Diarrhea is a digestive disorder commonly referred to as diarrhea. It is characterized by frequent defecation (3 times a day or more), increased stool volume (more than 200 ml), cramping pains in the epigastric region of the abdomen and liquid feces. Usually, an attack of diarrhea occurs suddenly, causing anxiety and even panic. If you know how to quickly stop diarrhea in an adult, you can get rid of its symptoms, as well as avoid unpleasant consequences.
Diarrhea is not considered a separate disease. It is just one of the signs of disruption of the intestines, the cause of which may be:
- the presence of infection in the gastrointestinal tract: bacteria, viruses or fungi, and sometimes the presence of helminths;
- eating stale or low-quality food;
- individual intolerance to individual products or their combination;
- side effects of drugs;
- gastrointestinal pathologies;
- stress.
Knowing why diarrhea appeared, you can stop it using the right means. It is not always easy to determine the cause of diarrhea on your own. This requires a special diagnosis and an objective medical assessment.
Types of diarrhea
There are several types of diarrhea. In terms of duration, it can be:
- acute, and last up to three days;
- chronic when worried for two weeks or more.
Table 1. Diarrhea when taking into account the nature of feces
| Variety | The nature of the bowel movements |
|---|---|
| hypokinetic | With this variety, the stool is not too plentiful, has the consistency of a liquid slurry and a putrid smell - the result of weak intestinal motility. |
| hyperkinetic | In this case, the stool is liquid or liquefied due to its too rapid movement through the intestines. |
| hypersecretory | With watery and plentiful feces, which is formed against the background of an increased amount of salts and water. |
| Hyperexudative | It is formed against the background of leakage of fluid into the intestinal lumen, which is often inflamed. The stool is watery, sometimes with signs of blood and mucus. |
| Osmolar | It occurs due to insufficient absorption of salts and water by the intestinal walls. The stools in this case are plentiful, fatty and contain fragments of undigested food. |
It is important to pay attention to the nature of the feces so that they can be described to the doctor in case of seeking medical help.
Symptoms
The symptoms of diarrhea are prominent.
- First, there are pains in the epigastrium. They can be blunt, pulling and cutting, but are more often spasmodic in nature.
- There is bloating.
- Concerned about the frequent strong urge to defecate, making it impossible to voluntarily retain feces. Bowel movements occur repeatedly per day, while the excrement has:
- uncharacteristic, fetid odor;
- darker or vice versa, light color compared to the usual;
- liquid consistency, sometimes with impurities of blood and mucus.
In parallel, symptoms such as:
- nausea and urge to vomit;
- rise in body temperature.
- Nausea is one of the symptoms.
With frequent and heavy bowel movements, dehydration occurs. This is expressed:
- weakening of the general tone;
- dryness of the oral mucosa;
- feeling thirsty;
- lowering blood pressure;
- dizziness and increased heart rate.
The presence of a large number of symptoms may indicate a serious nature of the pathology. In this case, it is not enough just to stop diarrhea, special and urgent treatment will be required.
If diarrhea, despite the measures taken at home, does not stop within three days, is accompanied by vomiting, fever, increasing signs of dehydration, you need to call an ambulance.
Treatment
Diarrhea therapy is a whole range of measures aimed at:
- stop the urge to defecate;
- normalize the work of the intestines and the structure of feces;
- restore the water-salt balance of the body.
Therapy mainly includes taking pharmaceutical preparations and following a special diet. In some cases, the condition can be improved using traditional medicine recipes.
Medical therapy
Getting rid of diarrhea in a short time is possible. To do this, there is a whole arsenal of medicines.
Preparations for the regulation of intestinal motility. Violation of the contractile function of the digestive tract leads to the fact that food moves unevenly, causing pain in the abdomen. The urge to defecate becomes uncontrollable. To normalize the process, drugs such as Stopdiar, Ftalazol, Enterofuril, Furazolidone, Imodium and others are used.
Stopdiar
Ftalazol
Enterofuril
Furazolidone
The convenience of some of them (for example, Imodium) is that tablets or capsules do not have to be washed down. The therapeutic effect begins after a few seconds, which allows you to quickly stop intestinal spasms. This is extremely important when diarrhea is caught at work, on the street or in public transport. Taking the medicine will allow you to quickly stop diarrhea in order to get home and continue treatment.
