How to distinguish between labor pains and diarrhea

For pregnant mothers, whenever they have stomach pain, the first thing they think of is whether the fetus is moving or whether they are having labor pains and about to give birth. Especially some new mothers, they cannot distinguish the difference between labor pains and diarrhea, so they often make a lot of jokes. Today we will introduce how to distinguish between labor pains and diarrhea, hoping it can help new mothers.

1. Labor pain refers to the pain caused by uterine contraction before the birth of the fetus. When the fetus has completed its development and the pregnancy is about to end, the uterus will begin to contract, allowing the fetus to slowly descend from the cervix, pushing the fetus forward through continuous contraction and tension. After the cervix is ​​two fingers dilated, the frequency and intensity of uterine contractions will continue to increase, that is, they become more frequent and more painful, with contractions occurring approximately every 3 to 5 minutes, each lasting 30 to 40 seconds; when the cervix is ​​close to being fully dilated, uterine contractions may become as frequent as once every 1 to 2 minutes, each lasting 45 to 60 seconds. The contractions before delivery are irregular at first, then come and go, and gradually become regular, from once every half an hour to once every ten minutes, and then once every two or three minutes. If you have abdominal pain when the due date arrives or a month in advance, you should think about delivery.

2. The pain of ordinary diarrhea is irregular. It may last all the time or it may stop after a while. However, for pregnant women, there should be other symptoms, such as spotting, so you should also be vigilant when you have ordinary abdominal pain.

3. If the mother is at home and there is no professional examination equipment, she can make a judgment through a simple test method: lie in a bathtub with water temperature that is not too high. Generally, if it is not real labor pains, the pain will slowly disappear, while real labor pains will become more intense. This test can be done close to the due date and can accurately distinguish whether true labor pains are coming.

4. If the mother is waiting to give birth in the hospital and she experiences labor pains, the midwife and doctor will determine whether delivery is possible by checking whether the uterus has changed due to contractions.

Generally speaking, sudden onset of acute diarrhea is the result of acute gastrointestinal infection. Common ones are salmonellosis or cholera, which often cause secretory diarrhea. Viral infections or parasitic infections (very rare, but possible coccidia infections) can also be seen in children, the elderly and some adults, such as rotavirus and some retroviruses - such as coxsackievirus, which often cause osmotic diarrhea.

1. Secretory diarrhea: When infected, bacteria release enterotoxins. Enterotoxins activate adenylate cyclase and guanylate cyclase in the small intestinal cells, thereby increasing the amount of biologically active substances in the cells, such as cyclic AMP and cyclic guanosine monophosphate. Under their regulation, ion pumps on the cell membrane expel a large amount of electrolytes and water from the cells into the intestinal space - this greatly increases the volume of the small intestine and forms watery stools. At the same time, this compresses the small intestinal wall and causes abdominal pain - but it is not obvious. Since the release of water is based on the action of ion pumps, diarrhea will continue whether you eat or not.

2. Osmotic diarrhea: Diarrhea is based on another mechanism, in which cytotoxins act on the intestines, causing damage to intestinal epithelial cells. Under this condition, the function of cells to release enzymes into the intestine is greatly weakened, which in turn weakens the membrane digestion function of the small intestine. Large amounts of disaccharides, peptones and other non-enzyme substances accumulate in the intestinal cavity, causing the osmotic pressure here to increase - and water will move from areas with low osmotic pressure to areas with high osmotic pressure. The mechanism of abdominal pain is the same as the former. Since the water comes from the high osmotic pressure caused by the chyme in the intestine, diarrhea will be alleviated after not eating.

3. Invasive diarrhea: When it occurs in amoebiasis or severe bacterial dysentery (shigellosis), parasites and bacteria directly destroy the intestinal wall, causing inflammation. A large amount of exudate mixed with feces forms diarrhea, which also causes considerable pain. At this time, mucus, blood, and even pus may be seen in the stool. In addition, due to the characteristics of this exudative inflammation, it can also be called exudative diarrhea.

4. Dynamic diarrhea: caused by accelerated intestinal motility, often occurs in patients with irritable bowel syndrome or functional diarrhea. There is no large amount of fluid in the stool.