“How can I treat diarrhea?”
I've had diarrhea for the last 2 weeks, basically every other day. I'm starting to get worried and want to stop it. How can I treat it?
2 Answers
The most common reason for persistent diarrhea is that people usually do not give the bowel a chance to rest after an imbalance by infection with a virus, bacteria, or fungal overgrowth. I usually recommend 24-48 hours of nothing but clear fluids in the diet (e.g., clear broths, jello, electrolyte drinks, clear popsicles, tea, and for babies I include breast milk and pedialyte). If the diarrhea has stopped, begin refeeding with the BRAT diet, which consists of:
B-Bread, Bananas
R- Rice/Rice Cereal (no milk added)
A-Apples/unsweetened applesauce (no apple juice)
T- Toast/Tea
If you tolerate the BRAT diet, with no recurrence of the diarrhea x 24 hours, then advance to a soft diet. A soft diet includes easily digestible foods like boiled eggs, steamed vegetables, and baked fish. If the soft diet causes no further symptoms, you may advance your diet as tolerated, avoiding greasy, fatty, sugary or spicy foods for at least a week. If at any point in advancing the diet the diarrhea recurs, back up to the last dietary advance that did not cause diarrhea and remain there for two days, before advancing again.
You may also try an over-the-counter anti-diarrheal medication while attempting the above dietary management, but be aware that this may prolong the recovery course.
If the diarrhea persists, you notice blood in your stool, you have excessive cramping, you have fever or chills, or your stool turns black or pale yellow, you should seek physical medical attention from your primary care doctor or an emergency facility.
B-Bread, Bananas
R- Rice/Rice Cereal (no milk added)
A-Apples/unsweetened applesauce (no apple juice)
T- Toast/Tea
If you tolerate the BRAT diet, with no recurrence of the diarrhea x 24 hours, then advance to a soft diet. A soft diet includes easily digestible foods like boiled eggs, steamed vegetables, and baked fish. If the soft diet causes no further symptoms, you may advance your diet as tolerated, avoiding greasy, fatty, sugary or spicy foods for at least a week. If at any point in advancing the diet the diarrhea recurs, back up to the last dietary advance that did not cause diarrhea and remain there for two days, before advancing again.
You may also try an over-the-counter anti-diarrheal medication while attempting the above dietary management, but be aware that this may prolong the recovery course.
If the diarrhea persists, you notice blood in your stool, you have excessive cramping, you have fever or chills, or your stool turns black or pale yellow, you should seek physical medical attention from your primary care doctor or an emergency facility.
Diarrhea going on for that long needs to be evaluated for a cause. Without figuring out why it’s happening, the treatment won’t be effective long-term.
Leslee R. McElrath, MD
Leslee R. McElrath, MD