Antibacterial drugs. They are effective and necessary in cases where the symptoms are due to the influence of infection. Modern diarrhea remedies with antibacterial components can stop diarrhea and destroy pathogens. One of these drugs is Ercefuril, which:
- acts quickly, stopping pain in the abdomen and the urge to "go to the toilet";
- does not destroy beneficial microflora;
- almost not absorbed by the walls of the intestine, acting exclusively in its lumen.
Sometimes one or two doses are enough to quickly and completely relieve the symptoms of diarrhea. However, given that antibiotics should be taken in a course, you need to drink the medicine accordingly. The duration of treatment can be clarified with the doctor or in the annotation to the drug.
Probiotics. They do not belong to the means of "emergency" use, but are essential to restore normal bowel function and avoid recurrence of diarrhea. Means such as Acipol, Bifidumbacterin, Bifiform put digestion in order, make peristalsis physiological, relieving a person from painful bowel movements.
Bifiform
Sorbents. These funds collect and remove intestinal "garbage" - toxins, poisons, dead pathogens and their waste products. They allow you to quickly restore the consistency of feces, saving a person from the risk of bowel incontinence. Enterosgel, Polysorb, activated carbon tablets and other preparations are considered excellent sorbents.
Means that restore the water-salt balance. They are essential to prevent dehydration, which is a threat to health and life. With diarrhea, an abnormally large amount of salts and water is excreted from the body, the volume of which must be restored.
If diarrhea caught in such conditions, when it is not possible here and now to prepare the desired solution, it does not matter. This can be done while at home. Pharmaceutical Regidron is recommended as an initial component - a powder on the basis of which a medicinal drink is prepared.
Regidron
The drug from the pharmacy can be replaced with a home-made remedy. To do this, add to a liter of boiled water at room temperature:
- half a teaspoon of baking soda,
- the same amount of salt;
- 4 tablespoons of sugar
Mix all. Within the first hour after the onset of diarrhea, a remedy should be taken at the rate of 10 ml per kilogram of body weight. Children's dosage is half.
When diarrhea is caused by stress or strong feelings, sedatives are recommended as additional medications, the simplest of which are preparations with motherwort and valerian.
Diet
For diarrhoea sufferers, diet is important. Proper nutrition will quickly get rid of diarrhea and its symptoms. With the onset of frequent bowel movements, it is better not to eat anything at all, consuming large amounts of pure water or taking herbal decoctions, which will be discussed later.
As soon as the intestines are cleared, and the attacks become less frequent, you can afford:
- hard-boiled egg;
- unsweetened black tea with crackers;
- rice porridge in water, without salt and sugar.
For the next few days, you should be careful in your choice of dishes, avoiding:
- irritating foods (spicy, sweet, salty, sour and fatty);
- fresh vegetables and fruits;
- fatty meat and the same broths;
- mushrooms and legumes.
Return to normal diet should be gradual. This is important to give the intestines the opportunity to fully restore their functions, and not to load it ahead of time.
The use of folk remedies
In the arsenal of traditional medicine there are an incredible number of recipes that allow you to quickly defeat diarrhea. Here are some of them:
. It is prepared at the rate of: a tablespoon of rice per liter of water. Rice should be cooked until fully cooked and even a little longer so that the cereal is boiled as much as possible. Take warm, half a cup, every two hours. To cook it faster, dry rice can be ground into flour beforehand.
starch with water. A well-known remedy that stops diarrhea quickly and effectively, and most importantly - without harm to health. A teaspoon of potato flour is diluted in a glass of water at room temperature, and is drunk little by little over an hour.
Weak manganese solution. A few crystals should be poured into a small container of water. To avoid swallowing undissolved particles, it is better to prepare the concentrate in a separate cup, let it stand for a while, and then pour it into a glass of clean water until it turns pink. Drink. If necessary, after a few hours, you can take the next portion of the remedy. But in most cases, it is possible to stop diarrhea after the first application.
Add a small spoonful of salt to a glass of “fire water”, stir well so that the crystals dissolve as much as possible. Drink in one gulp. Traditional healers claim that this helps immediately, and if the symptoms of diarrhea persist, after a few hours the dose can be repeated. It is important not to get involved in "vodka therapy", because alcohol in itself is the cause of bowel indulgence.
