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Diarrhea Natural Cures

Please suggest some natural remedies for tummy bugs/viruses.
( 2 Feb 2009)

In general, no real treatment is required for mild infections that cause diarrhea. Diarrhea itself can be either mild or severe, but even severe diarrhea can often be managed at home, without any real treatment. The main requirements in handling diarrhea are increasing water intake in order to replenish lost fluids and restricting food intake to avoid further irritation of the stomach.


It is best not to take any actual treatment, whether natural remedies or commercially available drugs, as these treatments typically aim at stopping the diarrhea. This is not advisable, because your body should be allowed to take its own course, and expel whatever is causing the upset. Your body will fight the infection on its own, and once the digestive system is clear, you will be back to normal without any treatment.

The main danger with diarrhea is that of dehydration - you lose lots of fluid in your stools, and if this fluid is not constantly replenished, dehydration can set in. In adults, this rarely becomes severe enough to be dangerous, but it is certainly possible. You should therefore keep drinking water through the day - fruit juices will also do, but are usually not advised for small children, as too much of fruit juice may irritate the digestive system and worsen the diarrhea. If the infection seems severe - if you are passing more than three watery stools in a day - you should sometimes drink a saline solution instead, to replace lost salts and glucose. This can be prepared by adding a teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of salt to a glass of water. This is not meant to replace water completely, as an excess of salt will be harmful, but a few glasses a day should be fine.

You should avoid eating fatty and spicy foods while you have an upset stomach. These will most probably make you feel nauseous, just at the sight and smell of them, but even if this is not the case you should avoid them. Milk and milk products should also be avoided, as these may help the infection to worsen. However yogurt sometimes helps, and can be taken by the end of the second day. However, if this seems to make things worse, you should stop it immediately. One simple way to fight the nausea and the constant feeling of unease is to sniff a lemon. You can also drink a glass of fresh lemon juice, and even add a little soda to it - this usually provides great relief.

answered by M W on 2 Feb 2009, 6:18:27

 

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