Which department should I go to if I have diarrhea?

When you go to the hospital for treatment, you must first understand which department you want to go to. Otherwise, even if you get an appointment but go to the wrong department, you will only waste time and money, and may also cause delays in treatment. Which department should we go to when we have diarrhea? Generally, we should start with the cause of the disease. Diarrhea is also called enteritis. The most common cause of diarrhea is enteritis, so we should first choose gastroenterology when we have diarrhea.

1. Acute diarrhea

(1) Infections include intestinal infections caused by viruses (rotavirus, norovirus, coxsackievirus, echovirus, etc.), bacteria (Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Shigella dysenteriae, Vibrio cholerae) or parasites (Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia lamblia).

(2) Poisoning: Food poisoning such as eating uncooked lentils, poisonous mushroom poisoning, puffer fish poisoning, heavy metal poisoning, pesticide poisoning, etc.

(3) Laxatives, choleretics, digitalis drugs, etc.

(4) Other diseases: acute exacerbation of ulcerative colitis, acute necrotizing enterocolitis, food allergy, etc.

2. Chronic diarrhea

The causes of chronic diarrhea are more complicated than those of acute diarrhea. Lesions of the intestinal mucosa itself, excessive bacterial growth in the small intestine, defects in intestinal transport function, insufficient digestive capacity, intestinal motility disorders, certain endocrine diseases and extraintestinal tumors may all lead to the occurrence of chronic diarrhea. Conditions that can cause chronic diarrhea include:

(1) Intestinal infectious diseases: ① Chronic amoebic dysentery; ② Chronic bacterial diseases; ③ Intestinal tuberculosis; ④ Giardiasis, schistosomiasis; ⑤ Intestinal candidiasis.

(2) Non-infectious intestinal inflammation: ① Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis); ② Radiation enteritis; ③ Ischemic colitis; ④ Diverticulitis; ⑤ Uremic enteritis.

(3) Tumors: ① Colorectal cancer; ② Colon adenomatosis (polyps); ③ Malignant lymphoma of the small intestine; ④ Amine precursor uptake decarboxylation cell tumor, gastrinoma, carcinoid, intestinal vasoactive intestinal polypeptide tumor, etc.

(4) Small intestinal malabsorption: ① Primary small intestinal malabsorption; ② Secondary small intestinal malabsorption.

(5) Intestinal motility diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome

(6) Gastric, hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases: ① Subtotal gastrectomy with gastrojejunostomy; ② Atrophic gastritis; ③ Chronic hepatitis; ④ Cirrhosis; ⑤ Chronic pancreatitis; ⑥ Chronic cholecystitis.

(7) Systemic diseases: ① Hyperthyroidism; ② Diabetes mellitus; ③ Chronic adrenocortical insufficiency; ④ Systemic lupus erythematosus; ⑤ Niacin deficiency; ⑥ Food and drug allergies.

treat

Both etiological treatment and symptomatic treatment are important. Before the cause of the disease is determined, painkillers and antidiarrheal drugs should be used with caution to avoid masking symptoms and causing misdiagnosis and delaying the disease.

1. Treatment of the cause

(1) Anti-infection treatment: Choose appropriate antibiotics based on the different causes.

(2) For others, for example, people with lactose intolerance should not consume dairy products, and adults with celiac disease should avoid wheat products. Chronic pancreatitis can supplement with a variety of digestive enzymes. In case of drug-related diarrhea, the relevant drug should be discontinued immediately.

2. Symptomatic treatment

(1) General treatment corrects water, electrolyte, acid-base imbalance and nutritional imbalance. Replenish fluids, vitamins, amino acids, fat emulsions and other nutrients as appropriate.

(2) Mucosal protective agents: dioctahedral montmorillonite, sucralfate, etc.

(3) Probiotics such as Bifidobacterium can regulate intestinal flora.

(4) Antidiarrheal drugs should be selected according to the specific situation.

(5) Other drugs such as 654-2, propantheline bromide, and atropine have antispasmodic effects, but should be used with caution in patients with glaucoma, prostatic hypertrophy, and severe inflammatory bowel disease.