You are on page 1of 3

Diarrhea is loose, watery stools.

A person with diarrhea typically passes stool more than three times a
day. People with diarrhea may pass more than a quart of stool a day. Acute diarrhea is a common
problem that usually lasts 1 or 2 days and goes away on its own without special treatment. Prolonged
diarrhea persisting for more than 2 days may be a sign of a more serious problem and poses the risk of
dehydration. Chronic diarrhea may be a feature of a chronic disease.

Diarrhea can cause dehydration, which means the body lacks enough fluid to function properly.
Dehydration is particularly dangerous in children and older people, and it must be treated promptly to
avoid serious health problems.

The prevalence of diarrhea is not uniform in the general population. Food-and water-borne outbreaks
involving a relatively small subset of population and recurrent bouts of illness in others make up the bulk
of the cases. Diarrhea is more prevalent among adults who are exposed to children and non-toilet-
trained infants, particularly in a daycare setting; travelers to tropical regions; homosexual males;
persons with underlying immunosuppressant; and those living in unhygienic environments and having
exposure to contaminated water or foods.

Every baby or child has different bowel habits. Your baby may have as many as 4 to 10 stools a day or as
few as 1 every 3 days. Many breast-fed babies will have a bowel movement with each feeding and
sometimes between feedings. During infancy, normal stool may be runny or pasty, especially if the baby
is breast-fed. The presence of mucus in the stool is not uncommon. Unless there is a change in your
baby's normal habits, loose and frequent stools are not considered to be diarrhea.

Children can have acute or chronic forms of diarrhea. Causes include bacteria, viruses, parasites,
medications, functional disorders, and food sensitivities. Infection with the rotavirus is the most
common cause of acute childhood diarrhea. Rotavirus diarrhea usually resolves in 3 to 9 days.
Medications to treat diarrhea in adults can be dangerous to children and should be given only under a
doctor's guidance.

The definition of diarrhea depends on what is normal for you. For some, diarrhea can be as little as one
loose stool per day. Others may have three daily bowel movements normally and not be having what
they consider diarrhea as long as they are not dehydrated. So the best description of diarrhea is "an
abnormal increase in the frequency and liquidity of your stools. But we have to know how serious it is
and what to do about it. We usually catch infectious types of diarrhea by actually eating microscopic
viruses, bacteria, or parasites. These microbes then flourish in our intestines, causing damage and
diarrhea. The offending microbes usually are passed from the diarrhea of others.
Objectives of the study

The case study is designed to identify health problems or potential health threats that could
arise in our patient. As a student nurses, it is expected from us that we will apply what we have learned
from our class lectures in the actual settings.

The study focuses to accomplish the following objectives to our patient with Role-In Infectious Diarrhea

•To understand the underlying causes of the patient’s health condition;

•To learn its medications and treatments;

•Implement nursing interventions, having the skills of an efficient and effective nurse, depending on

assessment done;

•To provide the patient specific information with regards to infectious diarrhea ; and

•To develop a case study appropriately

You might also like