{"id":14101,"date":"2020-03-10T09:38:21","date_gmt":"2020-03-10T09:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/?p=14101"},"modified":"2021-05-06T13:17:04","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T13:17:04","slug":"14-frequent-causes-of-watery-stool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/14-frequent-causes-of-watery-stool\/","title":{"rendered":"14 Frequent Causes of Watery Stool"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Watery stools are one of the most unpleasant medical symptoms that any person can experience, but it also happens to be one of the most common ones there are. The majority of people will experience watery stools or diarrhea as a symptom during their lifetime, and usually more than once throughout life with several different conditions and causes that could be the underlying cause.
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If you experience watery stools that don’t go away, it can be one of the most dangerous possible symptoms due to the rate at which this can dehydrate the body: Fluid intake becomes vital in order to restore what the body loses through getting sick.
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The symptom can be temporary (and go away by itself), but for anything that doesn’t subside within a few days’ worths of home treatment, see your doctor to find and treat the cause as soon as possible.
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Here are 14 of the most frequent causes of watery stools.
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1. Medication Side-Effect<\/strong>
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Should you have started or stopped taking any medication within the same time period as your first symptoms, one possibility could be that it’s caused by the medication.
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It’s common for medication <\/a>to irritate the stomach and cause watery stools. There are a thousand different types of medication that might have this effect, including painkillers and antidepressants.\u00a0
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Watery stools can be a temporary side-effect that goes away once the body is more “used” to taking the medication, but it can also be more serious irritation that’s associated with long-term use of certain medications.
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If you suspect that a medication either prescription or over-the-counter has been causing diarrhea, your first step is seeing your doctor. Don’t stop, start or change any medications without checking with a professional first.
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2. Ulcerative Colitis<\/strong>
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Ulcerative colitis<\/a> is a common medical condition that affects thousands of people worldwide, and the number of affected people is suspected to be much higher than first thought due to the fact that many cases of colitis might have been wrongly diagnosed as other conditions first.
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It’s a serious chronic and lifelong digestive condition that means you have to be much more careful with what you eat: the list of “don’ts” is a long one if you have a condition like ulcerative colitis, and eating the wrong thing can trigger serious symptoms that include internal bleeding and a severe inflammatory reaction to certain foods.
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It’s the inflammatory reaction in the case of ulcerative colitis that will trigger watery stools as a side-effect.
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See your doctor for tests if you suspect that you might have colitis or a similar condition behind your symptoms.
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3. Sudden Dietary Changes<\/strong>
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Watery stools are a common medication side-effect that you might see listed on the leaflet for the medication (right under the side-effects panel) if you look for it. 
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Eating any kind of “rich” foods can affect the digestive system<\/a>, and one has no real predictor of how food is going to affect you when you eat it until it has already passed through your system. This is true for most people, even those who might not have chronic digestive conditions.
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Thanksgiving, birthdays, functions, restaurant-outings… All of these events mean that people eat things richer than they are used to in their daily diet.
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It’s common for a once-off indulgence like this to trigger watery stools. Usually, it just lasts a day or so after the food has been consumed – and anything that lasts longer than one day is bound to be another cause (or if still related to the food, something like food poisoning).
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Have you changed anything in your diet lately, if not a once-off rich meal? Sudden dietary changes and watery stools can also go together: The best doctor to see here is a dietary specialist.
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4. Gluten Intolerance <\/strong>
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Food intolerances are a common cause for experiencing watery stools, and it should be a symptom that you especially take note of if it were to happen after consuming certain types of food (e.g. bread, pasta or anything else that might contain wheat or gluten).
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If you are gluten <\/a>intolerant, it means your body shows a negative reaction when coming into contact with gluten, usually even trace amounts of it. It can be found in many things on the shelf, including as a thickener in things you wouldn’t find obvious at first.
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One of the symptoms of gluten intolerance can manifest with is watery stools, especially shortly after consuming anything that contained gluten. It could be something obvious, or it could be the “hidden ingredient” should you check to contain ingredients on the label.
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Adapt your diet in order to see if it makes any kind of difference to your symptoms and make an appointment with a doctor.
