Having a morning diarrhea sickness and nausea is a really awful experience. Could it be a symptoms of a serious underlying medical condition? Pregnancy in women and anxiety could be the causes of this condition. In this post, we cover in length a number of possible causes for this morning ailment. We will also provide you treatment options to manage it.
Morning sickness diarrhea
Morning sickness is common I pregnant women. The condition typically occurs in the first few months of pregnancy. Despite the name, nausea or diarrhea can affect pregnant women at any time of the day. The condition is also known as nausea gravidarum and is said to affect close to 80 percent of pregnant women.
The most common symptom will include the woman feeling nauseous, she may vomit sometimes and she is often tired. For women using a hormonal contraceptive, they may also experience some of these symptoms. The exact cause of morning sickness is unknown, however, most agree that hormonal changes probably plays the biggest role in this. Some of the hormones responsible for the condition are estrogen, progesterone, and possibly human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG)
Common symptoms of morning symptoms include the following:
- Nausea or vomiting
- Small amounts of urine
- Some may vomit blood stains
- Dizziness especially when standing up
- Heart race
Morning diarrhea causes
Morning diarrhea creates an urgent urge for a bowel movement every morning just after your wake up. With diarrhea, the patient passes loose and watery stool. This condition is not associated with one specific disease. Below are some of the common cause of the condition:
Irritable bowel syndrome
IBS is a common disorder that affects the large intestine. The condition is known to cause cramping, abdominal, pain, bloating, diarrhea and constipation. It is a chronic disorder that you will need to manage long term.
Pregnancy
Hormonal changes that take place during pregnancy is also a common cause of diarrhea and nausea, most often referred to as morning sickness. The fluctuating levels of estrogen and progesterone hormones are responsible for this symptoms.
Use of certain medication
Prescription and nonprescription drugs can also be a possible cause of morning diarrhea. For the case of nonprescription drugs causing diarrhea, you will need to stop the use immediately then see a professional health care provider.
On the other hand, if the diarrhea is caused by the use of prescribed drugs, you will need to contact your doctor, he or she will be able to stop the prescription or make a different one.
Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome, IBS
An inflammatory bowel disease is a group of an inflammatory condition of the colon and the small intestine. The condition involves chronic inflammation of all part of your digestive tract. Left untreated, it could lead to a life-threatening complication.
Morning diarrhea anxiety
Anxiety or stress will put a considerable amount of physical stress on your stomach and organs. This kind of pressure will lead to the body not processing food well. The result is diarrhea and other gastrointestinal issues like irritable bowel syndrome.
Other possible causes of morning diarrhea include:
- Bacterial and viral infection
- Substance abuse
- Gastroenteritis
- Food poisoning
- Lactose intolerance
Morning diarrhea after eating breakfast
Diarrhea is one of those thing you wouldn’t wish to have in the morning. It could easily ruin your day. But why would you have diarrhea in the morning just after eating breakfast? Diarrhea in the morning is common to those who eat upon waking up. This kind of feeding can stimulate defecation reflexes where food in the stomach or first part of the small intestines may increase colonic motility.
This is known as the gastrocolic and duodenocolic reflexes. Using nicotine or caffeine in the morning increases bowel activity. So if you are one of those people who smoke or take a lot of coffee in the morning for breakfast, then there are high chances that you might experience this symptom.
Colonic motility that leads to diarrhea refers to a coordinated movement of the stomach and the intestine required to digest and propel intestinal contents along the digestive tract. The complex patterns of contraction and relaxation necessary for proper motility of the gastrointestinal tract are generated in the nerves and muscles within the gastrointestinal walls.
If you are one of those people who feel nauseated, vomit or have a loose and watery stool after taking breakfast, I would advise you skip breakfast. The other option would be to eat like foods, like water or some juice, if that does not help, you could skip eating anything in the morning.
Morning diarrhea early pregnancy
Morning diarrhea can be an early sign of pregnancy. A lot of changes takes place during pregnancy. All of these changes are controlled by hormones. In early stages, the hormones can cause your digestive process to slow down, this could be a clear cause f you passing lose stool-diarrhea.
Hormonal changes are common in every pregnant woman, the difference is that some women will experience the morning diarrhea in the early stages of their pregnancy compared to others. Diarrhea during pregnancy is one among the many discomforts that come with pregnancy.
When pregnant, if you are experiencing three runny, watery bowel movements in one day the best remedy for this would be to stay hydrated. This is because you could lose a lot of fluids when experiencing diarrhea during pregnancy.
