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12 Main Causes of Diarrhea

Viral

One of the most characteristic features of viruses that can cause digestive damage and diarrhea is their relative stability in the external environment, as well as their good ability to preserve at low temperatures of water and air. Many viruses are indifferent to the acidic environment of the stomach; they calmly pass it without collapsing. Viruses persist in open reservoirs and reservoirs, seas and rivers, and from there, they can enter sources of drinking water supply. Also, viruses are excreted from the body of the infected with feces, where they remain for a long time and can pollute the environment and water of reservoirs. For some of the viral diarrhea, the transmission of infection from pets and cattle can become an actual route of infection. Such viruses, depending on the method of entry into the body, can give different symptoms, and getting into the digestive tract by the fecal-oral route cause damage to the digestive system. The source of viruses for viral diarrhea can be food and water contaminated with viruses, the things and toys of children that they put in their mouths; rotaviruses can be isolated from tap water that the children have not boiled or drank.

The gateway for diarrheal viral infections is the oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract. The mechanism of development of viral diarrhea – viruses enter the epithelium in the upper respiratory tract and are swallowed with saliva, penetrating the stomach and intestines. There, the cells of the epithelium of the stomach and intestines are damaged, and viruses begin to multiply on the epithelium of enterocytes, intestinal cells; they penetrate into the blood, causing manifestations of general toxicosis and fever, and can affect individual organs and systems – the nervous, pulmonary, and liver. The ideal conditions for the multiplication of intestinal viruses are the duodenum and small intestine, the formation of profuse and frequent diarrhea occurs. The absorption of water by cells is impaired, a fermentation reaction occurs due to problems with the breakdown of food, and this gives the complex symptoms of diarrhea (diarrhea profuse, watery, without blood and greens).