What are the symptoms of diarrhea and dehydration in adults?

Diarrhea is also called loose stools. If the diarrhea is severe, it may lead to water discharge, which is very harmful to human health. Dehydration will easily lead to symptoms of metabolic alkali poisoning. When this happens, it is very harmful to the organs of the body. If you do not pay attention to timely replenishment of body fluids, it may lead to a decline in kidney function, liver function, etc., and even cause failure.

Symptoms of diarrhea and dehydration in adults

(1) Loss of fluid through the digestive tract is the most common cause. Since the loss of fluid in the upper digestive tract is mainly H, it is easy to be accompanied by metabolic alkali poisoning. The lower digestive tract fluid contains more alkali and is easy to be accompanied by metabolic acidosis. Therefore, when diagnosing isotonic dehydration, attention should be paid to whether there is an acid-base imbalance.

(2) Patients with heart, liver, and kidney dysfunction and polyserosal effusion are prone to isotonic dehydration if large amounts of fluid are drained through repeated thoracic and abdominal punctures. The drainage volume should not exceed 1000 ml at a time. Observe for hypovolemia and seek prompt treatment.

(3) Elderly patients only have 45% of their body weight in body fluids and they do not feel thirsty as much as young people. Signs of dehydration such as dry skin, decreased elasticity, tachycardia, and orthostatic hypotension are easily overlooked. Therefore, special attention should be paid to whether the patient has oliguria or anuria, whether the oral mucosa has little or no fluid, whether there are any abnormalities in the patient's consciousness, whether the patient's resting blood pressure is low, and whether there is any fluid loss in the patient's medical history.

(4) Urine volume is a powerful indicator of whether the body fluid volume is sufficient. Usually, urine volume <1000 ml means a decrease in extracellular fluid. However, attention should be paid to certain special circumstances, such as poor blood sugar control in patients with diabetes, especially in patients with diabetic hyperosmolar coma or ketoacidosis. Due to the presence of osmotic diuresis, even if hypovolemic shock has occurred, urine volume may sometimes still be >1500 ml/d. In this case, urine volume cannot be used as an indicator to determine whether the effective blood volume is normal.

(5) Note that effective blood volume and extracellular fluid are not synonymous: some patients have increased interstitial fluid, subcutaneous edema, and shiny skin. At this time, the extracellular fluid is normal, but insufficient effective blood volume often exists, causing a drop in blood pressure.

Causes of dehydration and diarrhea in adults

(1) Bacterial infection:

Common ones include bacillary dysentery, Escherichia coli infection, Salmonella infection, Campylobacter infection, intestinal Staphylococcus aureus infection, acute hemorrhagic necrotizing enteritis, pseudomembranous enteritis, cholera, etc. The clinical manifestations of different bacterial infections are also different, and each has its own special manifestations.

(2) Protozoan and parasitic infections:

The most common infection is Schistosoma japonicum infection, and another is amoebic dysentery. However, amoebic dysentery usually manifests as dark red or jam-like stools, with large amounts and a foul odor.

(3) Viral infection:

It is more common in intestinal rotavirus infection and intestinal adenovirus infection. The clinical symptoms are generally mild and may include abdominal pain, diarrhea, etc. The diarrhea may occur several times a day and is mainly loose or watery stools.

(4) Fungal infection:

Positive fungal culture can be used for diagnosis in patients with long-term use of antibiotics and hormones or in the middle and late stages of chronic wasting diseases.

(5) Food poisoning:

A series of discomforts such as abdominal pain and bloating caused by eating food containing pathogens.