Holistic Treatment for Diarrhea by Dr. Tsan

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1 Treatment for diarrhea

Treatment for diarrhea

Treatment for diarrhea doesn’t fall under any particular protocol and depends on many factors, especially the condition of your body that causes diarrhea.

Most cases of acute diarrhea go away on their own in a few days without any treatment. Lifestyle changes and home remedies for diarrhea may not work if you’ve already tried them. Your doctor may prescribe medications or other treatments if that doesn’t work.

Antibiotics can help you get rid of parasites and infections.

Taking antibiotics or anti-parasitic medicines, which can help treat diarrhea caused by bacteria or parasites, might help. If you have diarrhea because of a virus, antibiotics will not help.

Mechanism of Diarrhea

Fluids are replaced with therapy.

Your doctor will probably tell you to drink more water and salt. For most adults, that means drinking water with electrolytes, juice, or broth, but it can also be something else. If drinking liquids makes you sick or causes you to vomit, your doctor might suggest getting IV fluids.

Because water doesn’t have the minerals, sodium, and potassium your body needs to work correctly, it isn’t the best way to get the fluids it needs. You can drink fruit juices for potassium or eat soups for sodium to stabilize your electrolyte levels. But some fruit juices, such as apple juice, might worsen diarrhea, so be careful when you drink them.

Ask your doctor about taking an oral rehydration solution like Pedialyte to keep the body from getting dehydrated or replace lost fluids.

Changing the medicines you’re taking

When your doctor discovers a drug is to blame for your diarrhea, he may lower your dose or give you a different medicine.

Treating the root causes

if you have diarrhea caused by a more severe condition, your doctor will work to control that condition. You may be sent to see a specialist who can help you develop a treatment plan.

What is diarrhea?

There are many different types of diarrhea, and we’ll explain each below.

Diarrhea, which can be loose, watery, and more often, is a common problem. It may be on its own or with other symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, or weight loss, but it may not be the only thing going on.

Fortunately, diarrhea is usually short-lived. It usually lasts no more than a few days. In most cases, if diarrhea lasts more than a few days or weeks, there is another problem, like IBS, or something more serious like persistent infection, celiac disease, or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Having diarrhea for a few days may indicate an even bigger problem. Having diarrhea for more than four weeks can signify a long-term illness. Chronic diarrhea symptoms may last a long time or come and go at any time.

Getting the correct diagnosis as soon as diarrhea lasts more than two or three days would be helpful. The proper diagnosis will lead to the best treatment for diarrhea.

What are the causes of diarrhea?

Most of the time, a virus entering your gut causes diarrhea. Some people call it “intestinal flu,” “stomach flu,” or “flu in the gut.”

Other possible reasons:

  • Drinking too much alcohol is bad for your health.
  • An allergy to certain foods
  • Diseases of the intestines, like Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, can make diabetes more likely.
  • Foods that make the digestive system hurt when eaten
  • When bacteria or other organisms get into your body and make you sick, food poisoning is called.
  • Laxative abuse is when people use them in the wrong way.
  • Medications
  • An overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism)
  • Radiation therapy is used to help people who are sick.
  • Running The reason why some people get “runner’s diarrhea” is unclear.
  • It is possible to get some types of cancer.
  • Surgery on your intestines
  • “Malabsorption” is when your body has difficulty taking in particular nutrients.
  • People with irritable bowel syndrome may also have diarrhea after constipation, which is more likely.

Acute and long-term diarrhea may have different causes than chronic diarrhea. This is because the causes of both are not the same. There are many times when doctors can’t figure out what’s making the person have diarrhea. Most diarrhea goes away in 4 days, and finding out what caused it isn’t essential.

Causes of diarrhea

Acute diarrhea and persistent diarrhea

Infections, traveler’s diarrhea, and the side effects of medicines are the three most common causes of diarrhea that last for a long time or don’t go away without treatment.

Infections are the most common cause of diarrhea.

Infections that cause diarrhea come in three different forms. Some infections caused by bacteria and parasites cause diarrhea that doesn’t go away quickly unless you get medicine. Another thing that can happen after sickness is that people may have difficulty digesting carbohydrates like lactose or proteins in foods like cow’s milk, milk products, and soy products. Diarrhea can last longer if you have trouble digesting carbohydrates or proteins.

Viral infection

Many viruses make you sick, like norovirus NIH external link and rotavirus NIH external link. Viral gastroenteritis is a common cause of diarrhea that is very bad for a short time.

Some people get bacteria in their bodies.

