Prolonged diarrhea--diarrhea that lasts more than two days, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases states--can cause dehydration and may indicate a more serious health problem than diarrhea that lasts a few days and disappears on its own. Many disorders can cause prolonged diarrhea, characterized by frequent loose stools, abdominal pain and urgency.
Infection
Both bacterial and viral infections can cause prolonged diarrhea. Salmonella bacteria, transmitted through contaminated water or foods such as eggs, meat or poultry, causes fever, diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache and bloody stools for a period of four to seven days, MayoClinic.com states. Shigellosis, caused by the shigella bacteria, also causes often bloody diarrhea and abdominal pain and cramps lasting five to seven days. Escherichia coli 0157:H7, a type of e coli bacteria transmitted in undercooked meat, spinach or unpasteurized apple juice, causes prolonged bloody diarrhea and can result in kidney failure. Antibiotics treatment helps stop prolonged diarrhea from bacterial causes, but not from viral causes.
Viruses such as norovirus virus and rotaviruses affect as many as 23 million people a year, Lab Tests Online reports, and cause acute outbreaks of diarrhea and abdominal pain that can last for three to eight days.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, affects around 600,000 people in the United States each year, FamilyDoctor.org reported in 2009. IBD, which includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, among others, often leads to chronic prolonged diarrhea in addition to bowel damage. The cause of IBD is unknown, but may include, bacteria, immune problems or hereditary factors. Treatment for IBD consists of medications that reduce inflammation, such as corticosteroids, antibiotics and drugs that suppress the immune system. Severe bowel damage from ulcerative colitis may necessitate removal of part or all of the large intestine.
Parasites
Intestinal parasites acquired from infected feces in food, water or soil can cause prolonged diarrhea. Different types of parasites include worms such as tapeworms, pinworms or round worms and protozoa, single-celled organisms such as giardia and cryptosporidium. Symptoms of parasites include diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss, blood or mucus in the stool or bloating. People can also have no symptoms at all with parasites for many years, the University of Maryland Medical Center warns. Treatment consists of anti-parasitic medications.
Malabsorption
Several diseases and disorders can result in prolonged diarrhea from malabsorption. Weight loss surgery, gallbladder surgery and cystic fibrosis can all cause diarrhea from inability to break down foods or changes in the rate that food moves through the intestines.
