eli5 – what causes diarrhea and why does (or can) it cause such pain in your stomach?
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Normally digested food passes slowly through your intestines and the liquid can be absorbed so you’re left with mostly solid stool. Diarrhea occurs when something causes your body to push the waste through quickly, so there isn’t enough time to reabsorb the moisture that’s added. A number of things can cause diarrhea, from pathogens that your body wants to get rid of, to irritants which cause the muscles to spasm, to excess gas which distorts the intestines and causes distress.
As for the pain it can be related to the cause of the diarrhea, such as an bloating from gas for example or irritation due to some substance, a result of the process, muscles spasming as they try to move things through quickly, or a combination.
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