10 Tips: When to Go to the Emergency Room for Diarrhea
Diarrhea, is a situation that most people don’t like to talk about, but since it can get quite serious, it is one that we shouldn’t shy away from. In a nutshell, diarrhea is a condition where one is passing stool that is watery and loose and is doing so very frequently and can’t be able to control this passing of the stool. Diarrhea can have a number of causes from protozoa to bacteria and even due to viruses and is a condition that is more common than we think. Most cases of diarrhea can be diagnosed and treated when one heads over to a hospital or to see their primary physician, mostly through medication. However, as with most health conditions, there are certain scenarios where diarrhea becomes a medical emergency and as such require one to go to an emergency room. As is with most cases, the challenge is knowing which scenarios as far as diarrhea is concerned require one to go to an emergency room to be attended to. To help with that, this article will look to highlight 10 tips that will help you know when you need to head over to an emergency room for diarrhea as soon as possible.
The main worry when it comes to diarrhea alone, is dehydration. As such, if you have been suffering from diarrhea that is persistent and isn’t easing but appears to even be getting worse after a period of more than 2 days, then you should head over to an emergency room as soon as possible to have yourself examined and attended to. This is primarily so that you can prevent severe dehydration from ensuing. Such severe cases of diarrhea also indicate a more serious condition that should be attended to.
Another instance that should lead one to go to an emergency room as soon as they can for diarrhea is if the diarrhea is accompanied by blood in the stool or if the stool has mucus or pus in it. As is covered in detail over at FrontlineER.com by the subject matter experts over there, this is usually a sign of diarrhea caused by a bacterial infection and should be attended to as soon as possible so that the infection can be dealt with.
Speaking of stool, diarrhea that is accompanied by stool that is black and tarry should also lead to an immediate visit to an emergency room. This should also be taken seriously as it shows that one has an infection and as such needs to have it treated as soon as possible.
Diarrhea that is accompanied by other serious symptoms should also lead to a visit to an emergency room as soon as possible. As is covered in detail by the subject matter experts over at FrontlineER.com this includes diarrhea that is accompanied by severe and persistent abdominal pain or one that is accompanied by high fever, usually over the 34 degree Celsius mark. These additional symptoms should always be taken very seriously.
Sometimes you may have been unable to prevent dehydration from ensuing and as such if you have diarrhea and you begin to present with symptoms of extreme dehydration, you should ensure you head over to an emergency room as soon as possible. Such symptoms include extreme thirst, urinating less frequently as well as dark urine, dizzy spells, extreme fatigue that is unexplained among others.
We had already mentioned above that one should visit an emergency room if they have had persistent diarrhea for more than two days. This, however, only applies to adults, as when it comes to young children, infants and toddlers, then as per the subject matter experts over at FrontlineER.com, they should be taken to an emergency room if they have had persistent diarrhea for more than 24 hours.
Dehydration symptoms for infants and young children also differ from those associated with adults. As such if the infant is having diarrhea as well as signs of severe dehydration such as sunken eyes and soft spot, crying without tears, no wet diapers for over 3 hours or fewer wet diapers than normal, among others, then they should be taken to an emergency room as soon as possible.
If you also present with severe and persistent diarrhea and you have been through a procedure that may have compromised your immune system such as recent chemotherapy or surgery, or have a condition such as HIV/AIDS that compromises your immune system, then as is discussed in detail over at FrontlineER.com, you should head over to an emergency room as soon as possible.
If one is suffering from severe and persistent diarrhea that is accompanied by severe and persistent nausea and vomiting, then they should also head over to an emergency room as soon as possible and have themselves examined.
It is also recommended that if one has diarrhea and they have a history of chronic diarrhea, then they should head over to an emergency room as soon as possible and take no chances whatsoever so that they may be attended to.
Hopefully, the above tips will help you avoid any serious consequences by ensuring you head over to an emergency room when you need to for diarrhea, with more on this to be found over at the ever reliable FrontlineER.com.