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5. Overactive Thyroid<\/strong>
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Conditions of the thyroid gland<\/a> (including overactive thyroid conditions and underactive ones) are diagnosed at a rate of thousands of cases every year, and you might be one of them if you can match up with symptoms that include sudden weight loss or gain and appetite changes together with drastic digestive changes not related to other conditions.
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The thyroid and digestive system are closely linked. It’s common for people with thyroid conditions to experience watery stools together with general sensitivity to certain foods, especially during the times they might experience condition flare-ups.
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Genetics can increase your risk of developing thyroid conditions: You’re likely to manifest symptoms other than the ones mentioned here. There are other risk factors, and it’s best to find out from your doctor what puts you more or less at risk if this is what you suspect.
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See your doctor if you suspect that a thyroid condition might be behind what’s up with your health. All it takes to establish your condition is a few simple tests by a professional doctor – and that’s not much of a price to pay considering that it can keep your health in better condition for the rest of your life.
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6. Cystic Fibrosis<\/strong>
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Chronic pain, muscle fatigue, sleeplessness, and chronic discomfort are only some of the symptoms that might be associated with cases of cystic fibrosis<\/a>. It’s a common inherited condition that affects many worldwide and might affect you if you show any of these symptoms together with high-risk factors of the condition.
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Watery stools with chronic flare-up periods can be another symptom that you might frequently experience if you have a condition like cystic fibrosis. In this case, it usually gets managed as a symptom and has to be treated symptomatically with the use of medication that acts as a “binder” for the stomach.
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Anti-inflammatory medication might be prescribed to control the physical flare-ups of cystic fibrosis.
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If you suspect that you might have cystic fibrosis, then your best bet is to see your doctor for a diagnosis. It takes only a few simple tests to tell you if you might have cystic fibrosis, and suddenly your symptoms are easier to manage when your doctor knows what to treat.
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7. Stomach Acid Overproduction<\/strong>
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The overproduction of digestive acid within the stomach is another common cause related to why you might experience watery stools, and it takes place because of the fact that the acid in question might become an irritant to the stomach lining and cause watery stools as a consequence.
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There are many reasons why someone might produce too much acid: Following a diet that’s too high in acidic <\/a>or fatty components can be a common cause for this, but there are also many others that can include more chronic health conditions like Crohn’s disease or simply acid reflux.
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The use of acid-countering medication is typically prescribed in this case as a way to manage the acid overproduction and any other side-effects caused as a result. 
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Depending on what causes the acid overproduction, different treatments (usually related to additional medication) can be followed depending on what might be diagnosed as the underlying trigger.
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8. Cancer-Related Symptoms<\/strong>
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Cancer <\/a>is one of the most feared medical conditions, but the truth is that most of the cancer cases that get diagnosed every year are ones that are entirely possible to treat with early diagnosis, the right medical team, and immediate treatment.
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There are a lot of potential risk factors for who might develop cancer versus who won’t. Stress, dietary factors, lifestyle choices and exposure rates to various things are some of the potential cancer-triggering factors that we know of so far other than simple genetics.
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Treatments for cancer (as well as certain digestive cancers themselves) commonly trigger watery stools as a side-effect. You’re likely to also experience nausea and vomiting, appetite changes and drastic changes in your weight at the same time, either due to the condition or the treatment for it.
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See your doctor immediately if you suspect any of the above, or if you’re following treatment and require supportive symptom assistance.
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9. H. Pylori Infections<\/strong>
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H. Pylori<\/a> is one of the most common bacterial conditions which might affect the gut and stomach: As an infectious condition, this is something that people commonly catch from contact with someone who has been infected with it, their waste to anything they might have recently touched without washing their hands.
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Watery stools are one of the first symptoms you might experience if you have H. Pylori: Characteristically, this symptom might last for a few hours to a few days before appearing to stop, and the same symptoms are likely to restart in a few weeks or days as the bacteria reach their cycle – and then it all starts again.
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H. Pylori has the potential to spread to others, and the potential to eventually cause very serious damage to the body with repetitive infections and diarrhea. Stools are automatically watery with H. Pylori infections, although might also have a “feather-like” quality.
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See your doctor if you suspect that you might have contracted H. Pylori: Early treatment is key and takes simple antibiotics.