Dehydration can be very serious, even deadly, to prevent this from happen, you need to make sure you are re-hydrating yourself. Diarrhea in itself is really life threatening, however, for pregnant women, the condition should not be taken lightly. The condition could be a sign of a serious underlying condition which needs medical attention. When left untreated, diarrhea could lead to complications during pregnancy.
There is a close association between diarrhea and pregnancy. A dietary change to make sure your baby grows healthy and with the required nutrients could be the main cause of stomach upset or diarrhea. The other possible reason you could be having the morning diarrhea when pregnant is maybe because your body could be sensitive to some foods. It could be the foods you used to eat before, but when pregnant, the same foods could be causing stomach upset or morning diarrhea.
During the third and final trimester, morning diarrhea becomes uncommon. In this stage, the diarrhea is more likely to happen as you approach your due date. This could be a clear sign that labor is approaching. Some women, it could happen right before labor or for others, a couple of weeks before your due date.
If you having morning diarrhea during your third trimester, it does not mean your baby is coming out, also if everything is okay, then a premature birth should not be expected. The diarrhea should not be a cause for alarm. This is just away your body prepares for labor that is to come at some point.
Unless the diarrhea is caused by an underlying medical condition, no treatment is required. Most cases of diarrhea during pregnancy will clear up on its own without treatment. The only thing you will need to do is to make sure you remain hydrated.
To replace the electrolytes your body has lost, you will need to drink plenty of fluids. Drink plenty of water or juice to keep your body hydrated. Plenty of water help replenish the lost fluids whereas the juice help with the lost potassium levels. Do not forget to drink some broth which will help replenish your sodium.
Morning diarrhea and nausea
Morning diarrhea and nausea are common during the mornings. Early morning waking and nausea r vomiting could be early signs of pregnancy, the symptoms could also mean you either have food poisoning, diabetic ketoacidosis or constipation especially in children.
Diarrhea and nausea are the common symptoms of food poisoning. Food poisoning refers to illness caused by bacteria or other toxins in food. Food poisoning will result from eating foods or drinks containing poisonous substance including bacteria, viruses, pesticides and many different other toxins.
With food poisoning, the symptoms usually begin 2 to 6 hours after ingesting the contaminated foods. The most common symptoms will include abdominal cramping, diarrhea, fever, severe headache, nausea vomiting, and weakness.
Food poisoning can be life threatening, you need to seek immediate medical attention if you have an associated fever, blood in stool, rectal bleeding. Please do so if the symptoms mentioned above persist or fail to resolve within a couple of days. In most case of food poisoning, treatment will aim at keeping the affected person well hydrated.
Morning diarrhea and nausea can also mean you have diabetic ketoacidosis. This is a serious type of diabetes which occurs when your body produces high levels of blood acid called ketones. When this happens, your body cannot produce enough insulin. Insulin is responsible for regulating blood sugar which is a major source of energy for your muscles and other body tissues.
Diabetic ketoacidosis is a potentially life-threatening complication of diabetes. Due to lack of insulin, your body is unable to use blood sugar common known as glucose. Instead, it breaks down body fat as an alternative source of fuel. The result is a potentially harmful by-product called ketones. The condition will be shown by the following sign and symptoms:
- Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea
- Frequent urination
- Abdominal pain
- Weakness ad body fatigue
- Shortness of breath
- Excessive thirst
Constipation can also be the cause of nausea or vomiting. Unlike diarrhea, constipation causes infrequent and frequently incomplete bowel movement. It is the opposite of diarrhea and is caused by irritable bowel syndrome and medications. Just like diarrhea, constipation can also be caused by overuse of laxatives.
Morning diarrhea and nausea causes
Apart from the food poisoning, diabetic ketoacidosis and constipation, the other possible cause of nausea and morning diarrhea can be caused by the following. If the nausea and diarrhea persist for more than a week, you will need to visit a professional health care provider to have the condition examined to establish what the underlying cause is. This way, you are able to treat the underlying cause and not the symptoms.
Cholera
Cholera is an infectious and often a fatal bacterial disease of the small intestine. In most case, cholera is typically contracted from infected water supplies. The condition is known to cause severe vomiting and diarrhea. According to the World Health Organization WHO, cholera is an acute diarrheal disease that can kill within hours if lefts untreated. The organization also found says that, most of those infected will have no or mild symptoms, and can be successfully treated with oral hydration solution.
Cholera is extremely virulent, it can cause severe acute watery diarrhea. After ingesting contaminated food, it will normally take between 12 hours and 5 days for a person to show the symptoms. The condition affects both children and adult and could kill within hours when left untreated.
Most people will not show symptoms, however, the bacteria will be present in the feces, and the bacteria can be shed back into the environment potentially infecting other people. Among the few people who develop the symptoms, most will be mild or moderate. The most common symptoms will be watery diarrhea with severe dehydration.
