Chronic Diarrhea Treatment

WHAT IS DIARRHEA?

Chronic Diarrhea Treatment: Diarrhea is characterized by defecating watery stools more than 3 times a day.

WHAT IS CHRONIC DIARRHEA?

Diarrhea lasting more than 4 weeks is called chronic diarrhea.

WHAT IS THE PREVALENCE OF CHRONIC DIARRHEA IN SOCIETY?

Chronic diarrhea is a widespread problem affecting 5% of the population at any given time (1).

WHAT CAUSES CHRONIC DIARRHEA?

• Celiac Disease
• Celiac Like Syndrome
• Ulcerative Colitis
• Crohn’s Disease
• Diarrhea following antibiotic use
• Diarrhea after chemotherapy
• Diarrhea after radiotherapy
• Diarrhea after immunosuppressive therapy
• Bacterial diarrhea
• Viral diarrhea
• Parasitic diarrhea
• Diarrhea due to pesticides (agrochemicals)

HOW DOES CHRONIC DIARRHEA CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM?

Due to the high rate of passage through the digestive system due to chronic diarrhea, the food consumed cannot be digested and absorbed sufficiently. Where the flora members, which are swept from each region depending on the high rate of passage through the digestive system, do not reproduce at the same rate, their deficiency causes disruptions in the flora functions in the region which they inhabit. Chronic diarrhea predisposes to the development of leaky gut syndrome and other concomitant autoimmune diseases, resulting in dysbiosis and SIBO.

WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS THAT ACCOMPANY CHRONIC DIARRHEA?

• Abdominal pain
• Excessive intestinal gas
• Nausea and vomiting
• Feeling the need to defecate frequently
• Fecal incontinence
• Gas incontinence
• Deficiencies in all nutritional elements, associated disorders and malnutrition
• Developmental delays in children (mental, physical)
• Sexual dysfunction
• Social isolation
• Frequent infections in the defense system due to disorders
• Anemia, osteoporosis, chronic fatigue, food allergies, depression, etc.
• Intestinal flora damage
•  SIBO
•  Dysbiosis
• Increase in autoimmune diseases (Psoriasis, Vitiligo, Gout, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, etc.)

WHAT IS FLORA?

Certain parts of the human body are inhabited by microorganisms which peacefully live with us, do not harm us, contribute to the vital functions of the region in which they live, cause health problems when not present, whose functions cannot be compensated in any other way, which constantly renew themselves, whose diversity increases under favorable living conditions, and whose number and biodiversity decrease in some unfavorable conditions. Their generic name is FLORA.

What is at stake is the flora of the digestive tract. The digestive system refers to the tract from the mouth to the anus. The digestive system is home to members of the flora throughout the mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, stomach, small and large intestine, with unique functions at each site. Those are specific to the site they occupy and cannot inhabit or live in other sites.

The number of flora bacteria identified in the human digestive tract to date is 1054. Flora diversity is among the most important factors affecting quality of life.

HOW MANY TYPES OF FLORA BACTERIA DO HUMANS HARBOR IN THE ENTIRE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM?

The most important factor in this is the environmental conditions.  Whereas the diversity of flora in those living in large metropolitan areas is as low as 50-60, this figure tends to increase in rural areas. In Turkey, people on average have a flora diversity of around 100 to 110 species throughout the entire digestive tract.

A high level of biodiversity of the digestive tract flora is directly proportional to a healthy, high quality and long life. Our flora members have diverse functions and are therefore indispensable for our health.

WHAT IS THE FUNCTION OF FLORA? WHY DOES IT MATTER TO US?

Each part of our body has its own flora, which are the most crucial structures that fight against pathogens coming from outside. In cases where the flora of a given site is reduced, destroyed or extinct, the site gets invaded by pathogenic microorganisms. The flora of the digestive tract are of critical importance in the formation of a gel-like secretion called mucus, which coats the entire lining of the digestive tract, in the site they inhabit. In the absence of mucus, what we eat and drink as well as all the secretions of the digestive system come into direct contact with the surface of the digestive system (mucosa) and cause erosion in the parts they come into contact with. The flora is indispensable for the acid-base balance, enzymatic function, synthesis function and digestive activities of the site they inhabit. Without flora, these functions get impaired. Any disruption of the flora in any given site not only disrupts the function of that site, but also causes disruptions in the functions ahead and behind it.

