How is chronic diarrhoea investigated and diagnosed?
Written by:In this article below, distinguished London-based gastroenterologist, Professor Christos Toumpanakis, explains what chronic diarrhoea is, before outlining the various associated symptoms and different potential causes.
What is chronic diarrhoea, and what are the symptoms?
Chronic diarrhoea is diarrhoea that lasts between three to four weeks. Diarrhoea refers to many loose bowel movements during the day, and even during the night.
When someone has diarrhoea, their stools do not look normal, typically resembling water and not a hard, solid texture. If these symptoms persist for more than three to four weeks, we call this chronic diarrhoea.
What are the common causes?
There are a number of different causes of chronic diarrhoea. The main ones include:
- untreated infections
- long-standing inflammation of the gut (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease)
- food intolerances and food allergies
- previous operations
- various medications
- liver tumours
How is chronic diarrhoea investigated and diagnosed?
Firstly, we need to take stool samples to examine if they have parasites. Patients should also undergo a colonoscopy. A wireless endoscopy can then be performed if the colonoscopy is not definitively diagnostic.
Rarely, a double balloon enteroscopy is also performed. Breath tests can also be used. However, stool samples, blood tests, and a colonoscopy are the main ways to diagnose it.
What are the treatment options for chronic diarrhoea?
Patients can avoid dairy products in the first instance. A full investigation is required, and in some cases, antibiotics are given. The underlying cause needs to be treated accordingly.
What other conditions can chronic diarrhoea indicate?
Patients should remember that other medications that they take for various reasons can cause diarrhoea. In some cases, chronic diarrhoea can indicate ulcerative colitis and/or Crohn’s disease.
What advice would you give to patients experiencing chronic diarrhoea?
Firstly, patients should monitor the frequency and consistency of their bowel movements. They should also check whether their stools have blood or mucus.
If you would like to book an appointment with Professor Christos Toumpanakis, simply visit his Top Doctors profile today.
