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