Diarrhoea: diarrhoea is a condition in which a person passes loose or watery stools at least three times a day, together with the loss of large amounts of water and electrolytes, especially sodium and potassium.
Causes of diarrhoea: inflammatory disease – fungal, bacterial or viral infection – medicines – too much sugar – poisoning – food allergy – traveller's diarrhoea – poor absorption of nutrients – bowel diseases – overuse of laxatives – overactive thyroid. Symptoms of diarrhoea: bloating and abdominal pain, sometimes colic; loose or watery stools; nausea and vomiting – sometimes fever; a feeling of urgency to open your bowels – weight loss.
Ways to prevent diarrhoea: along with a healthy lifestyle, a diet containing plenty of fibre, fresh vegetables and plenty of water, together with light exercise, can help your body prevent diarrhoea.
Also, eating several small meals instead of one large meal helps food to be digested easily. Eating and drinking slowly and taking a gentle walk after meals all help the digestive system. In addition, avoiding too much caffeine and spicy food can help prevent diarrhoea.
The first step in treatment: the first step is to find the cause of the illness, and the next aim is to replace water and electrolytes with ORS, soup and vegetable broth. For example: first start with clear fluids such as meat broth, jelly and diluted, strained fruit juice. Water alone can replace lost fluid but cannot provide electrolytes (body salts).
Try to drink fluids in small sips, steadily, until you reach 8 glasses in 24 hours. Limit caffeinated drinks such as tea and coffee to 2 cups a day, because they increase fluid loss through urine.
When you are able to tolerate solid food, start eating small amounts of soft, plain food. Small but frequent meals are the best approach. As the diarrhoea improves, do not go back to your normal diet all at once; especially in chronic diarrhoea, try to prevent the diarrhoea from suddenly coming back by adding foods to your diet little by little.
Dietary considerations in diarrhoea: a low-fibre diet (fibre is found in whole grains, fruit, vegetables, seeds and nuts); foods containing pectin, such as bananas and raw apple without the skin; plain biscuits without cream or bran – yoghurt; plain low-fat cheese – non-fizzy doogh (yoghurt drink); fat-free cooked chicken broth; plain low-fat meat broth; rice cooked with yoghurt; a lightly sweetened lemon drink; fluids, 6 to 8 glasses a day; cooked carrots; cooked potatoes; weak tea; dates; lime juice – adequate rest and sleep.
Foods to limit in diarrhoea: milk, ice cream and commercial fruit juices; wholemeal flour and bran breads – all kinds of pulses; homemade fruit juices (apple, peach, etc.) – coffee and fizzy drinks; caffeine and alcoholic drinks; high-fat and fried foods – simple sugars such as sugar cubes, sugar, honey, jam; raw and half-cooked foods – strong tea; spicy foods – sweets, cakes and compotes; raw fruit and vegetables; ready-made and canned foods – acidic drinks such as orange juice; sausages and cold meats – broccoli, plums, beans – leftover food.
Prepared by: Fereshteh Nakhaei, Nutrition and Diet Therapy Expert – Education Unit
Source: Drug Therapy and Nutrition, by Dr Mehran Maleki
Document code: NSH-NU-BR-35