Pancreatitis is a fairly serious disease, leading to degenerative changes in the organ with atrophy and proliferation of connective tissue leading to pancreatic dysfunction.
Sluggish current progressive with time inflammatory process in the pancreas is usually called the chronic form of pancreatitis, the clinical picture of which is characterized by three syndromes:
- pain( paroxysmal or stable pain in the region of the left hypochondrium or epigastrium);
- of endocrine insufficiency( insulin hormone secretion dysfunction);
- exocrine insufficiency( dyspepsia and the process of regular defecation, which are expressed in constipation or diarrhea in pancreatitis);
Diarrhea in pancreatitis: causes, clinical picture
Patients with a prolonged and severe form of chronic inflammation of the pancreas often have an intestinal disorder and diarrhea, called pancreatic.
Diarrhea in pancreatitis is due to the fact that the pathological changes in the organ disrupted its structure, reducing the exocrine function of the pancreas to a greater extent( by 90%).Pancreatic juice consisting of enzymes of lipase, trypsin, lactase and others is not fully supplied to the duodenum, disrupting the digestive process, causing diarrhea attacks.
Doctors are unanimous in their opinion that in 95% of cases diarrhea in chronic inflammation of the pancreas is caused by dysfunction of transplantation of the enzymes of the gland into the intestine and inadequate digestion. This is clearly confirmed by a cough-like fetid stool, which in diarrhea caused by an attack of pancreatitis is released in large quantities. Feces with diarrhea have a fat, oily consistency, poorly washed off the walls of the toilet bowl and heterogeneous structure, since they contain particles of unboiled food.
With prolonged or intensive diarrhea, patients may begin dehydration with electrolyte disorders, anemia, vitamin deficiency( polyhypovitaminosis), which will aggravate the patient's unstable state. If you do not urgently take measures by contacting a doctor, then soon in the stool with diarrhea will not be digested muscle fibers and starch, which happens in the hardest form of pancreatitis.
How to stop diarrhea in pancreatitis?
Since diarrhea is one of the signs of chronic pancreatitis, its stopping is carried out simultaneously with the treatment of the underlying disease. Therapy should be comprehensive and aimed at eliminating pathogenetic factors that caused pancreatic function disorders, restoration of its normal secretion.
First of all, to stop diarrhea, you need to revise your diet. The usual three meals a day may not be enough. Take food is at least 6 times a day, but in small portions. To cure diarrhea, it is necessary to exclude or minimize fried, abundantly salted, smoked, fatty foods, sweets and alcohol from the diet. It is advisable to reduce smoking or quit altogether.
Favorable affect physical activity, but you need to observe moderation.
From medications doctors appoint Pancreatin, Panzinorm, Festal, Mezim. These drugs contribute to the restoration of normal digestion, improve the functioning of the pancreas, which contributes to the cessation of diarrhea. Dosage and time of reception is determined by the doctor. Everything will depend on the neglect and severity of the pathological process. Self-medication may not be effective or even harm the patient. Pancreatogenic diarrhea - not a disease, but only one of the signs of the main pathology - pancreatitis. Therefore, you need to treat pancreatitis, and not just diarrhea!