Causes

Acute or persistent diarrhea causes may include:

• Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (or other medication side effects)
• Artificial sweeteners
• C. difficile infection
• Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
• Cryptosporidium infection
• Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection
• E. coli
• Food intolerances
• Food poisoning
• Fructose intolerance
• Giardia infection (giardiasis) (or other infections causes by parasites)
• Lactose intolerance
• Medicines, such as antacids containing magnesium and some cancer treatments
• Norovirus infection
• Rotavirus (or infections caused by other viruses)
• Salmonella infection (or other infections that may occur from bacteria)
• Shigella infection
• Stomach surgery
• Traveler's diarrhea

Chronic diarrhea causes may include:

• Celiac disease
• Colon cancer
• Crohn's disease (a type of inflammatory bowel disease)
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Medications used to treat heartburn, such as proton pump inhibitors and H2 receptor antagonists
• Radiation therapy
• Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)
• Ulcerative colitis (a type of inflammatory bowel disease)
• Whipple's disease

Some infections, such as giardia or C. difficile infection, may lead to chronic diarrhea if not treated.