Having a running stomach is one of the most uncomfortable things that someone can go through. This situation is commonly known as diarrhea. Diarrhea can be chronic, acute or mild. Some of the causes are food poisoning, excessive consumption of alcohol and caffeine. Diarrhea takes about two to four days to be over. However, there are things you can do to speed up the recovery. There are several ways that you can use to get rid of diarrhea.
But before we know how to treat diarrhea, we must know how we get it and what the causes behind it are:
Causes of Diarrhea:
Diarrhea is one of the most common diseases in the World today that happens to almost everyone. In a survey held in U.S, it was observed that diarrhea is a second most common disease. Diarrhea can be caused by the things we use daily such as food, medication or sometimes stress too can cause diarrhea.
Some of the most common causes of diarrhea are:
1. Bacteria:
Bacteria, as we know, are everywhere, in our food, on our clothes inside our body and on everything we touch. Even though most Bacteria are not harmful, but some can effect on our digestive system badly. These kinds of bacteria come from raw meat, eggs and unpasteurized milk. Food related diarrhea cases most commonly occur when the food consumed by the patient wasn’t refrigerated well or somehow got bad before it was taken.
To avoid diarrhea caused by bacteria on food, one must cook food, eggs and meat completely. If food was refrigerated, then it must be taken as early as possible without leaving it at room temperature longer than needed. To avoid diarrhea, it is also important to wash hands before having food and keep food in clean containers.
2. Virus:
Next, we have viral causes of diarrhea, some viral infections can cause vomiting and diarrhea. The Virus travels very fast from one place to the other i.e. from unwashed hand to dirty hand. Also, when food, drink and utensils are shared it could also provide passage to the virus right into your stomach. Contaminated food sometimes also becomes the cause of viral infections.
To keep viruses out of our body we need to keep our hands and kitchens clean just like we read it for bacteria. If you know someone who has diarrhea, do not eat or drink from the container they used and if you are the patient then avoid sharing your container with anyone. Even if you did get diarrhea you should still follow these instructions to stop diarrhea naturally.
You cannot distinguish whether the cause of diarrhea was Bacteria or Virus, symptoms are almost same always. Generally, it takes two-three days to get bacteria and virus out of your system.
3. Traveler’s Diarrhea:
Traveler’s diarrhea is the one that you get while traveling. When we go to some new place we get ourselves in a whole new atmosphere that was perhaps never introduced to our body, so we let germs get inside our body through food that belongs to that area and especially water. This type of diarrhea can be avoided by consuming properly cooked food in a clean kitchen and drinking bottled water instead of the water from the faucet.
Traveler’s diarrhea takes around 12 hours to get out of our body system.
4. Diarrhea due to medication:
It would be strange for most of the readers to know that diarrhea can also be caused due to medication. Yes, it is true. Sometimes we all take antibiotics to kill bad bacteria inside our body but these pills not only kill bad bacteria but good bacteria as well, thus affecting our immune system. Antibiotics are that’s why shouldn’t be consumed without the prescription as they cure you of one disease but the open the chances for you to get another.
Besides antibiotics, antacids, medications for blood pressure and cancer drugs can also stimulate diarrhea. If you feel any symptoms of diarrhea after taking these kinds of medicines, immediately contact your doctor to stop diarrhea.
5. Food Indigestion:
Diarrhea could also be caused by the indigestion of food. Sometimes our body suffers digesting food due to various reasons like inappropriate timing, overeating or due to the nature of the food that was taken i.e. artificial sweeteners and dairy products. Undigested food can cause stomachache, nausea, cramping and diarrhea after 30 minutes to 2 hours of consuming them.
Lactose found in the dairy products has been found the reason why some people cannot digest milk products. In that case, one can have cheese, yogurt, coffee and tea as these food items contain a comparatively lesser amount of lactose than milk. A few supplements can be taken to improve digestion of dairy products.
