Pediatric Diarrhea

The cause of diarrhea depends on whether it is acute or chronic.

The causes of acute diarrhea include:

• C. difficile infection (bacterium that affects the digestive tract)
• Cryptosporidium infection (parasites that burrow into the walls of the small intestine, causing infection)
• Cytomegalovirus infection (virus that exists in many healthy people and usually only causes problems in those with weakened immune systems)  
• E. coli (infection due to ingesting contaminated food or water)
• Eating too much artificial sweeteners in food or drinks
• Food intolerances (digestive problems due to eating certain foods)
• Food poisoning
• Fructose (type of sugar in honey and fruit) intolerance
• Giardiasis (infection that normally occurs in developing areas of the world due to poor sanitation and unclean water)
• Lactose intolerance 
• Norovirus infection (highly contagious virus spread through food, water or coming into close contact with an infected person)
• Rotavirus (infection that commonly causes diarrhea in children under the age of 5)
• Salmonella infection (type of bacteria that affects the intestinal tract)
• Shigella infection (intestinal, highly contagious disease that causes bloody stool)
• Stomach surgery
• Taking antacids that contain magnesium
• Taking certain antibiotic medications
• Taking certain cancer medications
• Traveler’s diarrhea, or “Montezuma’s revenge”

Causes of chronic diarrhea

• Celiac disease
• Colon cancer
• Crohn’s disease
• Inflammatory bowel disease 
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) 
• Taking certain medications for heartburn, including proton pump inhibitors and H2 receptor antagonists
• Ulcerative colitis (UC) 
• Whipple’s disease (disorder that causes small intestine problems, as well as problems with the joints, central nervous system and cardiovascular system)