Diarrhea

Watery, loose stools

Frequent bowel movements

Cramping or pain in the abdomen

Wash your hands after going to the toilet and before preparing food. Use disposable paper towels to dry your hands.

When traveling, find out if it is advisable to drink bottled water, boiled water, and to avoid using ice cubes. You may need to remove the peels from fruits and vegetables before eating.

With diarrhea, do you have these signs of dehydration?

• Sunken and dry or tearless eyes

• Dry mouth, tongue, and lips

• No urine or a low amount of urine that is dark yellow

• Lightheadedness, especially when getting up quickly

• Dry skin that doesn’t spring back after being pinched

• Dizziness, confusion, weakness

• Increase in breathing and heart rate

• Severe thirst (sometimes)

Do you have the following signs and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome?

• Gas, bloating, cramps, or pain in the abdomen

• Changes in bowel habits:

  • Constipation, diarrhea, or both

  • Crampy urge, but inability to move your bowels

  •  Mucus in your stool

Do you have any of these problems with diarrhea?

• Temperature of 101 degrees Fahrenheit or higher

• The diarrhea has lasted 48 hours or longer.

• You have a chronic illness and have diarrhea more than 8 times a day.

• You are taking medicines (regular medicines that the body may not be absorbing due to the diarrhea, and/or prescribed or over-the-counter ones that might be contributing to the diarrhea).

If vomiting is also present, treat for vomiting first. (See “Vomiting & Nausea”)

Follow your normal diet if there are no signs of dehydration.

Avoid having high “simple” sugar drinks, like apple juice, grape juice, gelatin, regular colas, and other soft drinks. These can pull water into the gut and make the diarrhea persist.

If there are signs of dehydration, stop solid foods. Have around 2 cups of clear fluids per hour (if vomiting isn’t present). Fluids of choice are:
 

• Sport drinks, such as Gatorade

• Kool- Aid. This usually has less sugar than soda pop.
   

Don’t drink clear liquids exclusively for more than 24 hours.

Start eating normal meals within 12 hours.

Good food choices are:

Use over-the-counter lactobacillus acidophilus capsules or tablets. These help restore normal bacteria to the bowel.

Avoid fatty and fried foods.

The B.R.A.T. diet: Just having bananas, rice, applesauce, and dry toast is no longer the diet if choice for diarrhea. These foods are still okay to eat, though.

Exercise moderately until the diarrhea is gone.

Try an over-the-counter antidiarrheal medicine, such as Imodium A-D, but wait at least 12 hours before you take this to let the diarrhea “run its course” to get rid of what caused it.

Avoid foods that are not easy for you to digest. Some people with lactose intolerance can tolerate dairy products in small portions.

Try foods that have had lactose reduced by bacterial cultures. Examples are buttermilk, yogurt, and sweet acidophilus milk. Take over-the-counter lactobacillus acidophilus capsules.

Take over-the-counter drops or pills that have the enzyme lactase when you have dairy foods.

If the above measures don’t help, avoid products with milk, milk solids, and whey. Products marked “parve” are milk free.