Diarrhea after taking antibiotics

In a healthy person, more than 500 types of bacteria live in the intestines. Useful bifido- and lactobacilli digest food, enrich the body with nutrients, support immunity. These bacteria regulate intestinal function, maintain ionic balance, neutralize various toxins, break down carbohydrates, and even synthesize some vitamins.

In the neighborhood of beneficial bacteria in the intestines, pathogenic ones live, which are waiting for the right moment to remind themselves of themselves. They can be activated when the immune system is weakened, frequent stress, diet violations, the use of drugs or exacerbations of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Violation of the intestinal microflora can contribute to a decrease in immunity, disrupt the liver, and even cause allergic skin rashes.

Symptoms of diarrhea after taking antibiotics

When taking antibiotics, the balance between beneficial and harmful bacteria is disturbed, but both of them die. As a result, antibiotic-associated diarrhea develops, the main symptoms of which may be copious watery stools, cramping abdominal pain that subsides after stool, and fever.

In order to reduce the negative impact of the antibiotic on the intestinal microflora, it is important to maintain the maximum number of beneficial bacteria in the intestine.

What to do if indigestion happens?

If, nevertheless, it was not possible to avoid disruption of the digestive tract, first of all, you need to consult a doctor in order to find out the true causes of the disease and get the right recommendations for treatment and diet.

The cause of diarrhea can be not only a violation of the intestinal microflora, but also pathogenic bacteria and viruses that can enter the body against the background of a decrease in immunity. Therefore, it is important to make a correct diagnosis and prescribe appropriate treatment.

First aid measures for profuse, repeated stools include drinking large amounts of fluid in order to make up for its loss. To do this, you need to take saline solutions.

No less important is the intake of sorbents, which provide the body with significant support and have the following properties – they adsorb harmful substances and toxic waste products of bacteria, and do not allow decay products to be absorbed into the blood.

Zeolite contains an almost complete set of macro- and microelements that the human body needs.

The diet for diarrhea should be gentle. It is necessary to exclude fried, fatty, spicy foods. Food should be light and easily digestible. In the early days, you can eat light soups, broths, cereals not with milk, bananas, baked apples.

With diarrhea, as anti-inflammatory, astringents, you can use folk remedies in the form of herbal preparations from blueberries, peppermint, and chamomile. A decoction of dried pears has a fixing effect.

How to prevent diarrhea after taking antibiotics?

In order to prevent diarrhea after taking antibiotics, it is important not to self-medicate, strictly follow the doctor’s prescriptions and take the drugs in the recommended doses.

As mentioned earlier, with diarrhea, the balance between beneficial and harmful bacteria is disturbed, so it is necessary to maintain a normal intestinal microflora.

Taking the means to restore the intestinal microflora – probiotics, prebiotics, and metabiotics will restore the microflora and thereby prevent diarrhea after taking antibiotics. But metabiotics will do it faster, as they begin to act immediately when they enter the gastrointestinal tract.

Metabiotics, or active metabolites, are what the probiotic bacterium has produced, i.e. product of its metabolism. Metabiotics not only promote the growth of beneficial microflora, but also suppress harmful ones. Today, metabiotics are the next step in the development of the probiotic concept.

Prebiotics are nutrients that also contribute to the restoration of disturbed microflora.

How to treat diarrhea after taking antibiotics?

It is important to remember the basic principles for preventing diarrhea when taking antibiotics:

• do not take antibacterial drugs without a doctor’s prescription;
• support the work of the intestines – this requires a competent integrated approach;
• take drugs containing: active metabolites and prebiotics to normalize the intestinal microflora, sorbents – to remove toxins, allergens and reduce diarrhea.

The most effective restoration of the intestinal microflora is possible with the help of a complex preparation, which includes a metabiotic, a prebiotic and a sorbent.

Such a drug absorbs and removes toxins, particles of pathogenic bacteria, toxic gases, while not binding useful substances (vitamins, amino acids, proteins), leaving them in the body. This is especially important in conditions of indigestion and diarrhea.

Popular questions and answers

Questions about the problems of taking antibiotics, their effect on the digestive system were answered by gastroenterologist Natela Lopukhova.