Antibiotics may benefit some adults with diarrhea. If selected carefully, antibiotics may decrease the severity of illness and shorten the duration of symptoms. If you have recently traveled out of the country or have been camping (and may have been exposed to contaminated water in the wilderness), your health care provider may prescribe specific medication used to treat traveler's diarrhea or certain intestinal parasites.
Bismuth subsalicylates (such as those found in Pepto-Bismol) are one of the safest ways to treat the symptoms of diarrhea. Treatments containing bismuth will help control cramping, pain, loose stools, gastrointestinal toxins, and abdominal contractions. Take as directed. Bismuth is safe for both children and adults.
Loperamide is found in many over-the-counter anti-diarrhea medicines, including Imodium, Kaopectate II, Maalox Anti-Diarrheal, and Pepe Diarrhea Control. Loperamide works by slowing down the movements of the intestines.
If a parasitic infection caused your diarrhea, prescription antibiotics may ease your symptoms. Antibiotics sometimes, but not always, help ease signs and symptoms of bacterial diarrhea. However, antibiotics won't help viral diarrhea. If you have chronic diarrhea, treating the underlying disease may help ease your diarrhea.
One common way to give Lactobacillus is to just feed your child yogurt with live and active cultures, which means that the yogurt contains Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. Some brands of yogurt also contain Lactobacillus acidophilus. Although most brands of yogurt do not list the amount of live and active cultures on the label, you can look for brands with the National Yogurt Association's Live and Active Culture seal, which must contain at least 100 million active cultures per gram. In a 4 ounce pack of yogurt, that should equal about 10 billion colony forming units, so eating 1-2 packs of yogurt a day should be about equivalent to what the children got in most of the studies.
Water is extremely important in preventing dehydration, it does not contain electrolytes. To maintain electrolyte levels, you could have broth or soups, which contain sodium, and fruit juices, soft fruits, or vegetables, which contain potassium.
For children, doctors often recommend a special rehydration solution that contains the nutrients they need. You can buy this solution in the grocery store without a prescription. Examples include Pedialyte, Ceralyte, and Infalyte.
Tying a ribbon around the faucet and keeping purified bottled water near the sink may serve as memory aids for travelers to remind them not to use tap water, even for tooth brushing. Hot cooked food, fresh bread, dry foods such as crackers, bottled carbonated beverages, coffee, tea and beer are usually safe, provided such food items are not obtained from street vendors. Helpful maxims to keep in mind include "boil it, cook it, peel it or forget it" and the "rule of P's": food is safe if it is peelable, packaged, purified or piping hot. Careful hand washing, most conveniently achieved with packaged wipes or antiseptic gel, is essential.
Drink 2-3 quarts of fluid per day. In the first 24 hours the best fluids to drink are bottled fruit juices and beverages, caffeine-free soft drinks, hot tea, and broth.
During the next 24 hours, eat bland foods such as rice, soup, bread, crackers, eggs, and cereals. Advance to regular foods after 2-3 days.
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