Many types of bacteria can get into your body through contaminated food or water, making you ill. This can cause diarrhea. Many common bacteria that can make you ill are Campylobacter NIH external link, E. Coli, Salmonella NIH external link, and Shigella NIH external link, but there are many more.

Infection by parasites.

Through food or water, parasites can get into your body. They can then live in your digestive tract. They include Cryptosporidium enteritis, Entamoeba histolytica NIH external link, and Giardia lamblia NIH external link, which all make people sick.

A foodborne illness is a type of sickness that can spread through food or drink.

Infections that last more than two weeks and less than four weeks can cause diarrhea that lasts for a long time.

Travelers may have diarrhea.

Travelers’ diarrhea is a common condition; yes, traveling people often have diarrhea. Eating food or drinking water contaminated with bacteria, viruses, or parasites results in an external link. Most of the time, diarrhea that happens while people are on vacation is very bad and very quickly. If you have diarrhea for more than a few days, some parasites can be to blame for it. Travelers’ diarrhea can be a problem for people who visit poor countries.

Trevelers diarrhea

In medicine, some things happen when you take them

Many medicines can make you sick. Some medicines can make you nauseous. These medicines include antibiotics, antacids with magnesium, and medicine for cancer.

It’s been going on for a long time.

Some infections, food allergies and intolerances, digestive tract problems, abdominal surgery, and long-term use of medicines can cause diarrhea that lasts more than a few days.

Allergies and intolerances can happen to people who eat certain foods.

Food allergies may cause diarrhea to last for a long time. Cow’s milk, soy, cereal grains, eggs, and seafood are some of the foods that may cause this.

  • Lactose intolerance is a common condition that can cause diarrhea when you eat or drink something with milk or milk products.
  • After eating foods or drinking liquids with fructose, people with fructose intolerance may get diarrhea. This is because fructose is a sugar found in fruits, fruit juices, and honey. People put fructose in many foods and soft drinks to make them sweeter. This is called high-fructose corn syrup.
  • A lot of sugar alcohol, like sorbitol, can cause some people to have diarrhea. These sugar alcohols are often found in sugar-free candies and gum.

People who have problems with their digestive tract.

Problems with the digestive tract may cause chronic diarrhea.

  • Gluten intolerance is the name of a disease.
  • There is a condition called Crohn’s disease, and it can be very
  • There are many functional GI disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome.
  • A buildup of tiny intestinal bacteria causes ulcerative colitis.
  • Surgery on the abdomen in medical history may cause diarrhea.

After abdominal surgery, you may have diarrhea that lasts for a long time. There are different kinds of abdominal surgeries. One is called an appendectomy. Another is called gallbladder surgery. A third is called pancreaticobiliary surgery.

The long-term use of medicines is not safe.

Medicines may have long-term side effects that need to be taken for a long time. Some medicines, like antibiotics, can change your normal gut flora and make it more likely that you’ll get Cchloridoids difficile, a bacterium that can cause diarrhea for a long time.

What are the symptoms of diarrhea and the signs of dehydration?

Dehydration and problems digesting food can be terrible side effects of diarrhea. They appear like this in adults, babies, toddlers, and young children. People with diarrhea have loose, watery stools three or more times daily, which is the main sign.

People who have diarrhea may also have one or more of the following symptoms as well:

  • An urgent need to go to the bathroom is causing a lot of people to be late.
  • People who can’t control when they go to the bathroom
  • nausea
  • The pain is in the abdomen

People who have diarrhea due to some infections may also experience one or more of the following symptoms:

  • blood in the stools,
  • fever and chills,
  • lightheadedness, and
  • dizziness

Diarrhea can cause dehydration and a lack of nourishment.

The symptoms of dehydration in adults can be:

  • thirst
  • urinating less than you usually do
  • feeling worn out
  • dark-colored urine
  • dried mouth
  • Skin turgor is down, which means that when your skin is pinched and you let it go, it doesn’t flatten back to normal immediately.
  • Fainting, which is also called light-headedness

There may be signs of dehydration that show up in babies, toddlers, and young children.

  • Thirst
  • There were no wet diapers for three hours or more.
  • Lack of strength
  • Dried mouth
  • Tears don’t come when you cry
  • There is less skin turgor
  • The eyes, cheeks, or a soft spot in the skull are all sunken.

Malabsorption

Malabsorption in adults can cause symptoms like not being able to get enough food.

  • bloating
  • the way you eat changes
  • gas
  • bowel movements that are very loose, greasy, and smelly
  • loss of weight

Children as young as two years old may show signs of malabsorption, such as a

  • hard time swallowing or not being able to get enough food.
  • bloating
  • the way kids eat changes
  • gas
  • bowel movements that are very loose, greasy, and smelly
  • weight loss

How do you test for dehydration as a result of diarrhea?

