Medicinal diarrhea is an adverse reaction of the body that occurs as a result of taking certain groups of drugs. If you continue to take medication, then the patient has a loose, frequent stool, sometimes accompanied by unpleasant pain and vomiting. In most cases, this condition provokes antibiotics. In medicine, this type of diarrhea is called antibiotic-associated. In addition to antibiotics, laxatives with magnesium in the composition, antacid medicines, drugs for arrhythmia and pressure, birth control, antifungal and others can lead to diarrhea. In childhood, diarrhea occurs due to taking medications with bacteria, enzymes, intestinal antiseptics.
Causes of Diarrhea
Can there be diarrhea after taking antibiotics? Unfortunately, diarrhea after antibiotics is a fairly common phenomenon that many patients have experienced. In many instructions for the use of antibiotics in possible adverse reactions, there is a mandatory point - diarrhea.
This reaction of the body can be explained by the fact that when antibiotics are taken orally in the form of a capsule or tablet, not only pathogenic bacteria are suppressed, but also beneficial ones, on which the quality of intestinal work depends. As a result of such a negative effect, the intestinal microflora changes rapidly, new strains of bacteria appear, leading to attacks of diarrhea.
In medical language, this side effect of medications is called antibiotic-associated diarrhea.
Can there be diarrhea after taking antibiotics? The risk of an adverse reaction in the form of diarrhea increases significantly with:
- the use of antibiotics by older people;
- taking antibiotics in the presence of diseases of the digestive system of an acute and chronic nature, as well as other somatic pathologies that affect the state of the immune system;
- with abuse of antibiotics and exceeding the prescribed dose;
- if the timing of taking the antibiotic or changing it is not observed without the permission of the doctor.
Diarrhea can occur on the first day of taking medication. If you find a stool of an altered consistency, you do not need to worry right away, since you can restore the normal functioning of the digestive system and get rid of unpleasant symptoms in different ways.
How to help the patient?
What to do - after taking the antibiotic diarrhea? The microflora of the human intestine eventually bounces back on its own. But as many know, during diarrhea, beneficial substances that are responsible for the accelerated restoration of the intestinal flora are washed out of the patient's body along with the liquid. As a result of the described processes, microflora cannot come to a normal state for a long time.
Treatment of diarrhea after taking antibiotics in an adult and a child should be comprehensive. The only way to achieve a quick recovery without consequences for the body.
Proper nutrition and special diet
Eliminate watery diarrhea after taking antibiotics in an adult and restore intestinal function in the early days of the progression of diarrhea using various porridges of a liquid consistency. For this, semolina, shabby buckwheat porridge, rice broth soups and steam omelette are well suited. Sweet berries, fruits with astringent action will bring benefits.
Nutritionists recommend including bananas, baked apples and boiled eggs, which contain a huge amount of pectin, useful at that moment, in the daily diet. It is recommended to replace bread with unsweetened crackers cooked at home.
How to stop diarrhea after taking antibiotics? Experts advise to completely exclude foods containing fiber, bakery products, milk and its analogues from the diet. They can irritate the intestines and increase diarrhea.
Over time, the diet can be expanded by adding steam cutlets from meat or fish, soups with vegetables, crumbly cereals, excluding pearl barley and millet. The intestinal microflora will benefit from a balanced composition of yogurts that are consumed every day from the first days of diarrhea.
You can return bakery products only 7 days after improvement. Particular attention should be paid to the drinking regimen throughout the treatment. At this time, you should increase the amount of fluid you drink per day to three liters. For this, both drinking purified water and sweetened compote with natural juice are suitable.
Folk remedies for treatment
How to treat diarrhea after taking antibiotics? A good effect in the treatment of diarrhea can be achieved with traditional medicine. Infusions and products from medicinal herbs produce a sorbing and astringent effect, thereby restoring the balance of the intestine. The most effective recipes for decoctions and infusions of herbs:
- Rice broth. To prepare the broth, rice is placed in a pan, poured with four glasses of clean water and boiled until cooked. At the end, the product is filtered, and the finished liquid is consumed every three hours for 150 grams.
- Oak bark, dry calamus leaves. To prepare the product, take 250 milliliters of boiling water and add an equal amount of oak bark and dry calamus leaves. Insist 45 minutes. Drink the finished infusion three times a day, 100 ml per day before meals.
- Pomegranate crusts. A teaspoon of crushed dry pomegranate peels is boiled in a glass of water over low heat. Boil for five minutes. Consume 150 ml 15 minutes before a meal.
- Infusion of herbs. Take 4 tablespoons of plantain, lingonberry leaf, rowan berries, mint, eucalyptus leaves. The mixture is boiled in a liter of water for one minute, filtered, insisted for 60 minutes. Take 30 ml seven times a day.
The immune system of the body can be restored with the tinctures of yarrow, nettle, peppermint, St. John's wort, and cinquefoil. To prepare a healing property, it is enough to pour a small amount of the chosen herb with a glass of hot water, cool to room temperature and use the finished product all day long.
If diarrhea passes without inflammation and does not provoke an increase in body temperature, then folk remedies will help to quickly restore bowel function, returning it to its previous state.
Drug treatment
If diarrhea begins after taking antibiotics, then medications will help restore the condition of the body. Their reception must be accompanied by the supervision of a treating specialist. When applying for help at the clinic, it is important to inform the specialist about taking antibiotics. Only after this, the doctor will be able to understand how to further treat diarrhea and how to get rid of acute symptoms.
