Diarrhea is a condition of getting watery loose stool many times a day. Increased bowel movements and change in the texture and color of the stool indicates diarrhea. Yellow diarrhea can be caused by many factors like infection on the stomach or intestine, allergic reaction, improper food habits, certain medical conditions and intake of certain medicines. Diarrhea is actually helping your system by clearing toxic substances from the body. And it is not good to stop diarrhea abruptly. You can try natural remedies for managing the symptoms of diarrhea before visiting your doctor. Loose stool can be of any color ranging from green to yellow. Often yellow diarrhea indicates improper absorption of fat in the intestine. Diarrhea would last for about 2-3 days and you can take over the counter drugs to control it.
Diarrhea Symptoms :
You will have an urgent need to use the toilet if you have diarrhea. In other words you may not be able to control bowel movements like before. The stools would be watery or thin and you would be visiting toilet many times a day. Other symptoms that are accompanied with diarrhea include pain in the stomach, bloating feeling, nausea and vomiting. If you have blood discharge in the stool you need to visit the clinic immediately. In severe cases diarrhea would be related with other signs like loss of mental balance and consciousness, rapid heartbeat, fatigue, fever and lowered Blood Pressure.
Complications :
Diarrhea is not a disease and there is nothing to worry about it. However uncontrolled diarrhea can cause dehydration which is a serious issue. To prevent that you need to take plenty of fluids once you have diarrhea. Dehydration may lead to loss of electrolytes, loss of volumes of water and other nutrients from the body and reduced function of kidney. The person may not feel comfortable and may have symptoms of fatigue, loss of balance and sometimes they may pass out (lose conscious) due to dehydration.
What Causes Diarrhea ? :
- Yellow diarrhea with foul smell indicates infection. It can be viral or bacterial infection. In common terms it is caused by “stomach flu”.
- Eating allergic foods can disturb the normal balance in the intestine causing yellow diarrhea.
- Any problem (inflammation or infection) in the bile duct or liver can cause yellow diarrhea.
- Certain diseases like Crohn’s disease or diabetes or any infection in the intestine can cause diarrhea.
- Eating improper foods and following wrong food habits can be the root cause for diarrhea.
- People who drink alcohol daily or frequently are likely to get yellow diarrhea frequently.
- Undergoing radiation therapy for cancer can cause diarrhea as side effect.
- Some antibiotics and other medications can upset the stomach leading to yellow diarrhea.
- Certain medical conditions like Irritable Bowel Syndrome, hyperthyroidism and mal-absorption of nutrients can also cause watery stool.
- If the intestine is not able to absorb fat properly or if there is insufficient production of bile it can cause yellow and greasy stool. This condition can occur due to Cystic Fibrosis or Celiac Disease or in rare cases Liver Cancer.
Diagnosis :
For short term diarrhea your doctor would check the condition of the stomach and ask few questions about your eating habit. He may enquire about any new medications you are taking at present. For chronic diarrhea your doctor would request for stool test and blood test to identify the cause for diarrhea.
Treatment :
For yellow diarrhea it is enough if you replace the lost fluids by taking plenty of fluids. Diarrhea may be the response of bad food or an infection. Your body’s defense system will be in action for removing the toxic or bad food from the system. Once the entire food elements have been removed you will get back normal bowel movements. Hence don’t get tempted to take medications as soon as you get diarrhea. You can wait for a day to check if your symptoms are improved and you feel better.
Before taking any medications for yellow diarrhea you can try yoghurt (Yogurt) at home. This is a natural remedy to change your bowel movements to normal. Over the counter medications like loperamide or bismuth subsalicylate can be used for controlling diarrhea. Similarly Imodium is also effective. If infection is the cause then you will have yellow diarrhea for 2 or more days and that too it occurs immediately after eating. Your doctor may prescribe antibiotics or antiviral drugs suitably.
Diet modification with medications can manage the symptoms of diarrhea due to irritable bowel syndrome or celiac disease. You can also home remedies like apple cidar vinegar, bananas or acidophilus for controlling diarrhea. For people with chronic diarrhea it is better to avoid solid foods and include plenty of soups and soft foods in their diet. Avoid drinking coffee/tea or alcohol if you have diarrhea since it may worsen the symptoms.