IS THE FLORA OF EVERY HUMAN BEING THE SAME?

No. Each human being’s flora is influenced by numerous factors. Like a fingerprint, each person has their own flora.

The process of acquiring flora starts from the moment we are born and lasts a lifetime. The diversity of flora may increase or decrease due to various factors such as infancy, childhood, adolescence, fertility, pregnancy, breastfeeding, stresses, treatments, diseases, nutrition, etc. Yet, in all people, the period between the ages of 20 and 30 is when the flora is at its highest quality and diversity. The biodiversity of flora decreases with aging and predisposes to many diseases.

WHAT HAPPENS WITHOUT FLORA?

It is impossible to live without flora.

HOW DOES FLORA DAMAGE DEVELOP IN CHRONIC DIARRHEA?

The primary factors contributing to chronic diarrhea inevitably lead to damage to the flora of the digestive tract. Diarrhea sometimes develops due to damage to the flora, and while some cases of chronic diarrhea regress after the causative factor is eliminated, a significant number of cases persist. The use of antibiotics not only destroys pathogenic microorganisms but also causes serious damage to the beneficial bacteria that make up our digestive flora. The diarrhea that follows this damage sometimes becomes chronic.

The primary goal of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments used to treat cancer is to destroy rapidly proliferating cells. This is because the most important characteristic of cancer cells is that they multiply tens or even hundreds of times faster than normal cells. The bacteria that make up our digestive flora are also characterized by rapid reproduction and constant self-renewal. It is because of this characteristic that our flora is severely damaged by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments have a serious impact on our digestive system flora due to their long-term course, which lasts for an average of 3 to 6 months.

The drugs used in ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are immunosuppressants and steroids. These are also used for very long periods of time. The medication used in treating these diseases also causes permanent and severe damage to our digestive flora.

However, sometimes the flora is damaged due to diarrhea. These include viral, bacterial and parasitic diarrhea.

Flora damage and chronic diarrhea can be mutually causative factors. Both can be a cause or a consequence of each other.

For whatever reason, diarrhea lasting more than 4 weeks causes damage to the flora (beneficial microbes) of the digestive system. In cases of chronic diarrhea lasting longer than 4 weeks, the damage to the flora of the digestive system persists and deepens. However, in cases of chronic diarrhea that somehow manage to disappear spontaneously or on treatment, the damage to the flora of the digestive tract also usually stops and regresses spontaneously. Yet, the flora quality and biodiversity would never be the same as it was before diarrhea, even in cases that spontaneously regress. But once the flora is restored, the impaired intestinal function becomes sustainable again. However, despite the disappearance of chronic diarrhea, 5% of patients who suffered from chronic diarrhea continue to suffer from SIBO, Dysbiosis or Leaky Gut Syndrome permanently.

FLORA TRANSPLANT is the gold standard treatment for patients with SIBO, Dysbiosis or Leaky Gut Syndrome.

In cases of ongoing CHRONIC DIARRHEA, restoration of the impaired intestinal flora can be successful in treatment. Also in this patient group, FLORA TRANSPLANT stands out as the most effective way to treat CHRONIC DIARRHEA.

WHAT IS A FLORA TRANSPLANT?

Flora transplantation is the process consisting of collecting flora samples from at least one healthy FLORA DONOR under general anesthesia through endoscopy and colonoscopy from approximately 30 different anatomical regions of the digestive system, with each region being washed with serums suitable for its own characteristics and aspirated back, subjecting these samples to some series of specific procedures, and then transplanting them endoscopically and colonoscopically to the equivalent anatomical regions of the patient under general anesthesia.

Please contact us for detailed information and pricing about endoscopic treatments for obesity and chronic diarrhea treatment. Fecal Transplant, Leaky Gut Syndrome Treatment, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Murat Kanlıöz

References:

 

1. Schiller LR, Pardi DS, Sellin JH. Chronic Diarrhea: Diagnosis and Management. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2017 Feb;15(2):182-193.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2016.07.028. Epub 2016 Aug 2. PMID: 27496381.

Please contact us to get more detailed information about endoscopic treatments and flora transplantation for obesity. You can reach us via E-mail or Whatsapp.