What to do if you have diarrhea?

The most important points in brief:

• Diarrhea is often very unpleasant for those affected and can be a health hazard over a long period of time
• Viruses, bacterial infections or food intolerance can trigger diarrhea
• Lukewarm vegetable broths, apples, bananas and rusks can help fight diarrhea

The term diarrhea refers to liquid stool that is excreted several times a day. Even if it is very uncomfortable for those affected, diarrhea is actually a repair mechanism of the intestine. In the intestine, the viruses, bacteria and pathogens that can be harmful to the intestine and body are localized, diluted and flushed out of the body.

Possible causes of diarrhea include:

• Viruses
• Infections with bacteria
• Food intolerance
• Chronic diseases (e.g. Crohn's disease)

This text is about diarrhea, which is often caused by bacteria, viruses or food intolerance.

Acute diarrhea is usually harmless and can be treated without medication. Simple home remedies often help to alleviate the symptoms. We would like to share with you what we believe to be the most important tips for combating diarrhea:

• If acute diarrhea occurs without the accompanying symptoms of vomiting and / or nausea, the first thing to do is to restore or compensate for the loss of fluid and salt. There is a simple recipe for this: drink half a liter of boiled water, along with half a teaspoon of salt and five teaspoons of sugar.
• Special teas (e.g. fennel, chamomile or peppermint) can help improve the situation.
• Lukewarm vegetable broth, which is taken slowly and in sips.

Grate an apple (including the peel), let it rest for 15 minutes and add a little more citric acid. It is important that the peel is also eaten, as it contains important pectins, which absorb excess water in the intestine and thus strengthen the stool.

• The banana also contains pectins, which have a positive effect on diarrhea.
• Probably the best-known home remedy for diarrhea is the rusk. Rusks help to firm the stool and also slowly get the body used to solid food again.

However, if the diarrhea does not improve over several days, a doctor must be contacted so that the exact cause of the diarrhea can be found out.