It is forbidden to start using drugs on your own without visiting a doctor and making an accurate diagnosis. Only a specialist will be able to find effective medications for the treatment of malaise and prevent various complications.
Enterosorbents and probiotics
In pharmacies, you can find a huge number of medicines that effectively fight diarrhea. According to the composition and principle of exposure, all drugs can be classified into:
- enterosorbents - means characterized by a sorbing effect;
- probiotics - they contain beneficial bacteria that are so important for the normal functioning of the intestines.
Medicines from the group of enterosorbents delay and remove from the human body the vital products of bacteria and toxins. These include activated carbon, Polysorb, Smecta, and Enterosgel suspension. All the described drugs absorb decay products, toxins, quickly cleanse the intestinal microflora and prevent the spread of the infectious process throughout the body.
From the group of antibiotics, Linex can be distinguished, well known to many patients and often taken medication. It helps to quickly restore the body and eliminate the infection. Particular attention should be paid to the new generation of medicine "Rioflora Balance Neo". Unlike Linex, it contains 9 strains of living beneficial bacteria. In addition, it has a healing effect, helps eliminate wounds and ulcers from the intestinal walls that occur during diarrhea.
Without a prescription, each patient can purchase the following medications to fight diarrhea at the pharmacy: Hilak forte, Bifiform probiotics, Bifidumbacterin.
Often prescribed to patients with diarrhea means "Loperamide". But a good effect from it can be achieved only with diseases of mild to moderate severity. The drug will not be able to cope with serious violations. The effect of the medication will become much stronger if used together with probiotics.
With severe diarrhea in an adult as a result of taking the antibiotic Loperamide, the pathology can only worsen, since the drug leads to a decrease in intestinal motility and slows down the process of eliminating toxins from the body, which is dangerous due to serious intoxication.
The course of treatment with probiotics lasts 14 days after taking antibiotics.
How to prevent diarrhea?
Is it possible to prevent the appearance of diarrhea when taking antibiotics, so as not to deal with its treatment in the future? You can take care of the normal functioning of the intestine and stable emptying even at the beginning of taking antibacterial agents.
It is important to remember that diarrhea in most cases begins after taking antibiotics such as aminoglycosides and tetracyclines. The wider the spectrum of antibiotic exposure, the higher the risk of developing diarrhea.
In order to reduce the risk of diarrhea at times, it is important to start using probiotics that are part of the synbiotic group (for example, Laminolact) with antibiotics. Bacteria in such products help microorganisms to normally tolerate the negative effects of antibiotics on the intestinal microflora. At this time, it is recommended to add natural yogurt, low-fat kefir to the daily menu, but get rid of all fried, spicy, salty, smoked foods.
Only a comprehensive treatment of diarrhea after taking antibiotics in a child and an adult will help maintain the state of intestinal microflora and prevent the occurrence of problems with stools. It is considered equally important to strictly observe the dose of the antibiotic used. If you follow the regimen of the drug, you can easily prevent overdose and reduce the risk of negative consequences.
Is it important to treat diarrhea?
Any diarrhea, regardless of the cause of its occurrence, is dangerous mainly because it leads to dehydration and leaching of beneficial mineral substances from the body. If you do not start his treatment in a modern way, then the consequences will be irreversible.
Pseudomembranous colitis
Pseudomembranous colitis is a severe form of intestinal upset associated with prolonged use of antibiotics. A disease of this type is fatal for humans and occurs as a result of the multiplication of microbes of the species Clostridium difficile.
During normal intestinal function, microorganisms of this type cannot multiply, as they are blocked by moving beneficial bacteria. When there are problems with the organ microflora when exposed to antibiotics, beneficial bacteria quickly die, which leads to an increase in the pathogenic environment.
As a result, Clostridium bacteria reach a critical point in the body, and their waste products begin to poison the intestines.
Pseudomembranous type colitis can be detected if the patient has the following symptoms of malaise:
- liquid consistency and frequent diarrhea (sometimes the urge to defecate appears 20 times a day);
- over time, the stool becomes watery with inclusions of thick mucus, sometimes blood, changes its color, starts to produce an unpleasant odor;
- for no reason, body temperature rises;
- cutting pains appear in the abdomen;
- there are attacks of vomiting, nausea;
- characteristic weakness of the body.
Diagnosis of the described disease is carried out through biochemical analysis. If the presence of the disease is confirmed, then the doctor prescribes antibiotics that are aimed at eliminating pathogenic bacteria.
Who is at risk?
Negative consequences are characteristic of the following groups of people:
- elderly age;
- chronic and acute diseases leading to a decrease in immune defense;
- if while taking antibiotics, laxatives were additionally taken;
- a person can not eat food on his own, eats through a probe;
- when using antibiotics while carrying a child, breastfeeding;
- taking antibiotics in conjunction with anti-cancer drugs;
- if the patient has HIV infection.
When does the help of a doctor become mandatory?
And although diarrhea often goes away on its own and does not lead to special complications, in some cases its appearance needs the obligatory help of a doctor. If diarrhea occurs as a result of taking antibiotics, then every patient, especially pregnant women with sick kidneys, heart, cancer patients and HIV-infected, needs to go through a doctor’s consultation.
It is necessary to visit a doctor if:
- bowel disorder only gets stronger with time;
- spasms and cramps appear in the stomach;
- fever, general weakness of the body;
- green impurities in the feces with traces of blood and mucus.
Self-treatment of diarrhea after taking antibiotics in all cases described above is considered dangerous. If you do not provide qualified help to the patient, then the result may be irreversible. When the first symptoms of malaise appear, it is important to immediately consult a doctor and undergo an examination.