Diarrhoea: Know its Causes, Symptoms and Prevention Tips with Health Insurance Benefits

Why is Diarrhoea Dangerous?

With more than 1.9 million infants getting diarrhoea every year, it is only imminent that the number of total people getting affected by diarrhoea must be much more than people assume.

As per a study conducted in 2015, Diarrhoea is the culprit behind the death of about 13% of overall infant deaths. Even though these numbers have improved significantly, the proportional mortality due to this disease is still very high.

While it is pretty curable and very often treatable, sometimes things can take a worse turn in Diarrhoea. Often lack of negligence and medical attention always lets it go unchecked, often resulting in hospitalization.

A little bit about Diarrhoea

Before you proceed to browse for your best-suited health insurance online, carefully read this section to know what causes this disease, along with its symptoms and precautions.

We all know what common symptoms of diarrhoea are. Usually characterized by extremely watery and/or abnormally loose stools, Diarrhoea can last for a few hours to a few days. If you pass more than three watery stools, it could be acute diarrhoea.

Causes of Diarrhoea

There are a number of factors responsible for diarrhoea, these are:

Allergy caused by food
Lactose intolerance or similar intolerance for a certain food
A viral, parasitic, or bacterial infection
Due to an intestinal disease

In children, E. coli, rotavirus and salmonella are the most common causes of diarrhoea. If your diarrhoea is persistent, you may consider checking for IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome)

Symptoms of Diarrhoea

Most people complain about frequent runny stools often accompanied by abdominal pain during diarrhoea. You can feel one or more of the following symptoms:

Body cramping
Fever
Dehydration
Dry mouth
Little or no urination
Blood in stool
Bloating
Abdominal or rectal pain
Increased stool volume

Among these, dehydration can cause you even a trip to the hospital if your body is not given proper treatment. Symptoms of diarrhoea differ and affect people of different age groups differently. Seek help immediately if:

You notice dehydration in infants or young people
The diarrhoea remains for over 24 hours in case of a child
The diarrhoea is accompanied by blood or pus

Make sure you have a comprehensive health insurance policy so that you can get these unexpected hospital visits covered.

Tips for Preventing Diarrhoea

As you read, there can't be one particular reason for diarrhoea. Still, your chances of getting it to reduce a lot with proper precautions:

Wash your food items thoroughly to avoid infections and food poisoning
Don't keep cooked food open or in storage for long. Serve and consume it soon after cooking.
Make sure your leftovers are refrigerated as soon as possible.
Don’t thaw frozen food at a normal temperature. Especially in the case of meats, make sure you thaw them in a refrigerator.
While travelling, consider an antibiotic treatment from your doctor in case you're prone to the traveller’s diarrhoea
Avoid tap water and fresh produce which may have been treated with tap water.
Make sure you wash your hands properly and frequently if you still end u with diarrhoea. This will help you to stop it from spreading to others in case it's because of viral or bacterial infections.

Picking the Best Health Insurance

Hospitalization may be required if the patient is severely dehydrated or in a lot of pain. While this can be treated with ORS available cheaply, in case of extreme dehydration intravenous consumption may be required. All this can cost you up to 50,000 Rs in severe Diarrhoea cases.

Some benefits of having a health insurance plan:

Relief in expenses due to soaring medical costs, especially in the private sector
Assistance with expenditures related to consultation fees, medical tests, ambulance charges.
Reimbursement of other pre and post hospitalisation charges (as per the policy wording)
The facility of cashless payments and subsequent treatment at any of the various hospitals mentioned in the network.

To Conclude,

In India, it is common to treat diarrhoea without any medical supervision in many cases. But many times, there are people suffering from chronic cases of severe and persistent diarrhoea. This shouldn't be the case, especially if you're neglecting your health to avoid extra costs at a hospital.

Having a comprehensive health insurance plan also covers you from other common diseases, including cardiovascular issues, gastrointestinal disorders, digestion related issues and more.

Thus, make sure you buy the best health insurance plan for yourself and your family, as children and old people are most likely to suffer dehydration due to diarrhoea.