The best strategy to combat diarrhea caused by taking antibiotics is to take probiotics, a food supplement easily found in the pharmacy, which contains bacteria that regulate bowel functioning. However, it is also important to adjust the food, avoiding raw foods, difficult to digest and strong condiments.
Other tips that may help lessen this side effect of the antibiotic are:
- Drink homemade whey, coconut water and fruit juices;
- To take soups and broths of easy digestion;
- Avoid high-fiber foods such as peel of fruits, wheat bran, oats and dairy products;
- Avoid foods rich in carbohydrates, which are prepared with wheat flour;
- Take yogurt with probiotics or Kefir or Yakult because they help replenish good gut bacteria.
But if in addition to the diarrhea the person also has a sensitive stomach it is advisable to follow a light, easily digestible diet, such as chicken soup or mashed potatoes with boiled eggs, for example not to have a swollen belly and indigestion sensation
See more tips on what to eat in the following video:
Why Antibiotics Cause Diarrhea
In this case, diarrhea occurs because the medicine eliminates all the bacteria present in the intestine, both good and bad, which must always be in balance to ensure proper bowel functioning. Usually diarrhea begins on the second day of antibiotics and stops when the medication stops. However, it can take still about 3 days after the drug stops bowel recovery.
Proliferation of a bad bacterium called Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) can occur with antibiotics such as clindamycin, ampicillin, or cephalosporins, which can cause a disease called pseudomembranous colitis.
Warning signs to go to the doctor
It is recommended to go to the doctor if the diarrhea is very strong and frequent, making it impossible to study or work or if they are present:
- Fever above 38.3 ° C;
- You have blood or mucus in the stool;
- Show signs of dehydration such as deep eyes, dry mouth and dry lips;
- Do not stop anything in the stomach and vomiting is frequent;
- Intense abdominal pain.
In these situations you should go to the doctor or the emergency room indicating the symptoms you present, when they appeared and also the medications you are taking or have taken in the last few days because these symptoms may arise after cessation of the antibiotic.
The use of remedies that hold the bowel like Imosec is advised against and it is also not the best way to stop taking the antibiotics that the doctor or dentist prescribed just because of this unpleasant side effect.
