One of the most annoying things that our body does to us is diarrhoea. It’s embarrassing and unpleasant, it can impede us from normally going about our day and it can be quite painful. But even though interrupting our life so unfairly is irritating, diarrhoea is often a symptom of another health issue. And, the best way to stop it, is to take care of our entire body and find the cause for it.

Why Do You Have Diarrhoea?

As annoying as it is, diarrhoea is most frequently harmless, especially if it doesn’t last for more than a few days. There are many different things that can cause diarrhoea, and the most common ones amongst them are food intolerance, alcohol consumption, parasites present in the food we eat or the liquids we drink, food poisoning, as well as some viral or bacterial infections. It can sometimes even appear for no apparent physical reason, and even in people with healthy lifestyle who follow a balanced diet.

It can also be caused as a side effect from some types of medications, especially antibiotics, or from some dietary supplements, or as a result of an allergy. Diarrhoea can even be caused by running – after significant physical exhaustion, like long distances or harder runs for example. In some women, diarrhoea can also appear before, during or after a period, some people experience it because of stress and anxiety, and in babies sometimes it can be caused by teething.

When Is Diarrhoea a Cause for Concern?

While acute diarrhoea can last only for several days, chronic diarrhoea may persist for at least four weeks. The latter can sometimes be a symptom of more serious conditions, including celiac disease or some types of cancers. This is why you should contact your doctor if you have diarrhoea that lasts for a few weeks, or if you experience more than three bowel movements per day. Symptoms like this can sometimes be a sign of a more serious condition.

How to Treat Diarrhoea?

Everyone has their own homemade remedy that they swear by when it comes to treating diarrhoea. However, if your remedy doesn’t work soon, and the diarrhoea doesn’t go away on its own, you should try something a little bit more reliable, and buy over-the-counter medicine for diarrhoea. Furthermore, while you may be taking supplements for a more balanced diet, vitamins, probiotics, electrolytes and other supplements may also be helpful when it comes to treating this condition.

Treating Diarrhoea with Medicine and Dietary Supplements

Loperamide, an active ingredient contained in many forms of medicine for diarrhoea medications for adults available over the counter, helps by providing your body with more time to process the food because it slows down the activity of the intestines. This can help different types of diarrhoea, by allowing your body to absorb more water and electrolytes, which are vital for fighting diarrhoea.

Electrolytes are often also part of the treatment for diarrhoea, because of that. They are a number of minerals, which are vital for our bodies, including magnesium, sodium, potassium, calcium etc. Electrolytes can play a very important role in many of our body’s processes, so when you take them, you help your organism to balance pH levels in the body, improve your blood pressure, regulate the function of your muscles and your nervous system, and keep you hydrated – thus stopping your diarrhoea.

Probiotics are live beneficial bacteria and yeasts, which help our digestive system to function optimally. Because diarrhoea is often caused by bad bacteria from the food or the liquids we consume, another common treatment are probiotics. They are also often prescribed along with antibiotics, to prevent diarrhoea as a common side effect. While some foods naturally contain them, when we are suffering from diarrhoea, it’s recommended to avoid many of those foods, which is why supplements may be the best idea. Our bodies are full of both beneficial and harmful bacteria and when you get probiotics as a dietary supplement essentially you provide your body with more good bacteria to help it fight the bad bacteria, which causes a disbalance in your stomach.

Vitamins, such as Vitamin C, B complex, B3, can help your body heal from diarrhoea. Furthermore, by helping with so many vital processes in our organism, vitamins may not only help your upset stomach but also address an underlying cause of diarrhoea. Vitamins are nutrients found in many ingredients and they support our bodies to function normally, they strengthen the immune system, they help our organs and bones to repair, heal etc. However, because it’s hard for us to get all the nutrients that our bodies need, especially in the right amounts, and even more so when we are experiencing diarrhoea, getting vitamins supplements can be very helpful.

Herb-based supplements and teas also contain nutrients that are also beneficial for our digestive system and can help your body fight diarrhoea, by itself or along with the OTC diarrhea medication. Herb-based supplements and teas that are helpful for diarrhoea include chamomile, mint, aloe vera, green tee, green tea, lemon, berries, including blueberry, blackberry, raspberry etc. can be consumed in herb-based supplements or as teas.