alt=""/> Anti-diarrhoeal medicines: These are also widely available in stores, pharmacies and airports – look for the drug name ‘loperamide’ or brands like Arret, Diocalm Ultra, Enterocalm and Imodium. Another useful drug is diphenoxylate (Lomotil). These medicines are especially useful if you’re travelling and can’t rely on finding a toilet when you want. However, avoid anti-diarrhoeal medicines if you have severe stomach pains or are bleeding – instead, seek medical advice urgently.
Lower the fibre: Sometimes too much fibre can cause diarrhoea. Children and weaning infants are particularly prone as their digestive systems are not yet used to large quantities of fibrous foods.
Lower the fat: Highly fatty foods can aggravate diarrhoea.
Cut down on food: Your stomach doesn’t want a rich or a heavy meal while you’ve got diarrhoea. Cut down on dairy products and fatty, fried and spicy foods, and stick to light meals and bland foods – crackers, wafers, breadsticks, bananas, soups and broths. Carrot juice may be helpful.
Take care with food and personal hygiene: Many cases of diarrhoea are caused by food poisoning and although it can be serious enough to kill, in most instances food poisoning only results in nausea and/or diarrhoea. Around 100,000 cases of food poisoning are reported in England and Wales every year, although microbiologist Professor Glenn Gibson at Reading University estimates the real figure is up to 20 times higher, because so many cases are mild and therefore go unreported.
Check your medicines: Diarrhoea can be a side effect of many medicines. Check with your pharmacist or doctor that your current medication isn’t causing your diarrhoea, especially if it started around the same time that you began taking the drug.
Antibiotics: Occasionally, your doctor may prescribe a course of antibiotics to treat diarrhoea. Antibiotics should never be taken in order to prevent diarrhoea. Bear in mind that some types of antibiotic may cause mild diarrhoea.
Herbal medicines: Many herbs possess anti-diarrhoeal properties; some, like German chamomile and thyme, are especially useful for treating infant diarrhoea. Chamomile can also be used to help relieve nervous diarrhoea, while garden burnet has traditionally been used to treat acute diarrhoea attacks. Raspberry leaf may also help. Peppermint oil, which acts as an anti-spasmodic agent, can help reduce the stomach cramps that sometimes accompany diarrhoea.
Supplements: Taking live bacteria (probiotics) after an attack of diarrhoea has passed will help repopulate your gut with ‘friendly’ bacteria. They come in the form of yoghurts, drinks and tablets or capsules. They are especially useful if they are ‘enteric-coated’ – that is, protected by a chemical coating so that strong stomach acids cannot kill them. It means that more of the bacteria reach the small and large intestines alive. Check product labels: Lactobacilli (L. acidophilus) and Bifidobacteria (B. longum and B. bifidum) are good bacterial strains.
Chinese herbal medicine: Skullcap root can be useful for treating acute diarrhoea; so can dandelion root and golden thread.
Further information: Digestive Disorders Foundation, www.digestivedisorders.org.uk/Leaflets/diarrhoeNEW.html
‘Feeling sick’ is a symptom of a myriad of illnesses, many of which are directly linked to the digestive system. Food intolerance is commonly associated with nausea. Other diet-related conditions like coeliac disease and food poisoning cause nausea and vomiting, as can gastritis, viral gastroenteritis, peptic ulcers, IBS and most parasitic infections. More serious conditions that can contribute to feelings of nausea include Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis, appendicitis, peritonitis, Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS), intussusception (a condition affecting infants), botulism and cholera.
However, not all cases of nausea can be attributed to problems of the digestive system. Many common occurrences, like hangovers or migraines, induce nausea. It can also be caused by emotional states like nervousness, fright and excitement, and by psychological disturbances like bulimia. Nausea, especially in the morning, is a common symptom of early pregnancy.
Note: If you suspect you may be pregnant, have this confirmed as soon as possible. Pregnant women must be careful about what they eat, drink and take in the way of medication. Even everyday drugs that are available without prescription may be harmful to a baby, as are smoking and alcohol. Many herbal preparations are advised against during pregnancy, due to lack of information about their possible side effects. Always consult your doctor before taking ANY health preparations if you are, or might be, pregnant.
When to Seek Help
If you experience severe abdominal pain with your nausea, or bloodstained vomit, seek urgent medical advice.
Self-Help for Nausea
Sip cold water: If you have mild nausea, taking small sips of very cold water (or sucking ice cubes) can help. Don’t take large gulps, because too much liquid on a queasy stomach may make you sick.
Deep breathing: If there is an element of stress or anxiety in your nausea, take a series of slow, deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Take a short walk in fresh air: A gentle walk in fresh air can sometimes help relieve nausea, especially if you are stuck in a stuffy room, are overheated, or are in an air-conditioned office. A short walk also improves the circulation.
Aromatherapy: Peppermint oil is useful if nausea troubles you – aromatherapy oils can be used in gentle massage, or as a relieving fragrance.
Herbal relief: Peppermint and chamomile teas can quell nausea. Ginger is also known for its anti-nausea properties (especially good for travel sickness and pregnancy sickness) – try ginger tea or eating small pieces of crystallized ginger. Scientists believe that ginger neutralizes gut toxins and acids and slows down the feedback between the nerves of the stomach and the part of the brain that controls nausea.
Homeopathy: Sepia (a derivative of cuttlefish) is often used to ease nausea, as are nux vomica and arsenicum (if nausea is accompanied by diarrhoea).