Gastroenteritis
The other possible cause of the morning diarrhea and nausea is gastroenteritis. This is the inflammation of the stomach and the intestines. The inflammation typically results from bacterial toxins or viral infection. The condition is known to cause vomiting and diarrhea. Other symptoms will include abdominal cramps, nausea and sometimes fever.
Often called stomach flu, the condition is most commonly contracted from contact with an infected person. The other ways to contact the infection is through ingesting contaminated water or food. For those who are healthy with a strong immune system, the condition can resolve without complication. For children, old people or those with compromised immune system, the condition can be deadly [mayo clinic]
Currently, there is no effective treatment for gastroenteritis, prevention is thus the best way to protect from this infection. Make sure you drink clean water and prepare food in a hygiene environment. Wash your hand through and frequently.
Medication reaction or side effects
Morning diarrhea and nausea can also be caused by different prescription and non-prescription drugs. If you think that nausea, vomiting or diarrhea is caused by the drugs or medicines you are using, you will need to, call the doctor who prescribed the medications to find out if you should stop taking them or take a different one. If the cause of the nausea is a nonprescription drug, stop taking them immediately.
Common drugs that could be causing nausea would include the following:
- Antibiotics
- Antidepressants
- Aspirin
- Chemotherapy drugs
- Vitamin and mineral supplements
Campylobacter
Campylobacter is a bacterium known to cause abortion in animals and food poisoning in humans. This is the leading cause of bacterial food poisoning. Most often, spread by contact with raw chicken or undercooked poultry.
The bacterium cannot be spread from person to person, however, when the infected person is a child and produces large amounts of diarrhea, then it could be possible for the infection to spread to other people. Large outbreaks of this condition are associated with drinking unpasteurized milk or drinking contaminated water.
Drug overdose
In cases of drug overdose, your doctor, local poison center or the emergency department of your local hospital may be able to help determine the seriousness of a suspected drug overdose. A drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than those recommended. When left unchecked, a drug overdose could lead result in a toxic state or death.
A drug overdose can be shown by symptoms such as:
- Sleeplessness, confusion or coma
- Sweaty, cool, hot or dry skin
- Abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
- Problems with vital signs such as body temperature, pulse rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure. This is what makes drug overdose life threatening.
- Children may vomit blood
- Chest pain that could be due to heart or lung damage
Call for emergency as soon as you notice any sign of an overdose. Early treatment can be lifesaving.
Rotavirus
Rotavirus includes any of a group of RNA viruses. Some of these viruses are known to cause enteritis in humans. Rotavirus is the most common cause of diarrhoeal disease among infants and young children. The virus is also known to cause severe cases of dehydration.
A lot of people catches the virus, with rehydration and good nutrition, however, nearly all recover fully. The condition also causes fever. In infant and young children, vaccination against the virus can be used to protect against the virus.
An early version of the immunization vaccine was halted in 1990 as it was found to cause deaths due to bowel obstruction, a new vaccine was however made available in 2006.
Morning diarrhea treatment
From our discussion above, we have seen that morning diarrhea can be normal. Though annoying, most cases of diarrhea are harmless and can clear on their own without treatment. Before running to treat cases of diarrhea, you will need to first establish what the underlying cause of is. Treating the underlying cause is the best way to get rid of the watery stool.
Below are some of the options on how to treat diarrhea:
- Prescribed or nonprescription Probiotics are essential in treating morning diarrhea. This medicines will restore normal functions of the intestinal flora, thus reducing or getting rid of the watery stool.
- Adopting a Moderate fiber consumption, not controlling your fiber intake could lead to you worsening the pre-existing diarrhea.
- If the nausea, vomit or diarrhea is caused by foods, drinks or drugs you ingest, you will need to avoid them. If the symptoms still persist, then you will need to seek immediate help from your health care provider.
- Over the counter Anti-diarrhea medication can also be of help in getting rid of the diarrhea.
- You will need to drink plenty of fluids such as water and juice. Also, some broth will help in easing things out. A broth is a soup consisting of meat or vegetable chunks or sometimes rice cooked in stock. It is a liquid medium containing proteins and other nutrients for the culture of bacteria.
Sources and reference
- Morning diarrhea: http://www.healthhype.com/morning-diarrhea-daily-chronic-causes-and-treatment.html
- Causes of morning diarrhea: http://www.doctorshealthpress.com/digestion-articles/diarrhea-every-morning
- Morning diarrhea treatment: http://www.newhealthadvisor.com/Diarrhea-Every-Morning.html
- Morning diarrhea cause: https://www.medhealthdaily.com/diarrhea-in-the-morning/