What should I do if I have diarrhea and what medicine should I take

Diarrhea, commonly known as "diarrhea", is one of the common symptoms of gastrointestinal diseases. Patients with diarrhea have significantly more bowel movements per day, and their stools are thinner and contain more water. If diarrhea is accompanied by abdominal pain, vomiting, fever and other symptoms, you must seek medical attention promptly and take medication correctly under the doctor's guidance.

The clinical manifestations of diarrhea vary depending on the cause. Acute infectious diarrhea has an acute onset and may be accompanied by fever and abdominal pain. Patients with lesions located in the rectum and/or sigmoid colon often have tenesmus, small bowel movements each time, and sometimes only a small amount of gas and mucus. The color is darker pink, mostly sticky and may be mixed with blood. Diarrhea caused by small intestinal lesions is not accompanied by tenesmus, and the stool is unformed and may be liquid, lighter in color, and larger in volume. In patients with chronic pancreatitis and small intestinal malabsorption, oil droplets, foam, food residues and a foul odor may be seen in the stool. The diarrhea caused by Vibrio cholerae is rice water-like. Diarrhea caused by diseases such as schistosomiasis, chronic dysentery, colorectal cancer, and ulcerative colitis often contains pus and blood in the stool.

How to treat severe diarrhea

Due to the large amount of bowel movements, diarrhea patients suffer from severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. At this time, they must replenish a lot of water. They should drink more water. Potassium chloride, glucose, and sodium citrate rehydration salts are ideal choices because they can replenish the lost glucose and minerals in the body and regulate potassium, sodium electrolytes, and water and acid-base balance. Carrot juice, apple juice, watermelon juice, etc. can not only replenish water, but also replenish essential vitamins, and are also good supplements. They are all good ways to prevent dehydration and collapse from diarrhea.

The most important thing in treating diarrhea is to prescribe the right medicine for the disease. Diarrhea can be divided into infectious and non-infectious. Infectious diarrhea is caused by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, such as bacillary dysentery, bacterial food poisoning, viral enteritis, etc. Non-infectious diarrhea is common in colds, indigestion, gastrointestinal dysfunction, and systemic diseases such as hyperthyroidism, diabetes, and uremia. Infectious diarrhea is a manifestation of the body's self-protection. It can excrete some toxins, which is beneficial to the human body. If you blindly stop diarrhea, it will be detrimental to the outcome of the disease. In principle, antidiarrheal drugs are only suitable for non-infectious diarrhea and are generally not used for infectious diarrhea, especially in the acute phase, when symptoms of inflammation and poisoning (such as high fever) are more obvious and there is a lot of blood and pus in the stool. Antidiarrheal drugs should be considered an absolute contraindication. In the recovery phase, when the condition has improved significantly and the stool does not contain pus or blood but only has a lot of water, antidiarrheal drugs can be taken for a short period of time.

What to do if an adult has diarrhea and watery stools

Treatments for diarrhea in adults include:

1. Keep your abdomen warm, eat a light diet, drink plenty of water, and avoid dehydration.

2. You can use Smecta, intestinal probiotic preparations, etc. to improve diarrhea.

3. If abdominal pain, tenesmus, bloody stools, and white blood cells and pus cells in stool tests occur, intestinal infection may be considered and quinolone antibiotics may be given.

4. Patients with severe diarrhea and dehydration should receive intravenous fluid replacement.