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 Chronic Diarrhea
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What is chronic diarrhea?

Diarrhea that lasts for more than 2 weeks is considered persistent or chronic. In an otherwise healthy person, chronic diarrhea may be a nuisance problem, or, for someone who has a weak immune system, a life-threatening illness.

What causes chronic diarrhea?

There are many causes of chronic diarrhea; these may be different for children and adults. Causes of chronic diarrhea can be grouped into two categories: diarrhea caused by an infection and diarrhea not caused by an infection. Sometimes, the cause of chronic diarrhea remains unknown.

Diarrhea caused by an infection may result from:

  • Parasites, such as: Cryptosporidium parvum, Cyclospora cayetanensis, Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia, microsporidia
  • Bacteria, such as: Campylobacter, Clostridium difficile, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella enteritidis, Shigella
  • Viral infections, such as: HIV, rotavirus, Norwalk agent

Diarrhea not caused by an infection may result from:

  • Antibiotics
  • High blood pressure medications
  • Cancer drugs
  • Crohn's disease
  • Colitis
  • Diabetes, thyroid and other endocrine diseases
  • Food additives (sorbitol, fructose, and others)
  • Food allergies
  • Previous surgery or radiation of the abdomen or gastrointestinal tract
  • Tumors
  • Reduced blood flow to the intestine
  • Heredity--certain diseases occur more often in related family members.
  • Travel

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EditText of this page (last edited December 12, 2009)

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