Zoloft Side Effects Blog
  • Home
  • Updates

Flushing Diarrhea Down the Toilet

Have you tried having frequent trips to the toilet because of unusually large amount of loose, watery stools? This is usually felt by everyone at least once or twice a year and we call it diarrhea. The duration of diarrhea commonly lasts up to 3 days and symptoms can be managed by taking over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. This condition is commonly caused by infection (bacterial and sometimes viral), food allergies and irritants, gastrointestinal diseases and some cancers. Common causes of this condition include bacterial infection, allergies and intolerance with specific food, some cancers and intestinal diseases. Certain medications such as Zoloft also have diarrhea as one of the side effects.


Diarrhea: The Truth

Diarrhea is the body’s natural way of removing the toxins which is why we should not prevent it if it’s happening. However, that does not follow for severe diarrhea where it lasts for more than 3 days and symptoms cause dehydration and weakness. When the symptoms are greatly serious, you might consider going to your doctor and seek help. Some things that you should watch out for are as follows:

  • Diarrhea persists for more than 3 days
  • You have signs of dehydration like headache, generalized body weakness, a feeling of light-headedness,skin and oral membranes are dry, diminished amount of urine and color is dark and etc.
  • Severe pain in the abdomen felt
  • Severe rectal pain
  • Bloody and dark-colored stools
  • High-grade fever
 
How is Diarrhea Managed?

Severe diarrhea needs immediate medical attention and it is best that you go to the hospital or to your doctor. If it’s mild diarrhea, you can try OTC medications if the symptoms disrupt your daily activities but as mentioned, it is advised to let it run its normal course. Check with your doctor if you’ll be taking medications just to be sure that it won’t cause you more harm. To cope up with the symptoms, it is advised to increase your fluid intake. We lose a lot of water and electrolytes when we are having diarrhea and we should replace them to avoid dehydration. Also, adding semi-solid food and fibre into your diet is effective in the management of diarrhea but it should be gradual so the digestive system could adjust and the condition will not be aggravated. Fruits and vegetables are fibre-rich but see to it that they’re fresh and clean when consumed. Prevention of dairy products, fatty foods, spicy foods and others that are known to be irritants to the digestive system will also help. Food allergies can also cause diarrhea so it is best to avoid them if you have any. Lastly, some medications are known to have diarrhea as a side effect. People who use the antidepressant Zoloft complains of diarrhea since they started taking the drug. You cannot just stop the medication immediately as this may have a rebound effect. In this case, you are highly advised to consult your doctor so he or she can check if you need a new prescription. After the management of diarrhea, don’t be surprised with  symptoms of constipation because it usually follows.    
Create a free website with Weebly