Digestive System

Diarrhea

Diarrhea is loose, watery stools. It is very common and usually not serious. Many people will have diarrhea once or twice each year. Diarrhea can cause dehydration, which means the body lacks enough fluid to function properly. Dehydration is particularly dangerous in children and older people, and it must be treated promptly to avoid serious health problems.

Dry Mouth

Saliva moistens and cleanses the mouths and aids in digesting food. Saliva also prevents infection by controlling bacteria and fungi in the mouth. Dry mouth can cause speech and eating difficulties, halitosis (bad breath), an increase in the number of cavities and increased vulnerability to infection. Drug side effects, medication, alcohol trauma, dehydration, radiation therapy and marijuana also may contribute to the problem.

Flatulence

Flatulence is the presence of a mixture of gases in the digestive tract of mammals. Intestinal gas is composed of varying quantities of exogenous sources (air that is ingested through the nose and mouth) and endogenous sources (gas produced within the digestive tract). The exogenous gases are swallowed when eating or drinking or increased swallowing during times of excessive salivation. The endogenous gases are produced either as a by-product of digesting certain types of food or of incomplete digestion. Anything that causes food to be incompletely digested by the stomach and/or small intestine may cause flatulence when the material arrives in the large intestine due to fermentation by yeast or bacteria normally or abnormally present in the gastrointestinal tract.

Gallstones

Gallstones are small, pebble-like substances that develop in the gallbladder. The gallbladder is a small, pear-shaped sac located below your liver in the right upper abdomen. Gallstones form when liquid stored in the gallbladder hardens into pieces of stone-like material. The liquid—called bile—helps the body digest fats. Bile is made in the liver, then stored in the gallbladder until the body needs it. The gallbladder contracts and pushes the bile into a tube—called the common bile duct—that carries it to the small intestine, where it helps with digestion. The two types of gallstones are cholesterol stones and pigment stones. Cholesterol stones are usually yellow-green and are made primarily of hardened cholesterol. They account for about 80 percent of gallstones. Pigment stones are small, dark stones made of bilirubin. Gallstones can be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball. The gallbladder can develop just one large stone, hundreds of tiny stones, or a combination of the two.