Defining diarrhoea
Defining diarrhoea
Customers with diarrhoea may describe having a tummy bug, food poisoning or traveller's diarrhoea. Lifestyle pressures, infection or medical conditions can all be triggers of diarrhoea,3 which can be a real inconvenience for your customers, interfering with their daily activities or leading to dehydration.
Diarrhoea can be defined as acute, persistent or chronic. Customers with persistent/chronic diarrhoea should be referred to their GP.
- Acute
- Lasts less than 14 days1
- Usually comes on suddenly, and clears within 5-10 days3
- Persistent
- Lasts for longer than 14 days1
- Chronic
- Lasts more than 4 weeks1
- Continuous/prolonged diarrhoea
Causes of acute diarrhoea include:1,3
-
Viral infection, e.g. norovirus. This is the most common infectious cause -
Bacterial infection, e.g. salmonella or E.coli food poisoning. Clostridium difficile can cause diarrhoea in those who have taken antibiotics -
Parasitic infection e.g. from the protozoa Giardia or Cryptosporidium. Giardiasis, for example, can be transmitted though untreated drinking water or through contaminated surfaces. Parasitic causes can result in persistent diarrhoea -
Medications such as magnesium-containing antacids, allopurinol, metformin, NSAIDs and proton pump inhibitors -
Anxiety, which can cause the bowel contents to move too rapidly through the gut -
Food intolerance (particularly lactose intolerance) or foods containing artificial sweeteners such as sorbitol -
Other medical conditions such as IBS, coeliac disease or an overactive thyroid -
Local food hygiene and sanitation when travelling