6. Other causes:
If Diarrhea doesn’t go away and last longer than it should i.e. 2- 3 days then it is an indication that there might be something wrong with your body. You might have some other, rare causes of diarrhea that you need to get diagnosed ASAP.
These causes include:
Irritable bowel syndrome: It is a disorder that causes cramping, bloating and general restlessness in the abdominal area. It could be cured by changing the diet.
Inflammatory bowel disease: This is the result of damaged digestive track which makes it unable to absorb and distribute nutrients to the body. You’d need to get help from your doctor to cure inflammatory bowel disease.
Celiac disease: Gluten is a protein that is found in wheat, barley and rye. When people with celiac disease eat gluten their immune system affects badly on the inner lining of their intestines. This, in a few cases, has caused the intestines to lose the ability to absorb nutrients.
Some more unconventional conditions that cause diarrhea are:
Diabetes
Addison’s Disease
Chronic Pancreatitis
Hyperthyroidism
Types of Diarrhea:
Diarrhea most certainly has 5 types.
Secretory diarrhea: In this type of diarrhea, gut releases fluid relatively in the larger amount than normal. Or it may lose the ability to absorb fluids properly. Secretory diarrhea is most commonly happens because of a toxin called cholera –which is a protein secreted by the bacterium Vibrio cholera.
Osmotic Diarrhea: Celiac disease causes this. In this diarrhea, too much water gathers in the bowels. Pancreatic disease or laxatives can also cause it. Besides that, undigested lactose, undigested fructose can also instigate osmotic diarrhea.
Motility-related diarrhea: Also known as hypermotility, is a condition in which food moves too fast in the intestine and thus get passed out of the body without a major part of it being absorbed. Patients who had removal of the vagus nerve are subjected to this type of diarrhea. Also, diabetic neuropathic patients can also get it easily.
Inflammatory diarrhea: Bacterial infections, viral infections and parasitic infections can trigger inflammatory diarrhea. This causes the lining of the gut to get inflamed. Other diseases like tuberculosis, colon cancer and autoimmune issues like Inflammatory Bowel Disease can also become the reason behind inflammatory diarrhea.
Dysentery: In Dysentery blood comes through stool. Dysentery is the result of the release of excess water from the body.
Fighting With Diarrhea:
Earlier in this article we read causes of diarrhea, it is now time for us to know a few methods that we can apply to get rid of diarrhea fast. Let’s take a look at them:
There are home remedies that you can use to stop diarrhea. Some of these includes:
1. Ginger:
Ginger can be used to treat cases of food poisoning. To use this in curing diarrhea, you should take ginger tea three times a day. You can add some honey before taking it. Ginger will help in soothing your bowel that will be irritated by diarrhea. In case you are sensitive to spices, then you can take ginger supplements.
2. Carrot:
To stop diarrhea using carrot, you should drink carrot juice. It will provide you with minerals and vitamins that you lose when you have diarrhea. To give it taste, add lemon or sugar.
3. Brown rice:
Brown rice is also another way to get rid of diarrhea. It is packed with vitamin B which will control diarrhea symptoms. Prepare rice the normal way until it becomes soft and then add a banana. This will help in removing toxins and thus give you a quick recovery.
4. Clear fluids:
Diarrhea makes your body lose a lot of water. This water is one way to get rid of diarrhea. Drink 8 glasses of water. Do not mix this with any caffeine. Water will wash away toxins that make your diarrhea.
5. Yogurt:
Another way to get rid of diarrhea is by using yogurt. In case your diarrhea is as a result of antibiotics, you should consider taking yogurt. This will restore the bacteria balance in your body.
6. Avoid caffeine:
caffeine may result in gas and even stomach pains. It can also make you dehydrated and this is not good of you have diarrhea. The best way to get rid of diarrhea is to avoid caffeinated drinks like chocolate and coffee.
7. Get a lot of rest:
While resting your body get the chances to correct any errors. Your body will be in a better position to fight viruses that cause you discomfort. This is one of the good ways to get rid of diarrhea quickly. In case your diarrhea is as a result of anxiety, resting will reduce this anxiety thus giving you quick relief.
