Diarrhea is loose, watery stools, sometimes accompanied by abdomen cramping, chills and fever. It can be caused antibiotics, viruses, bacteria, parasites, certain foods and some digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn’s disease. Chronic is used to describe a condition that may come and go, slowly gets worse and lasts for a long time. According to Drugs.com, diarrhea that lasts for more than four weeks can be classified as chronic.
Avoid Certain Foods
Foods that contain slowly absorbed sugars, such as fructose or sorbitol, can cause diarrhea. The University of Michigan explain that this is because these sugars hold onto water in the intestines through a process called osmosis. Avoid foods such as fruit juice and diabetic chocolate which contain these sugars.
Eating dairy products, such as ice cream or milk, can cause diarrhea in some people, states the Mayo Clinic. The University of Michigan explains that this may be because they are lactose intolerant and therefore lack the enzyme needed to digest milk sugar. If dairy products give you diarrhea, you can either avoid them or take a lactase digestive enzyme.
Coffee can cause diarrhea in some people. The University of Michigan recommends that people suffering from chronic diarrhea avoid coffee for a few days to see if their diarrhea improves.
Psyllium and Calcium
A study published in the 1988 issue of “The Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology,” researched the use of psyllium husks and calcium, compared to loperamide, a common diarrhea drug, on 25 patients with chronic diarrhea,. The team found that the combination of psyllium husks and calcium was significantly better than loperamide for reducing urgency and improving stool consistency.
The University of Maryland explains that psyllium husks can be helpful to treat diarrhea, as it helps make the stool slower to pass and firmer by soaking up water from the digestive tract. The University recommends starting on a low dose of half teaspoon in eight oz. of water a day, and increasing your dose to two teaspoons in eight oz. of water, if needed.
The University of Maryland recommends 1,000 mg of calcium a day. Cheeses, low-fat dairy, yogurt, almonds, Brazil nuts, dried figs, salmon and green leafy vegetables are all good sources of calcium.
Probiotics
The University of Michigan recommends a supplement of three billion probiotic bacteria up to three times a day, to help recovery from diarrhea and to prevent recurrences.
Probiotics are sometimes called friendly bacteria and according to the University of Maryland help support the balance of good bacteria in your intestines.
Medline Plus adds that probiotics can help to make diarrhea less severe and shorten its duration. Probiotics can be found be found in yogurts labeled live or active.
References
- National Digestive Disease Clearinghouse: What I need to know about Diarrhea
- Drugs.com: Chronic Diarrhea
- University of Michigan Health System: Diarrhea
- Mayo Clinic: Diarrhea
- “The Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology”; Treatment of chronic diarrhoea: loperamide versus ispaghula husk and calcium; Qvitzau S, Matzen P, Madsen P; 1988.
