Customers with diarrhoea may describe having a tummy bug, food poisoning or traveller's diarrhoea. Lifestyle pressures, infection or medical conditions can all be triggers of diarrhoea,3 which can be a real inconvenience for your customers, interfering with their daily activities, or leading to dehydration.
Diarrhoea can be defined as acute, persistent or chronic. Customers with persistent/chronic diarrhoea should be referred to their GP.
ACUTE
Lasts less than 14 days1
Usually comes on suddenly and clears within a few days3
PERSISTENT
Lasts longer than 14 days, but less than 4 weeks1
CHRONIC
Lasts more than 4 weeks1
Continuous/prolonged diarrhoea
Causes of acute diarrhoea include:1,3
Viral infection, e.g. norovirus. This is the most common infectious cause
Bacterial infection, e.g. Salmonella or E.coli food poisoning
Parasitic infection e.g. from the protozoa Giardia or Cryptosporidium. Giardiasis, for example, can be transmitted though untreated drinking water or through contaminated surfaces
Medications such as magnesium-containing antacids, allopurinol, metformin, NSAIDs, proton pump inhibitors; Clostridium difficile can cause diarrhoea in those who have taken antibiotics
Anxiety, which can cause the bowel contents to move too rapidly through the gut
Food intolerance (particularly lactose intolerance) or foods containing artificial sweeteners such as sorbitol
Other medical conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), coeliac disease or an overactive thyroid
