Diarrhea: The Unfashionable Disease
Ever hear about the World Concert for Diarrhea? Or the Celebrity Chefs Fundraiser for Diarrhea? Diarrhea just isn't a disease that gets rallied for. It's hard to understand that diarrhea can kill you. In the USA, it is an inconvenience. In developing countries, it is a killer. Why?
There are more than 100 microbugs that can cause diarrhea. A child who lives in village that has a bad water supply, limited water for hand washing, and no toilets, is likely to pick up one or more of these bugs at any time. These children can get one case of diarrhea after another....
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and some are autoimmune diseases which have no cure like Crohn's disease.
Would it be more appropriate to classify diarrhea as a symptom, rather than a disease?
I second Virgil. It's a symptom.
My d is a common side-effect of anti-diabetic drug.
The trick to surviving it is lots of clean drinking and washing water. These both prevent dehydration and reinfection and allow the body's normal removal of harmful waste.
You guys are missing the point here while children are dying you arguing about terminology!!!! Just get over to Digital Rabbit and find out what you are supposed to do!!!
Actually, Diarrhea is neither a disease or, properly a symptom. Most sources sub classify Diarrhea into a few different categories which are considered to be conditions or symptoms. What is being spoken of here is Acute diarrhea. But there's nothing cute about it...
Acute diarrhea is basically a sign that something is very wrong with the body. It can be caused by anything from infectious disease to pellagra so treating the diarrhea directly may not accomplish much if the underlying disease isn't treated as well.