Diarrhea: Diagnosis and Treatment

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What is The Main Cause of Diarrhea?

Diarrhea is characterized by having frequent and liquid bowel movements. Its symptoms usually involve nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and weight loss. There are many things that can cause the onset of diarrhea and some of the most common ones are viruses, bacteria, parasites, lactose intolerance, or some types of digestive disorders such as celiac disease or irritable bowel syndrome.

Luckily, for the majority of mild cases of diarrhea, you won’t need any medical attention as the symptoms are short-lived and usually last only a few days. However, in other types of diarrhea, the symptoms persist longer which may require supportive therapy in the forms of medicines, eating a healthy and well-balanced diet, and staying hydrated.

Most often providing different types of diagnostic tests are required to confirm the proper diagnosis. These involve performing endoscopic evaluations of your upper and lower digestive tract to find out if there are some organic abnormalities involved in the cause of it including (ulcers, infections, neoplastic process), performing stool and blood tests, etc. After you’ve been carefully examined the doctor can prescribe you the right type of antidiarrheal medicine for treating your symptoms.

What is The Best Medicine for Treating Diarrhea?

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There are several types of medicines that are commonly used for the treatment of severe diarrhea symptoms. Some of these you can buy without a prescription from your doctor in case of a mild form of diarrhea that can be treated at home, while others may require a prescription of special types of medicines by your doctor, to beat the symptoms. Below you’ll find a list of some of these medications and learn more about each one of them in detail.

Hydralyte Electrolytes

Among the other accompanying symptoms, diarrhea can cause dehydration which may be life-threatening if left untreated. The most common signs that show that a person is dehydrated are excessive thirst, dry mouth, and skin, decreased or dark yellow urine as well as weakness, dizziness, and headache.

One of the most recommended types of medicine to stop diarrhoea dehydration is the usage of electrolytes. Hydrolyte is a scientifically proven formula that is specially made to replace the lost amount of water and electrolytes in the body due to vomiting, heavy sweating, or alcohol consumption. It can be taken immediately after the first signs of fluid loss for best results.

Gastro Stop Capsules

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Besides drinking plenty of water or consuming some type of electrolytes, if you have an acute case of diarrhea you may need to take a specific type of medicine to restore the natural rhythm of your digestive system. Gastro Stop is a commonly used medicine to stop diarrhoea symptoms and most people experience noticeable improvements within one to three hours after their first dose.

This medicine has an active ingredient called loperamide, which works locally on the digestive system by slowing down the movement of the intestines. In doing so, the intestines have more time to absorb the water and the electrolytes which helps to relieve the symptoms of diarrhea. The Gastro stop capsules can be used both in children and adults and the recommended dose is two capsules with water initially, followed by 1 capsule with water after each loose bowel motion as needed.

Pepto Bismol

This medicine is prescribed for different types of health issues including heartburn and acid reflux, indigestion, and diarrhea. In the case of diarrhea symptoms, the common ingredient responsible for providing relief is bismuth subsalicylate.

This ingredient provides a positive effect for relieving the symptoms of diarrhea, stomach cramps, and indigestion. It works by decreasing the flow of fluids and electrolytes into the bowel, reducing inflammation within the intestine, or killing some of the bacteria and viruses that may cause the sickness in the first place. This medicine may not be the most useful if you are experiencing prolonged bouts of diarrhea, as it’s not recommended to be taken for more than two consecutive days.

Xifaxan

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As we already stated some types of diarrhea are caused by the presence of specific types of bacteria in the body. For instance, the bacteria Escherichia coli is associated with some of the symptoms of diarrhea. Xifaxan is an antibiotic drug that is often prescribed to treat symptoms of diarrhea in people who have this bacteria in their bodies. This med works by stopping the growth of bacteria in your stomach. It is typically well-tolerated medication and it doesn’t have any harmful side effects which may not be the case with some other types of antibiotics.

Antidepressants

It’s a well-known fact that our gut and brain are connected. Therefore many times when we experience stress, we feel some sort of bowel discomfort, even nausea, and headache, Although antidepressants are drugs that are commonly prescribed for treating depression, and anxiety, many research studies confirmed the fact that they can also be very effective as analgesics for the treatment of various painful conditions.

Some of these may include, headache, diabetic neuropathy, and fibromyalgia, as well IBS, and diarrhea. Patients who have mild symptoms of IBS may not require antidepressants to treat their symptoms while in some severe forms the use of the same has proven to be beneficial. Usually, low dosages of antidepressants are introduced at the beginning, and they are gradually increased as needed.

Published by James Morgan

I use goal-setting regularly in my career and life. I try to make my goals clear and specific with deadlines. In my recruiting career, I recently set a goal to increase my number of clients by 10% in one year.

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