The short explanation
Please get her seen by a doctor today, and call 112 if she is very drowsy or difficult to wake. Older adults can become dehydrated quickly with diarrhoea, and drowsiness, poor intake and weakness are warning signs that she may be losing more fluid than she is taking in. Dehydration can affect the kidneys, blood pressure and thinking. While arranging care, give her small, frequent sips of ORS or other fluids if she is awake enough to swallow safely. Do not force fluids if she is too drowsy. In hospital, doctors can check her blood pressure, kidney function and salts, give fluids through a drip if needed, and look for the cause.
What depends on your situation
The parts of this that change from woman to woman. Uncertainty is stated, not hidden.
- Diuretics, blood pressure medicines and diabetes medicines may need adjusting during diarrhoea; take her medicine list.
- Infection, medicines, recent antibiotics and other illnesses can cause diarrhoea in older adults.
- Passing very little urine, dry mouth, dizziness on standing and confusion are signs of dehydration.
What this answer cannot determine
The boundary of online education. These need a clinician who can see you.
- This cannot tell you how dehydrated your mother is or what is causing her diarrhoea. She needs to be examined.
Questions for your clinician
Take these with you. You can add any of them to an appointment card.
- Is she dehydrated, and does she need fluids through a drip?
- What is causing her diarrhoea?
- Should any of her medicines be paused?
- How can we prevent this in future?
When to seek help
Clinician-approved guidance for this topic. When in doubt, being seen is never the wrong choice.
Emergency — call 112 now
- Call 112 or take her to emergency now if she is very drowsy, confused, faints or has stopped passing urine.
Get help the same day
- Get her seen by a doctor today even if she seems to improve.
Sources
The evidence this explanation is built on.
- Stomach ache NHS
- Abdominal pain MedlinePlus (US National Library of Medicine)
- Indigestion NHS
Who wrote and reviewed this
Every AskHer answer names its author. A clinically reviewed answer also names the clinician who signed it off — if no clinician is named below, it has not been clinically reviewed.
- Author
- AskHer Editorial (AI-assisted draft) AskHer's editorial team — not an individual clinician Works in English, தமிழ், हिन्दी
- Clinical reviewer
- Nobody yet No clinician has signed this answer off, and no person on the editorial team has read it yet. That is what the “Written with AI assistance” label means. It is queued for an editor to read, and then for a clinician who works in this area. The sources it was drafted against are listed above.
- Review status
- Written with AI assistance — not yet reviewed by a person
- Last reviewed
- Not yet reviewed by a person
- Version
- 1
Correction history
Substantive changes are listed, not quietly edited away.
No corrections have been made since this answer was first published.
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