Diarrhoea is passing loose or looser, or more frequent stools, than normal. It is not normally a serious condition, but can be an annoying and embarrassing one. Acute periods of diarrhoea usually last no more than a few days, and can be accompanied by fever, vomiting and stomach cramps. Longer-term, chronic diarrhoea can be more serious, and more difficult to treat.
Note that diarrhoea, like most ailments, can be brought on my a variety of conventional medical drugs.
CONVENTIONAL MEDICAL TREATMENT
NHS Choices states, quite rightly, that “diarrhoea will usually clear up without treatment after a few days because the immune system fights off the infection”. The advantage of Homeopathy over conventional medicine, however, is that waiting for the body to recover on its own is not necessary, and remedies can be used immediately, and have been proven to shorten the period of recovery.
NHS Choices then goes on to give sensible advice about drinking fluids, including oral rehydration solutions, to avoid dehydration. It also gives some advice about what to eat.
NHS Choices then goes on to describe Antidiarrhoeal medicines, like Loperamide and Racecadotril,
which “may help reduce your diarrhoea and shorten how long it lasts by around 24 hours”. It says that these should not be given to children, or if there is blood or mucous in the stool. This is presumably because of the side-effects of these drugs. These side-effects, some of them serious, can be found on this link.
Painkillers are the next suggestion. As NHS Choices says, these do not cure your diarrhoea, but can relieve any accompanying fever or headache. However, as is now well known, these ‘benefits’ come at a considerable potential cost, and the dangers of painkillers are now becoming so serious that doctors are increasingly reluctant to prescribe them. To read about the dangers of painkilling drugs, see this link.
NHS Choices then introduces Antibiotic drugs as a possible treatment. However, it says that “treatment with antibiotics is not recommended for diarrhoea if the cause is unknown”. The reasons given is that they will not work if the diarrhoea is caused by a virus, and antibiotics “can cause unpleasant side effects”. And, of course, there is the whole issue of antibiotic resistance too! Apparently, however, they will be prescribed if there is severe diarrhoea.
Finally, NHS Choices talks about hospital treatment “if you or your child is seriously dehydrated due to diarrhoea”. Treatment will involve administering fluids and nutrients directly into a vein (intravenously).
THE HOMEOPATHIC TREATMENT OF DIARRHOEA
Important Note
Homeopathy does not treat illness or diseases. It treats the individual who has been diagnosed with a particular illness or disease. The distinction is important, and if you wish to read more about this, click on the chapter “Illness Diagnosis” above.
These remedy descriptions come from the Hpathy website. They are likely to help if the patients’ symptoms match with these general remedy symptoms.
Aesculus hip
Chronic diarrhoea, stool first hard and black, later becomes yellow, thin, watery associated with severe lumber and sacral pains, weakness, weariness, and sleepiness.
Aconite
Diarrhoea from checked perspiration, during heat of summer, from fight or anger, in cold nights, corrosive slimy stools, frequent and involuntary.
Aethusa cynapium
Green, thin, bilious discharges, with violent tenesmus, stools of partly digested food, just after meal or at night. Stool loose with cutting in abdomen.
Agaricus
Excellent remedy for diarrhea in wet weather.
Aloes
Remarkable remedy for diarrhoea, profuse watery diarrhoea; wants of confidence in sphincter ani, early morning diarrhoea, driving out of bed in the morning; urging of stool continuously worse immediately after eating; feeling of fullness and weight in the pelvis, with passage of urine, only hot flatus passes, giving relief but burning in anus afterwards; stool difficult to retain; even a well formed stool passes unnoticed; aggravation hot damp weather, overheating, after cold in a damp room, after chagrin; urging with intense gripping, pinching pain across the lower part of abdomen.
Nux Vomica
Diarrhoea due to over eating and diet errors and indigestible foods; pain in abdomen before stools; stools contain undigested particles of food; diarrhoea after debauch.
Podophyllum
Diarrhoea green watery, fetid, profuse, and gushing; Worse during teething and in the morning, while bathing or washing and in hot weather; Camp diarrhoea; Diarrhoea alternating with constipation; Prolapse of rectum, before or with stool.
Pulsatilla
Diarrhoea after measles; stool contains undigested food particles; diarrhoea due to food poisoning.
Natrum Sulph
Stools involuntary while passing flatus; early morning diarrhoea; great size of fecal masses.
Veratrum album
Painful diarrhoea; watery, copious, and forcefully evacuated followed by great weakness.
Arsenic album
Useful in cases where there is marked restlessness; anguish and intolerance of pain; quantity of stool passed is small and prostration and weakness is out of all proportion to the quantity passed; great thirst for small quantities of water at short intervals.
Croton Tig
Stool yellow, watery, expelled suddenly, gunshot diarrhoea; aggravated by drink or food; diarrhoea associated with nausea and vomiting; every movement causes discharge.
Graphites
Stool of brown fluid mixed with undigested substances and an intolerable fetid odour.
Sulphur
Morning diarrhoea ordinarily at the time when the patient begins to think about rising; between midnight and morning
Antim crud
Alternate diarrhoea and constipation in old people; diarrhoea after overheating; after nursing, after cold bathing, at night and early morning; diarrhoea with nausea and vomiting, colic and loss of appetite; diarrhoea from acid, vinegar; stool profuse, watery, with little hard lumps. Diarrhoea on alternate days, rectum inactive, even a soft, thin stool requires great straining, patient cannot pass until there is large accumulation; diarrhea when she urinates.
Argentum Nitricum
Remarkable remedy for nervous diarrhoea, diarrhea from anticipation or apprehension; when ready to go to church, opera, theatre, etc. diarrhoea from taking sweets, from drinking; diarrhoea during dentition; stool green, flaky, like spinach, mucus, with much flatulence.
Bryonia Alba
Diarrhoea due to suddenly checked perspiration in hot weather, from getting overheated in summers; from drinking milk; desire from cold drinks and acids, for large quantities at long intervals; bilious diarrhoea with lancinating pain.
Calcaria phos
Diarrhoea with much flatulency, caused by juicy fruits; after vexations, in school going girls with headaches; diarrhoea during dentition.
Camphora
Diarrhoea with great prostration and collapse; Dark brown r black stool with cutting pain in abdomen; rice watery stools
Cuprum met
Violent diarrhoea, with cramps in the stomach and chest; frequent watery diarrhoea, with flakes; cold sweat; weak and small pulse; excellent remedy for cholera.
Dulcamara
Diarrhoea alternating with rheumatism; stool slimy, alternately yellow or greenish, whitish, watery; frequent; scanty; corrosive, with floculli, aggravation at night and in wet weather.
Iodum
Diarrhoea from pancreatic affections; chronic diarrhoea of an exhausting character
Ipecaucuanha
Autumnal diarrhoea; chronic diarrhoea, continuous nausea, stool as green as grass, putrid; frequent vomiting of jelly like green mucus.
Lycopodium
Diarrhoea after suppression of skin eruptions; stool thin brown or pale; excessive accumulation of flatulence.
Mag carb
Stool like scum of frog pound; green or frothy white masses, floating on the green, watery stool; aggravate in hot weather, during dentition, from artificial food.
Phosphorous
Watery diarrhoea; with lumps of white mucus; morning diarrhoea , exhausting stools; chronic diarrhoea with gradual loss of strength.
