Diarrhea means frequent, loose or liquid stools. There may be a griping abdominal pain (colic) which is less after a stool is passed. Diarrhea is considered as the body’s way of removing toxins.

Diarrhea is of two types:

Acute diarrhea - comes on suddenly and lasts a short time.

Chronic diarrhea - affects someone over a long period of time.When diarrhea goes on for a long time, the most likely cause is irritable bowel syndrome. It is called a ‘functional’ condition. This means that the bowel produces stools which are looser or more frequent than normal, although the bowel is not diseased.

Causes of diarrhea

• Infection
• Contaminated food
• Allergy to certain food
• Radiation therapy
• Malabsorption
• Hyperthyroidism
• Laxative abuse
• Alcohol abuse
• Certain drugs
• Intestinal ischemia

Symptoms

• Abdominal bloating
• Cramps
• Loose, watery, unformed stool
• Urgency of stools
• Undigested stools
• Weight loss
• Lethargy, weakness
• Recurrent urging

GENERAL MANAGEMENT

• until diarrhea subsides, one should try to avoid milk products and foods that are greasy, high-fiber, or very sweet. These foods tend to aggravate diarrhea.
• as one improves, one can add soft, bland foods to the diet, including bananas, plain rice, boiled potatoes, toast, cooked carrots, and baked chicken without the skin or fat.
• Traveller’s diarrhea happens when one consumes food or water contaminated with bacteria, viruses, or parasites. One can take the following precautions to prevent traveler’s diarrhea when one goes abroad:
  • Do not drink any tap water,.
  • Do not drink unpasteurized milk or dairy products
  • Avoid all raw fruits and vegetables (including lettuce and fruit salad) unless they can be peeled and you peel them yourself.
  • Do not eat raw or rare meat and fish.
  • Do not eat food from street vendors.

Treatment: The aim of homeopathy is not only to treat diarrhea but to address its underlying cause and individual susceptibility. As far as therapeutic medication is concerned, several well-proved medicines are available for the treatment symptom diarrhea that can be selected on the basis of cause, location, sensation, modalities of the complaints. For maintenance of electrolytes balance - ORS, water intake should be advised When treating diarrhea homeopathically, some of the considerations involved in choosing an effective remedy include the consistency, odor and color of the stool, the response to eating various types of foods, the presence of flatulence, the degree and location of pain, the tendency to crave water or not, degree of physical weakness