Your doctor will ask about your medical history, look at the medicines you take, do a physical exam, and may order tests to find out what’s making you go to the bathroom. Tests that could be done:

Test your blood.

A complete blood count test, a measurement of electrolytes, and kidney function tests can help you figure out how bad your diarrhea is.

Stool test.

Your doctor might suggest you get a stool test to find out if you have a bacterium or parasite that makes you sick.

Take a hydrogen breath test. For your doctor to know if you have lactose intolerance, you might need to do this kind of test, like this one.

After you drink something with a lot of lactose, your doctor checks how much hydrogen is in your breath at regular intervals. You’re not fully digesting and absorbing lactose if you use too much hydrogen.

Flexible sigmoidoscopy, or colonoscopy, is a way to look inside your body.

Your doctor can see inside your colon with a small, lit tube that goes into your rectum. Because of this, your doctor can get some small pieces of tissue (biopsy) from your colon with a tool. Flexible sigmoidoscopy lets the doctor see the lower part of the colon, while colonoscopy lets the doctor see the whole thing.

The upper endoscopy.

Long, thin tubes with cameras on the end are used to look inside your stomach and the upper part of the small intestine. They might take a piece of tissue (biopsy) from the body to look at in the lab.

The use of home remedies in treatment for diarrhea.

In some cases, taking an antidiarrheal drug will make watery stools go away and make constipation happen instead. Both are bad. If you have a mild case of diarrhea, you don’t need to take any pills to get better.

Tips to prevent diarrhea

A virus or bacteria-related diarrhea can spread. You can prevent diarrhea by taking the following precautions:

  • washing your hands often
  • avoid people who are sick
  • disinfecting surfaces that are frequently touched and not sharing personal items

If you have diarrhea after taking a new medicine, ask your doctor about another drug or cut back on how much you take.

You can also ensure your food is cooked thoroughly and your fruits and vegetables are clean before you eat them. Also, make sure you know how to wash your hands.

Clean your hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds, then dry them with a towel. If there is no water, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

Keep a food journal and write down everything you eat for a few weeks to find out if you have food allergies or sensitivities. This will help you figure out what foods might be making you sick. Please list the days you have diarrhea and write them down.

Keeping a food journal can help you determine if you have lactose or gluten intolerance. You can then try a diet that doesn’t include certain foods. Remove foods you think might be bad for you and see if your symptoms improve.

People with a digestive disorder should talk to their doctor if they think their current treatment isn’t working, even if they think it is. Change your medication if it doesn’t work as well.

Drink a lot of water.

One of the biggest problems with diarrhea is losing a lot of water. Many people go to the emergency room because they get dehydrated from all possible manifestations of this condition.

Diarrhea makes the body lose a lot of water and electrolytes needed to stay healthy. Electrolytes are minerals like sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium that are essential for many body processes.

It’s vital to treat dehydration the right way. For young children, it could be dangerous.

To deal with a mild case of diarrhea, you need to regain the fluids and electrolytes you lost. Drink a lot of water, clear juices, clear broths, or a sports drink that is high in electrolytes. 

There are also things you should stay away from when you have diarrhea, which can worsen things. Coffee, caffeinated drinks, prune juice, sugary drinks, sodas, and alcohol are bad for you, so stay away. These all make you go to the bathroom. In addition, if you’re lactose intolerant, which means you can’t break down the primary sugar in milk well, you should avoid dairy foods. 4

Young children and babies who have diarrhea need rehydration drinks. These are sold under different brand names, like:

  • Pedialyte
  • Enfalyte
  • Gastrolyte

Breastfed babies need to keep nursing. Children should keep eating the same food they usually do. Also, they should drink fluids that will help them stay hydrated, like water or sports drinks. If you put them on a strict diet, this is better than not giving them enough food.

Some people don’t like the taste or color of some rehydration drinks because they don’t want them to be artificial. You only need three things to make a rehydration drink at home: salt, sugar, and water.

As a bonus, you can also buy oral rehydration salt at most drug stores for sale over the counter. Don’t add too much salt to the food. That cannot be good, especially for kids.

Rice water.

Rice water is another quick and effective way to treat diarrhea. It should take about 10 minutes for the rice and 2 cups of water to boil. The rice should be done when the water looks cloudy.

Strain the rice and keep the water for later. You can eat it. Rice water helps your body stay hydrated and can shorten the time you have diarrhea. Binding: Rice water makes stools that are more solid and bulky.

Eat a plain diet for diarrhea treatment.

The researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases don’t think it’s good to go on a strict diet during diarrhea treatment. But that doesn’t mean that all food is the same. There are some foods you should not eat, and there are also foods you might be able to eat better.

The BRAT diet was a standard food plan for people with stomach problems.

The diet comprises four foods that aren’t very tasty and don’t have a lot of fiber: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast.

Bananas are beneficial. They help your body regain the potassium lost when you have diarrhea.

The more your diarrhea symptoms improve, the more you can add other foods that aren’t spicy or hard to swallow. This also has:

  • Baked chicken breasts with no skin
  • Oatmeal
  • Cooked potatoes.
  • Chicken soup with saltines in it

The following foods and drinks can cause gas:

Beans, legumes, cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower are all cruciferous vegetables.

Foods not to eat if you suffer from diarrhea

Most people don’t like fried and greasy foods when they have diarrhea. You should also consider cutting back on high-fiber foods like bran and fruits and vegetables that make you feel bloated. Foods to stay away from:

  • alcohol
  • sweeteners that aren’t natural sugar (found in chewing gum, diet soft drinks, and sugar substitutes)
  • beans
  • berries
  • broccoli
  • cabbage
  • cauliflower
  • chickpeas
  • coffee
  • ice cream with corn
  • Vegetables that are green and leafy are called “green leaf
  • milk
  • peas
  • peppers
  • prunes

Use probiotics for diarrhea treatment.

A mild case of diarrhea may be shorter if you eat food with probiotics or take probiotics in pills. Probiotics are an essential part of any treatment for diarrhea.

It is suitable for your digestive system to have live bacteria and yeast that are good for you.

Diarrhea can wash away the beneficial bacteria in your stomach and intestines, so you might not have as many.

Probiotics for diarrhea can quickly replace these aggressive microorganisms that cause diarrhea and help your bowels work correctly again.

Lactobacillus is a type of bacteria that lives in the gut.

It is a type of bacteria called Bifidobacterium. It can be found in the type of yeast called Saccharomyces boulardii (S. boulardii), commonly used to make bread and other foods. In particular, S. boulardii is very good at stopping diarrhea.

If you have diarrhea, it might be best to avoid some dairy products, but not all. Some dairy foods, like yogurt or kefir with live probiotic bacteria, are very good for you.

Other natural sources of probiotics for diarrhea are foods that have been fermented, such as:

  • Miso
  • Kombucha
  • Sauerkraut
  • Cheeses that have been aged
  • This is cottage cheese.
  • Green olives.
  • Bread made with sourdough
  • Tempeh

It’s not the only food that has undergone fermentation. Kimchi is another one of them. Some people even call it a “super-probiotic,” which is what it is. But kimchi might worsen your diarrhea because it has hot spices that can worsen it.

People who take probiotics in food or supplements usually have mild side effects like an upset stomach, bloating, and gas. These side effects can happen whether the probiotics are in food or supplements.

When should I seek professional treatment for diarrhea?

Diarrhea is something you should never forget about. If you have tried the above home remedies and still have loose stools, call your doctor or pharmacist to see if they can help. They might give you medicine that is sold over the counter.

when to see a doctor

Then, if you or your child have diarrhea that lasts a long time or is very bad, you should see a doctor immediately. It is essential to check for the following symptoms of diarrhea, which are the alarm to call your doctor:

                       Adults                                                  Kids

Diarrhea that lasts a few days or more Diarrhea that lasts more than 24 hours
Severe abdominal cramps Diapers are dry after three hours
Bloody or black stools Fever over 102 F
Body temperature over 102 F Dry mouth and tongue coating
Slight or no urination No tears during crying
Tremendous weakness Odd sleepiness
Dry skin and dry mouth Black or bloody stools
Extreme thirst Sunken cheeks or eyes
Skin that doesn’t pull back when pressed

 

Under 3-month-old babies who have diarrhea should go to the doctor and get checked out immediately. When something is wrong, don’t wait or try to treat it yourself.

Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese natural treatment for diarrhea.

Acupuncture is better than medications when used to treat diarrhea caused by irritable bowel syndrome. IBS-D is a type of irritable bowel syndrome with chronic diarrhea as a primary symptom. It is called IBS-D. In a study at the Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine (Pei et al.), researchers found that acupuncture has a better chance of helping people with IBS-D than pinaverium bromide.

The drug pinaverium bromide is used to treat functional gastrointestinal dysfunction. It is a spasmolytic agent. Pinaverium bromide treats diarrhea and abdominal pain caused by irritable bowel syndrome. The research team of Pei and others found that acupuncture is a lot more effective than pharmaceutical drugs in treating diarrhea.