8. Dehydrate:
Dehydration that is caused by diarrhea can be corrected by consuming lots of water, this water can sure fill in the place left by the fluids but cannot replace the electrolytes lost through diarrhea. Electrolytes are the minerals in your body that manage the fluid level in your body. They are also responsible for muscle activity and other important functions. This deficiency of minerals can be cured by drinking fresh fruit juices, soups or rehydration fluids like ceralyte or oralyte. Avoid drinking beverages, as they can cause harm to your body instead of filling in the deficiency of fluids.
9. Take Tea:
There are several kinds of teas that could prove beneficial and soothing and relaxing stomach muscles while having diarrhea. These include orange zest, peppermint and ginger tea. Take one cup of tea several times a day to get relief from the pain in stomach.
10. Simple Food:
In the condition of diarrhea, one should only take safe and simple food like soups and cereals. When you feel your stomach is a little relaxed, add yogurt, fruits, vegetables and carbohydrates such as rice, potato and bread.
11. Black seed oil:
Black seed oil is used to heal digestion issues. You can take one teaspoon of black seed oil and mix it in probiotic yogurt or kefir and then eat it once in a day.
12. Fenugreek Seeds:
Fenugreek seeds are greatly helpful in curing many diseases including diarrhea. These seeds aren’t very tasty, so you can mix them in yogurt to make them bearable and can have them twice or thrice a day.
13. Avoid unhealthy food:
One of the ways to get rid of diarrhea quickly is to avoid all the food items that are generally considered unhealthy i.e. spicy meals, BBQ, fatty foods and junk food. Some other food items that are not unhealthy but are known to cause gas must be avoided as well. These kinds of foods are broccoli, beans and cabbage.
14. Pectin Rich food:
Foods that have pectin in them can be really helpful in diarrhea as pectin hardens the soft and liquefied stool caused by diarrhea. Citrus fruits, carrots and apples are enriched with pectin.
15. Cleanliness:
When you have diarrhea wash your hands more often, so that it could not get to your family and friends. Wash your hands especially after going to the bathroom and before taking your food, this will help you get rid of diarrhea fast.
16. Massage your stomach:
Diarrhea often causes pains in the stomach due to cramping and inflammation inside the stomach. In such case, massaging your stomach can bring relief to your pain. Apply pressure on your lower abdominal area with your hands to relax stomach muscles and intestine.
17. Good Rest:
Lay down on your stomach so that the pressure of the body could be applied on your stomach as this will relax your intestines. Take sleep of several hours in this position and keep sleeping like this for a few days until you feel your diarrhea is going away.
Medications to control diarrhea:
1. Probiotics:
A patient of diarrhea loses a good amount of beneficial bacteria from the body to strengthen good bacteria probiotics should be taken. Probiotics are available in powdered or in pills, they can also be found yogurt and kefir.
2. Carob Powder:
Carob powder is good for your stomach and intestine, it soothes them out when they are stiff and swollen. Carob powder can easily be found in health food stores. Mixing it with honey can make it tasty.
3. Antimotility Medicines:
Antimotility medicines are used in acute diarrhea. Loperamide is one of the most commonly used antidiarrheal medicines. Kaolin and Morphine mixture is also used to treat diarrhea.
4. Bulk-Forming Agents:
People with irritable bowel syndrome use these pills, they are made of methylcellulose, sterculia and ispaghula husk.
5. Antisecretory Medicines:
These are part of the new treatment for diarrhea. The reduce water from the gut that got inside the gut as a result of diarrhea.
Now you must know how to stop diarrhea. Choose a suitable method that you can adapt easily. Using any one of them will see you get quick relief in no time. In case diarrhea does not stop even after using any of the above remedies, then it is time to seek medical attention. Do not let diarrhea get the better of you when there are several remedies that you can use to put it to an end. You will be back on your feet in no time.