Strong black tea. For medicinal purposes, it is prepared only from the leaves, packaged is not good. 200 ml of a strong brewed drink, without milk, sugar and other additives, should be drunk in one gulp. The beneficial properties of the tea leaf will help eliminate the signs of diarrhea and relieve intestinal discomfort. However, if you drink such a remedy at night, sleep may be disturbed. People with hypertension should avoid this treatment because of the danger of a spike in blood pressure.
blueberry tea. Brew clean, dry berries with boiling water, cool and drink like a regular drink. It will help with diarrhea, besides it is tasty and healthy.
Lilac infusion. For its preparation, both fresh and dry inflorescences are suitable. They should be washed, brewed and insisted. Drink half a glass before meals.
Mint infusion. Brew a tablespoon of raw materials with a glass of boiling water and insist for 30 minutes. Take warm, morning and evening, on an empty stomach. Drink slowly, in small sips.
A decoction of alder cones. Pour 50 g of pharmaceutical raw materials with a liter of boiling water and then simmer in a weak water bath (or low heat) for 15 minutes. Infuse for at least half an hour, strain. Take one tablespoon four times a day.
Infusion of oak bark. To make it cook faster, you should grind the raw materials to a powder state. Pour a teaspoon of bark with a glass of boiling water and leave for an hour. Strain and take orally periodically, 2 teaspoons, during the day.
When discussing the treatment of intestinal disorders with folk remedies, it is important to understand that they must be used with caution. Do not be deceived by the natural origin of herbal infusions and decoctions. These are also medicines, which means:
- must be used strictly according to indications;
- overdose is dangerous with consequences;
- should be selected on an individual basis, taking into account the characteristics of the general state of health.
Uncontrolled and prolonged therapy can cause many dangerous disorders, from allergies to intestinal obstruction. Therefore, after eliminating unpleasant symptoms, you should find the time and opportunity to coordinate further treatment with your doctor.
Video - How to get rid of diarrhea at home
Treatment of diarrhea in pregnancy
Therapy of diarrhea in pregnant women is complicated by the fact that the list of drugs is extremely limited. This is due to considerations of maximum benefit for a woman of minimal harm to her unborn child.
Diarrhea in early and late periods may be the result of changes in a woman's body that occur due to pregnancy. Smecta and Regidron's solution (or its home analogue, mentioned above) will help to stop excessive liquefaction of the stool and the urge to defecate frequently, as well as remove toxins and restore the normal water-salt balance.
Diarrhea during pregnancy, when it is not caused by the presence of an infection, can also be treated with traditional medicine, with the exception of those prepared with alcohol. Fast and safe action will provide:
- starch diluted with water;
- tea with pomegranate peels;
- decoction of viburnum with honey.
Changes in the hormonal background during the period of bearing a child can cause anxiety and, as a result, digestive disorders, especially before childbirth. Strong excitement, as already mentioned, is reflected in intestinal motility, as a result of which feces are liquefied and spasms of the digestive tract occur. Peppermint tea in the morning or periodic intake of decoctions (or tablets) of motherwort will help relieve nervous tension.
As for the popular tablets and mixtures for diarrhea (Loperamide, for example), which are allowed for pregnant women, they should be used carefully. They are quickly and completely able to relieve the symptoms of diarrhea, but excessive enthusiasm for such drugs carries the risk of constipation. Problems with bowel movements in a pregnant woman threaten with intoxication, from which the fetus also suffers.
loperamide
To reduce the risk of diarrhea, it is important for pregnant women to eat regularly and properly. If bowel problems are frequent or are accompanied by alarming symptoms that indicate the presence of an infection, you should quickly seek medical help.
There are many ways to stop diarrhea in an adult. When taking medication, it is important to think not only about how to relieve symptoms here and now, but also about the state in the future. In order for the body not to give “intestinal failures”, it is important to observe hygiene standards and eat right, and coordinate the intake of any medications with a doctor. When diarrhea occurs frequently, and occurs for unknown reasons, this is an occasion to undergo a diagnosis. Attentive attitude to your own health will allow you to avoid not only problems with the intestines, but also many others.
