Diet Treatment for Diarrhea

Diverticula are the small sacs that are sometimes formed on the walls of the large intestine; these sacs can be inflamed, or infected, further causing a disease called Diverticulitis. The term diverticulosis refers to the presence of multiple diverticula in the bowel and is an asymptomatic condition that is a precursor of Diverticulitis. It is important to note that that the formation of diverticula could be due to a person’s diet or it can have genetic reasons as well. It is very difficult to diagnose the presence of diverticula, because they do not cause any symptoms or hindrances to the normal life of a person. However, if they are inflamed or infected, then there are many symptoms. Such a condition may result in multiple problems like abdominal pain especially in the left hand side, constipation or diarrhea, fever, tenderness of the left hand side of the abdomen and at times, blood in the stool.

Diverticulum develops in the weaker parts of your colon because it has the least diameter and hence goes through the maximum amount of pressure. Diverticulosis causes pouch formation and when the inflammation of diverticulitis occurs, the pouches can even protrude through the intestinal wall into the peritoneum. With time, these pouches become larger and larger. Sometimes, if feces are lodged inside the pouches, it can result in an infection. A perforation in this pouch can lead to serious infection and thereby can cause severe distress to your abdomen. This can cause a localized infection or it may spoil the entire intestine itself. In such cases, it is very likely that you have to make frequent trips to the bathroom because an infection like this can cause diarrhea and the body to lose considerable amount of water and salts. A chronic infection of the bowel or an inflammation of the diverticula can also cause abdominal pain and loose bowel movements. Diarrhea can be caused due to multiple reasons; however, when it is caused due to diverticulitis, it leads to bloody and watery stool.

Treating diarrhea due to Diverticulitis is not the aim but rather an outcome of treating the colonic infection itself. This is not something that a home remedy can do and the most effective solutions lie in the use of powerful gastrointestinal antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medicine. Expect to be on a liquid diet or in the worst case an IV drip during this disease. A visit to a doctor is imperative when faced with this condition.