Can adults die from diarrhea? Yes, diarrhea can kill people.

It is said on the Internet that "the mortality rate of diarrhea ranks fourth among all diseases," but no relevant evidence has been found.

There is a statistical table that shows that diarrhea ranked ninth among the top ten causes of death in the world in 2016 (not just diseases but also traffic accidents), which is already amazing.

The reason why severe diarrhea can easily kill people is that, first, severe diarrhea can make patients weak, dehydrated, have fever, and have electrolyte imbalances, which can induce acute cardiovascular disease. Second, severe diarrhea may itself be a signal of serious disease. Third, This is because patients with severe diarrhea who seek medical treatment may have come to the hospital a long time after the first episode of diarrhea (they may have taken antidiarrheal drugs or used other antidiarrheal methods without efficacy) before seeking medical treatment.

Especially for middle-aged and elderly people with chronic diseases, electrolyte imbalance after fever, diarrhea, vomiting, anorexia, and heavy sweating can often induce serious malignant cardiovascular events.

Few people know that some patients with acute myocardial infarction with atypical symptoms will have abdominal pain as the first clinical manifestation.

Diarrhea Myth 1: Just take antidiarrheal medicine when you have diarrhea

When most people have diarrhea, the first step they take is to take antidiarrheal medicine immediately, but this is not advisable. Diarrhea in summer is mostly caused by infections such as bacteria and viruses. If you take antidiarrheal medicine as soon as you have diarrhea, it means that "toxic substances" are retained in the body, which will aggravate the damage to the intestinal environment, threaten the beneficial bacteria, and may cause a more serious recurrence. Diarrhea can even induce intestinal diseases.

It is recommended that under normal circumstances, diarrhea should not exceed 3 times a day, and there is no need to rush to take antidiarrheal drugs, anti-inflammatory drugs and other drugs. Drink more water, eat some porridge, and supplement with light salt water.

Diarrhea Myth 2: Take antibiotics for any diarrhea

There are many causes of diarrhea, such as intestinal dysfunction, food poisoning, indigestion, lactose intolerance, etc. Antibiotics cannot Kills viruses and parasites such as Staphylococcus aureus.

The three types of bacteria in the intestine, namely beneficial bacteria, harmful bacteria and neutral bacteria, are in a relatively balanced state to maintain intestinal health. However, antibiotics kill harmful and beneficial bacteria at the same time, which not only causes the death of beneficial bacteria, but also causes bacteria that are not sensitive to antibiotics to multiply, destroying the bacterial environment and aggravating the condition.

It is recommended that if the condition is serious, it is recommended to go to the hospital for testing to identify the type of pathogenic bacteria, and then follow the doctor's advice to choose drug treatment.