How to Stop Diarrhea? – Causes, Treatment & Home Remedies

How to Stop Diarrhea – Diseases are not good for any living creature either; it’s simple and common or complex and rare. Diseases can lower the quality of life of a person and affect their day-to-day activities. 

Humans experience diseases regularly, depending on weather, diet, lifestyle, and age. Most of these diseases are common, and you can treat them with simple over-the-counter medication, but sometimes even common diseases get out of hand.

For example, diarrhea. It is a common disease, and the United States records millions of cases of diarrhea each year. If you have been affected with diarrhea, then you will feel loose, watery stools and an urgent need to have a bowel movement even multiple times in an hour. 

There could be hundreds of different reasons you might be experiencing diarrhea, but you should treat it as early as possible because diarrhea is capable of causing more diseases. That is why today we are here to talk about it. We will also take a look at how to stop diarrhea and what are its symptoms.

Treatment of Diarrhea

Before we move ahead and talk about anything else, let’s first discuss all the treatment options for diarrhea. If you are already struggling with diarrhea, then you might be in a hurry!

Usually, people do not require any medical attention to get better from diarrhea, as a person affected by the disease can feel better within a day or two. 

In some cases where people are not able to control their bowel movements, or they have been struggling with diarrhea for more than two or three days, it becomes very important for them to get medical assistance as early as possible. 

Your doctor will be able to help you with your diarrhea after learning about the right cause.

Replacement of fluids

As soon as you reach your doctor for the treatment of diarrhea, your doctor will suggest you go for the replacement over fluids. 

In diarrhea, you use more fluids in a day than you should, and it can have negative impacts on your overall health. Your doctor will suggest you drink more water with electrolytes, juice, or broth.

People who are not able to drink liquids as it upsets their stomach will be suggested to get Iv fluids. 

Kindly make sure you are not drinking apple juice, as it can make your diarrhea worse. Always consult your doctor about what type of fluid you should start having.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics or anti-parasitics are another popular treatment option for diarrhea. Your health expert will suggest you go for antibiotics or antiparasitic medicines if they believe you have diarrhea that is caused by bacteria or parasites in your stomach. On the other hand, antibiotics are not going to work if diarrhea is caused by any virus. Kindly do not take any antibiotic or any parasitic on your own without consulting with your health care provider.

Other medication

Patients who are already struggling with any medical condition will have to tell their doctor that they are also struggling with some other disease. Diarrhea is a common side effect of several medicines available for general diseases. People who are struggling with inflammatory bowel disease or any other digestive issue should also open up with their health care provider.

To treat diarrhea caused by end medication, you’re so trivial either limit the consumption of the medicine or replace it with some better option. Increased diarrhea is caused by any medication, and if you are trying to replace fluids or take antibiotics, then the treatment options are not going to work.

Home Remedies for Diarrhea

Along with medical treatment, there are several human remedies you can use to treat diarrhea at home. Yes, people have been treating diarrhea at home without taking any medicine for thousands of years.

As soon as you have any signs of diarrhea, you should start having these home remedies as they won’t worsen the disease but will help you.

• First of all, you should start having plenty of liquids, including water, broth, and juices.
• At the same time, you can avoid caffeinated drinks and alcohol. 
• You should avoid food items that might be causing diarrhea, such as dairy products, fatty foods, high-fiber foods, or seasoned food. 
• Consult your pharmacist or doctor for probiotics, as these microorganisms can help you restore your gut health.

Causes of Diarrhea

Before we move ahead and talk about anything else related to diarrhea, let’s take a look at its causes. There could be hundreds of different causes of diarrhea, but we are only going to talk about the topmost.

There is a probability that you might develop diarrhea due to:

• Alcohol abuse 
• Expired food items
• Diabetes
• Diseases of the intentions
• Allergic foods
• Laxative abuse
• Certain medication
• Infection by bacteria
• Radiotherapy
• Running
• Surgeries
• Digestive issues

As we have already discussed, there could be hundreds of different reasons that can cause diarrhea in a person, but usually, it is caused by the above-given symptoms.

COVID-19

In recent years, health experts around the world have found that certain viruses can also cause diarrhea, including COVID-19. When coronavirus first started back in 2019, diarrhea was not included in one of the symptoms, but in recent times with the variant, diarrhea has become one of the most common symptoms of forwarding 19. 

People who have been in touch with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 and is also experiencing diarrhea should consult with their health care provider and get themselves tested for COVID-19 as early as possible.

Certain medications

As we have mentioned, thousands of different medications have diarrhea as one of their most common side effects. Several antibiotics can cause diarrhea. Yes, antibiotics are made to kill bad bacteria, but sometimes they can get out of hand and kill good bacteria from the gut.

In those cases, people who are taking antibiotics can also experience diarrhea. Several anticancer drugs and antacids with magnesium are also known to cause diarrhea, and they should be consulted with health care providers as early as possible. 

Lactose intolerance

People who develop lactose intolerance can misdiagnose themselves or some other disease at the start. Lactose intolerant people are not able to digest any dairy product that includes lactose. If a person is not able to digest any food item, then it is going to become the cause of diarrhea. 

A similar thing also happens with lactose intolerance. In case you are experiencing diarrhea as soon as you consume any dairy product, then you are developing lactose intolerance, and you should consult with your healthcare provider.

How to Prevent Diarrhea?

Prevention is better than cure. Keeping that in mind, we are going to discuss all the preventive measures you can take to stay away from diarrhea. 

Your health expert will suggest you wash your hands as many times as possible to prevent diarrhea or any kind of food poisoning. You should wash your hands before you prepare or eat your food.  

You need to keep washing your hands regularly while you are cooking, such as handling uncooked meat, using a toilet, changing diapers, sneezing, coughing, and blowing your nose. Sanitization can help you prevent diarrhea and hundreds of different diseases.

Don’t just wash your hands with water. Put a little soap on your hands and rub your hands together for at least 10 to 15 seconds. A lot of people make the mistake of washing their hands with only water. If you are not able to count how much time you have spent rubbing your hands together, you can sing happy birthday twice. Lastly, if you are not able to wash your hands, then kindly use hand sanitizer.

Keep drinking fluids regularly to prevent any dehydration, as it can also become one of the biggest calls of diarrhea in some people. 

If you are traveling, then you should make sure you are eating well-cooked food and bottled water. A lot of people get food poisoning while they are traveling due to unsanitary measures.