The researchers did a fascinating thing with their model of how to do their study. They looked at a specific pattern in the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) system. They only let people into the study who met the TCM inclusion criteria for liver qi depression and spleen qi deficiency. People with IBS-D who had liver qi depression and spleen lack of it had a 90% total treatment success rate, according to the results. The medication had a success rate of 80% for the whole treatment.

Most people with IBS-D have liver qi deficiency, but only 65% have spleen qi deficiency. Numerous unhealthful eating habits, such as consuming excessive amounts of alcohol, oily foods, raw foods, and cold foods, as well as negative emotions like anxiety and depression, may be the root cause of this type of IBS-D. Depression is common in people who have IBS. Friedrich and his colleagues found that 90% of people with IBS are depressed. In their paper, Pei et al. say that when depression is present, it can be hard to treat IBS. As a result of allergies or food intolerances, people who have IBS are more likely to have problems with their digestive system. There is a lot of depression and food intolerance in people with IBS-D when their liver qi is down.

It helps with abdominal pain, bloating, and how bowel movements move, at least partly because acupuncture helps the gut-brain axis work better (GBA). Gut-brain axis: Carabotti et al. say that this is a link between the brain, spinal cord, and intestines. People with GBA connect parts of the brain that control emotions and thinking with body parts that move food.

Wang et al.’s research supports the idea that acupuncture can control the GBA. In a lab, Wang et al. found that acupuncture is good at “relieving visceral hypersensitivity” in their study, “Acupoint Specificity on Colorectal Hypersensitivity Alleviated by Acupuncture and the Correlation with the Brain-Gut Axis.” The research team looked at how acupuncture affects the proto-oncogene c-Fos. They found that specific acupuncture points are very good at lowering c-Fos. AP-1 (Activator Protein-1) production is a big deal because it helps cancer grow. This is why this is so important. Acupuncture can reduce the amount of c-Fos in the body, which means more research is needed into the benefits of acupuncture for people with cancer.

For people with IBS-D, the work of Pei and others shows that acupuncture is better than the drug pinaverium bromide. Sixty patients from the Acupuncture and Digestion Units of the Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine Affiliated Hospital took part in the study. From July 2009 to November 2010, these people were all diagnosed with IBS-D. They had liver qi deficiency and spleen qi deficiency. They were split into a treatment group and a control group, with 30 people in each. In the treatment group, acupuncture was used, and in the control group, pinaverium bromide was used.

Based on the figure, each patient’s treatment was put into one of three groups:

  • Significantly effective: The symptoms went down a lot. The treatment’s effectiveness value is less than 70%.
  • Practical: The symptoms got better. The treatment’s effectiveness value is less than 30%.
  • Not good: There was no visible improvement in the symptoms. The treatment’s effectiveness value is less than 30%.

Homeopathy is the #1 treatment for diarrhea.

Homeopathy, as a treatment for diarrhea, looks at the person as a whole and helps cure or alleviate symptoms. It means that homeopathic medicine is used as a treatment for diarrhea because it looks at the patient as a person and his condition. An individualizing examination and case analysis consider the patient’s medical history, physical constitution, etc. The homeopathic medicines for diarrhea are chosen after this.

Also, treating long-term problems is often considered if the person has a miasmatic tendency (a predisposition or vulnerability). Homeopathic medicines for diarrhea that are shown below show that they have a therapeutic affinity. This is not a complete or definitive guide to how to treat this condition.

This is because, in homeopathy, general symptoms and body types are also considered when choosing a homeopathic remedy for diarrhea. To learn more about the following remedies, please visit the Materia Medica page. These homeopathic remedies for diarrhea shouldn’t be taken without consulting a doctor first. The most commonly used homeopathic remedies for the treatment of diarrhea are:

  • Arsenicum album
  • Veratrum Viride
  • Cinchona officinalis
  • Croton tiglium and Aloes
  • Sulphur
  • Rheum
  • Podophyllum
  • Mercurius
  • Calcarea Carbonica
  • Phosphorous
  • Argentum Nitricum
  • Gelsemium

Treatment for diarrhea in Philadelphia, PA

Consider a holistic approach to treating diarrhea if you or a member of your family has experienced chronic diarrhea despite receiving unsuccessful treatment from Western physicians.

The Philadelphia Holistic Clinic is the #1 naturopathic facility in Brotherly Love. All holistic techniques, such as homeopathy, acupuncture, hypnosis, and energy healing, are available under one roof at the clinic.

Contact us at (267) 403-3085 to schedule your evaluation appointment with Dr. Tsan and discuss which holistic approach is best for you.