Compare and contrast the common digestive problems of vomiting and diarrhea.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Vomiting can be a symptom of many different diseases or may arise in situations that upset the body’s equilibrium, such as air or sea travel. For whatever reason, the contents of the stomach are propelled up through the esophagus to the mouth and expelled. Sometimes the muscular contractions will extend beyond the stomach and carry the contents of the duodenum, with its green bile, into the stomach and then up the esophagus. Although certainly unpleasant and wearying for the nauseated person, vomiting is often not a cause for alarm. Vomiting is one of the body’s adaptive mechanisms to rid itself of something irritating. The best advice is to rest and drink small amounts of liquids as tolerated until the nausea subsides.
A physician’s care may be needed, however, if vomiting causes such large losses of fluid as to threaten dehydration. As fluid is lost from the GI tract, the body’s other fluids redistribute themselves, taking fluid from every cell of the body. Fluid leaving the cells is accompanied by salts that are absolutely essential to the life of the cells. Replacing salts and fluid is difficult if the vomiting continues, and intravenous feedings of saline and glucose may be necessary. Vomiting and dehydration are especially serious in an infant, and a physician should be contacted without delay.
Diarrhea is characterized by frequent, loose, watery stools. Such stools indicate that the intestinal contents have moved too quickly through the intestines for fluid absorption to take place or that water has been drawn from the cells lining the intestinal tract and added to the food residue. Like vomiting, diarrhea can lead to considerable fluid and salt losses, but the composition of the fluids is different. Stomach fluids lost in vomiting are highly acidic, whereas intestinal fluids lost in diarrhea are nearly neutral. When fluid losses require medical attention, correct replacement is crucial.
Diarrhea is a symptom of various medical conditions and treatments. It may occur abruptly in a healthy person as a result of infections (such as foodborne illness) or as a side effect of medications. When used in large quantities, food ingredients such as the sugar alternative sorbitol and the fat alternative olestra may also cause diarrhea in some people. If a food is responsible, then that food must be omitted from the diet, at least temporarily. If medication is responsible, a different medicine, when possible, or a different form (injectable versus oral, for example) may alleviate the problem. Diarrhea may also occur as a result of disorders of the GI tract, such as irritable bowel syndrome or colitis.