Diarrhea is a common symptom that can range in severity from an acute, self-limited annoyance to a .severe, life-threatening illness. Patients may use the term diarrhea to refer to increased frequency of bowel movements, increased stool liquidity, a sense of facal urgency, or facal incontinence. In the normal conditions, approximately 10 litres of fluid enters the duodenum daily, of which all about 1.5 litres are absorbed by the small instestine. The colon (large intestine) absorbs most of the remaining fluid, with only 100 ml lost in the stool. From a medical point of view, diarrhea is defined as a stool weight of more than 250 g/24 hr. In reality, quantification of stool is necessary in the case of chronic diarrhea.
The causes of diarrhea are myriads. Clinically diarrhea is of two types: acute diarrhea and chronic diarrhea.
Acute diarrhea
Diarrhea that is acute in onset and persists for less than 3 weeks is most commonly caused by infectious agents, bacterial toxins or drugs. Ingestion of improperly stored or prepared food implicates food poisoning. Exposure to unpurified water may result in infection. Recent foreign travel suggests traveller’s diarrhoea and antibiotic administration in the preceding days results in colitis and diarrhea. The nature of the diarrhea helps distinguish among different infectious causes, as follows:
Non-inflammatory diarrhea: Watery, non-blood diarrhoea associated with periumbilical cramps, bloating, nausea or vomiting suggests small bowel enteritis, caused by either toxin-producing bacterium or other agents that disrupt the normal absorption and secretory process in the small intestine.
Inflammatory diarrhea: The presence of fever and blood diarrhea (dysentery) indicates colonic tissue damage caused by invasion or a toxin. Because these organisms involve predominantly the colon, the diarrhoea is small in volume.
Enteric fever: A severe systemic illness, manifested initially by prolonged high fevers, prostration, confusion, respiratory symptoms followed by abdominal tenderness, diarrhea, and a rash, is due to infection with Salmonella typhi, which causes bacteremia and multiorgan dysfunction.
The causes of chronic diarrhea may be grouped as follows:
1. Osmotic diarrhoea, due to lactase deficiency.
2. Malabsorptive diarrhea, due to small mucosal intestinal disease, pancreatic insufficiency, intestinal resections and intestinal bacterial overgrowth.
3. Secretory conditions, due to increased intestinal secretion or decreased absorption.
4. Inflammatory conditions, due to inflammatory bowel disease.
5. Motility disorder, due to abnormal intestinal motility rate.
6. Chronic infections, due to long-time parasitic infection.
Preksha — Yoga management:
Shat kriyas – Neti and kunjal
Yogic exercises – For abdomen
Asanas – Surya Namaskar, Pawan muktasana, Shashankasana and Bhujangasana
Pranayama – Nadi shodhan, Anulom-Vilom and Bhastrika
Bandh – Jalandhar bandh
Kayotsarga – 20 minutes daily
Preksha – Samvritti shwas preksha
Anupreksha – Contemplation for correction of intestinal disorder
Diet –
• To perform Bhava kriya during eating
• To consume simple, fresh vegetarian food
• To avoid consuming spices at all
• To observe fast as per requirement