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How Can Recurring Diarrhea Be Treated?
My 92 year old mother is having occasional bouts of diarrhea which, at her age, are extremely disconcerting and interrupt her fragile routine (churchgoing, interaction with friends, etc). Is there a medication that she could take on a regular, daily, basis that would prevent these bouts and do long term harm? Thanks. YYYY@YYYY
Mon, 18 Feb 2019
Hello,
The best treatment for diarrhea is to find the cause of it and treat the cause. I would recommend that she avoids milk for a week or two and see if this improves the diarrhea as sometimes milk intolerance can be the cause of diarrhea with age. Avoiding fatty or sweet foods is also helpful as fat and sugar increase the bowel movement and might cause diarrhea. Meanwhile taking as much fluids and possible and also oral rehydration solutions in pharmacy to be used regularly might be advisable to substitute water and electrolyte loss.
She will need a good check to find the cause of the diarrhea like stool for ova and parasites, stool antigen for giardia, stool microscopy, stool culture, check that the pancreatic enzymes are ok and also sometimes a colonoscopy might be needed.
In cases of events that she needs to go out she can take Loperamide 1-2 tablets to reduce the frequency of the diarrhea but is not recommended to be used regularly or for long times. Loperamide should not be used if there is blood or mucus with the stools.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj, General & Family Physician
The best treatment for diarrhea is to find the cause of it and treat the cause. I would recommend that she avoids milk for a week or two and see if this improves the diarrhea as sometimes milk intolerance can be the cause of diarrhea with age. Avoiding fatty or sweet foods is also helpful as fat and sugar increase the bowel movement and might cause diarrhea. Meanwhile taking as much fluids and possible and also oral rehydration solutions in pharmacy to be used regularly might be advisable to substitute water and electrolyte loss.
She will need a good check to find the cause of the diarrhea like stool for ova and parasites, stool antigen for giardia, stool microscopy, stool culture, check that the pancreatic enzymes are ok and also sometimes a colonoscopy might be needed.
In cases of events that she needs to go out she can take Loperamide 1-2 tablets to reduce the frequency of the diarrhea but is not recommended to be used regularly or for long times. Loperamide should not be used if there is blood or mucus with the stools.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj, General & Family Physician
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