A fever that is very high or lasts longer than a day or two.

• Blood in the diarrhea or stool.

• If it lasts longer than 2 weeks.

• If you seem have recurrent diarrhea quite frequently over time.