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10. Alcohol Poisoning<\/strong>
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Alcohol <\/a>poisoning happens to thousands of people every year, and it’s a serious condition that requires hospitalization and treatment – otherwise, it has the potential to cause serious organ damage or possibly fatality, as is the case with many every year.
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Alcohol poisoning happens when the body takes in far too much alcohol for the body to process: The content of the alcohol present in the blood skyrockets and the subsequent side-effect is alcohol poisoning – whereby a person is likely to experience vomiting, nausea, watery stools and might eventually experience unconsciousness.
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Excessive vomiting together with stomach upset is the first symptom of serious alcohol poisoning, and the effects are usually seen immediately: Seek medical attention as soon as possible at the first possible suspicion that it might be alcohol poisoning.
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From there, the condition can be treated symptomatically and the symptoms are likely to stop, including watery stools and other ones associated alongside it.
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11. A Symptom of Crohn’s Disease<\/strong>
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Crohn’s disease<\/a> is a very serious digestive condition that gets diagnosed in a few thousand people every year with increasing prevalence: Similar to conditions like colitis, Crohn’s is a condition that means extreme care has to be taken with the person’s diet – and anything can trigger a flare-up, often on any day without any preceding warning that this is the food item that might do it.\u00a0
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Watery stools, stomach pains and changing sensitivity to food are some of the most common symptoms of people who are diagnosed with Crohn’s. Weight loss and anemia are some of the associated symptoms that might follow sometime thereafter as a result. Dehydration is also common in cases of a flare-up with loose stools.
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If you suspect that you might have Crohn’s disease (or already know that you do and require added help from your medical professional), make an appointment with your doctor and a dietary specialist respectively in order to treat your condition and manage symptoms more effectively.
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12. Lactose Intolerance<\/strong>
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Dietary intolerances are one of the most common causes of watery stools, and there are many things that can count under this banner – in fact, most people are sensitive to certain things within their diet and it just happens to be things like gluten, wheat or lactose for some people.
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Lactose intolerance <\/a>means that your body doesn’t have the capacity to process lactose, commonly found in milk, milk powders and milk products (although also in more things on the shelf than you might ever have thought of to check until now).
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Watery stools after consuming anything containing lactose, dairy or milk could all point to dietary intolerance: A process of elimination might help you when it comes to figuring out what might be causing your symptoms.
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Itchiness, vomiting, and nausea are other common symptoms that might help you to establish whether lactose intolerance could be the problem. 
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See your doctor and a dietary specialist.
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13. Food Allergies<\/strong>
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Food allergies are another one of the most common causes for people who might experience watery stools, vomiting, nausea <\/a>and other symptoms such as itchiness. If you are allergic to certain foods, you should be avoiding them – and if you don’t know what you’re allergic to yet, you should have it checked out by an allergy specialist before it becomes a serious risk to your health.
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Food allergies are not just intolerances: They are much more serious, and food allergies have the potential to kill or cause unconsciousness in the case of direct exposure to the allergen. 
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Serious care is needed if you suspect that you might be showing signs of a food allergy: Either the right medication or immediate medical treatment via the nearest emergency room might be required depending on how bad the allergic reaction might be. 
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Common food allergies like nuts and shellfish might manifest at any point during your lifetime, even if you weren’t previously allergic: Again, visit the emergency room or see your doctor as soon as you can.
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14. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) <\/strong>
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Irritable Bowel Syndrome is also known as IBS<\/a>, and it’s becoming one of the most common dietary conditions with thousands of new cases being diagnosed every year all over the world.\u00a0
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The condition means that you have an automatically more sensitive digestive system than everyone around you – and it also happens to mean that you will automatically require serious changes in your diet or you’re going to be stuck with symptoms like stomach pain and watery stools every time you think of going near food.
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Should watery stools be increasingly commonly experienced and should you feel that you are becoming more sensitive to certain foods over time, you should see your doctor as soon as possible – and mention the possibility that IBS might be what you think you have if you match up enough of the potential symptoms for it.
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The good news is that IBS is both possible and easy to treat with the right medication and lifestyle changes: Watery stools as a symptom are likely to cease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\r\n

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