What happens to body during diarrhea? Especially the water part? Normaly, the water we drink is absorbed in the body and most part of thrown removing toxic elements via urine. But, during diarrhea body losses lot of water and we become dehydrated and weak. Suppose due to some process let’s say like Osmosis the water travels thru membrane and finally transforms into another substance, blood. So, during dehydration, does this process reverse? Why do we feel weakness? Also, when body knows it’s getting weak why it is still dehydration without absorbing any water? Someone please explain whole process.
In: Biology
This is a lot more complicated that can be put into an ELI5 post
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First and foremost, fun fact, from your mouth to your anus, the space inside you is outside of your body.
We are tube, the outside is the skin, the inside are the intestines, the stuff between them are your body.
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Water is absorbed in the small intestine, right after the stomach. It is a constant process occuring while the mushed food+water moves trough the intestines.
Normally food is inside you enough time that the water is absorbed.
When your body detects an issue in the digestive tract, at first it signals to move things along faster, there is no time for anything to be absorbed, so anything problematic is flushed. Bad food, bacteria or something irritating or something blocking the intestines
But there is a second stage to this when the small intestines start to secreate water to flush your insides.
So the bad stuff is digested
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The problem is that humans don’t have much excess storage for water, we can only survive for 2-3 days without it. So even with mild diarrhea, when water absorption stops that could be very dangerous, because you can’t hydrate yourself normall, just with IV solution directly to blood
Also the weakness comes from, nutrients not being absorbed. We have more storage for chalories, just remember if you miss 1-2 meals you feel run down. We got used to haveing plenty of food.
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