Definition

By Mayo Clinic Staff

Everyone occasionally has diarrhea — loose, watery and more-frequent bowel movements. You might also have abdominal cramps and produce a greater volume of stool. Diarrhea varies in specific symptoms, severity and duration.

Acute diarrhea, which lasts from two days to two weeks, is typically caused by a bacterial, viral or parasitic infection of some sort.

Chronic diarrhea lasts longer than does acute diarrhea, generally more than four weeks. Chronic diarrhea can indicate a serious disorder, such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease, or a less serious condition, such as irritable bowel syndrome.

June 16, 2020

See also

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  3. Agoraphobia
  4. Amyloidosis
  5. Anaphylaxis
  6. Anthrax
  7. Antibiotic-associated diarrhea
  8. Appendicitis
  9. Ascariasis
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  23. Chagas disease
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  25. Churg-Strauss syndrome
  26. Colon cancer
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  29. Colon cancer screening
  30. Colon polyps
  31. Crohn's Crisis
  32. Crohn's disease
  33. Crohn's disease symptom: Is fatigue common?
  34. Crohn's or Colitis
  35. Cryptosporidium infection
  36. Cyclic vomiting syndrome
  37. Cyclospora infection
  38. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection
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  40. Diabetic neuropathy
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  44. Drug allergy
  45. E. coli
  46. Ear infection (middle ear)
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  48. Early HIV symptoms: What are they?
  49. Ebola transmission: Can Ebola spread through the air?
  50. Ebola virus and Marburg virus
  51. Ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis
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  54. Fecal incontinence
  55. Flu masks
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  57. Food poisoning
  58. Gastroenteritis: First aid
  59. GI Stents
  60. Giardia infection (giardiasis)
  61. Graves' dermopathy: How is it treated?
  62. Graves' disease
  63. H1N1 flu (swine flu)
  64. Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome
  65. Hirschsprung's disease
  66. HIV/AIDS
  67. Hunter syndrome
  68. IBD and colon cancer: How often do you need screening?
  69. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
  70. Infographic: Innovative Rectal Cancer Treatments
  71. Intestinal ischemia
  72. Intestinal obstruction
  73. Intussusception
  74. Irritable bowel syndrome
  75. Ischemic colitis
  76. Jet lag disorder
  77. Kawasaki disease
  78. Lactose intolerance
  79. Legionnaires' disease
  80. Listeria infection
  81. Malaria
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  103. Primary sclerosing cholangitis
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  108. Rectal cancer
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  114. Serotonin syndrome
  115. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
  116. Shellfish allergy
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  118. Smallpox
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  120. Social anxiety disorder (social phobia)
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  122. Sulfa allergy
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  124. Toxic shock syndrome
  125. Trichinosis
  126. Tularemia
  127. Typhoid fever
  128. Ulcerative colitis
  129. Ulcerative colitis flare-ups: 5 tips to manage them
  130. Vesicoureteral reflux
  131. How irritable bowel syndrome affects you
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  134. What's the difference between H1N1 flu and influenza A?
  135. Wheat allergy
  136. Whipple's disease
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  138. Mayo Clinic study reporting increased incidence of C. difficile infection
  139. Zollinger-Ellison syndrome