Four Ways to Deal with Summer Diarrhea

Release time：

2023-07-03

Summer is a high-incidence season for diarrhea. Many people experience symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. The onset is often sudden, and in severe cases, the number of bowel movements per day can exceed 10, with loose and frequent stools, often accompanied by abdominal cramps. In severe cases, electrolyte imbalance, dehydration, and metabolic acidosis can occur. Diarrhea has a high incidence rate and is one of the leading causes of death in infants and the elderly. So, what should we do when we unfortunately encounter summer diarrhea? Learn the following knowledge points quickly.

There are many causes of diarrhea, generally including infectious diarrhea and non-infectious diarrhea. Summer diarrhea is mainly infectious diarrhea, as well as indigestion and drug-related diarrhea. The pathogens of infectious diarrhea are mainly bacteria, viruses, and parasites, such as cholera caused by Vibrio cholerae (Class A infectious disease cholera), bacillary dysentery caused by Shigella, acute gastroenteritis caused by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, norovirus gastroenteritis, rotavirus gastroenteritis, and Cryptosporidium gastroenteritis.

On the one hand, summer temperatures are high and rainfall is abundant. The growth and reproduction of various pathogenic microorganisms in nature are rapid, and flies, mosquitoes, and cockroaches proliferate, becoming "mobile bacterial culture dishes," carrying various pathogens and spreading them everywhere. Contact with the human body easily causes infection. On the other hand, the weather causes many people to like to eat raw and cold foods. Eating too much or too quickly, or having a cold abdomen, can stimulate the already fragile gastrointestinal mucosa, causing a stress response in the gastrointestinal tract and causing diarrhea.

In the hot summer, food is easily rotten and spoiled. People sweat more in summer, and a large amount of water dilutes gastric juice, reducing local resistance and creating conditions for the invasion of pathogenic bacteria. Moreover, the hot weather causes many people to sleep less and have poor appetite, reducing their resistance and making them more prone to diarrhea. Although the human body has a certain defense capability against pathogens, when the intestinal pathogenic bacteria are "numerous" and "take advantage of the weakness," our defense system is difficult to resist.

There are four main categories of treatment drugs.

For diarrhea, commonly used treatment drugs are mainly divided into four categories: oral rehydration salts, antidiarrheal drugs, antibacterial drugs, and probiotics. Treatment of diarrhea requires symptomatic treatment and should be taken under the guidance of a doctor. Below, we introduce these four categories of treatment drugs.

01 Oral Rehydration Salts

Diarrhea causes the body to lose a large amount of fluid and electrolytes from the intestines. If dehydration is severe, it may lead to kidney failure and even death. Therefore, in the absence of frequent vomiting and the ability to drink water and eat, it is best to replenish oral rehydration salts or drink more water in time. Oral rehydration salt preparations are composed of glucose and essential sodium salts, potassium salts, etc., which can replenish the water and important salts lost due to diarrhea and regulate the balance of water and electrolytes.

Precautions: 1. Oral rehydration salts should be taken intermittently, in small amounts, and multiple times; they should not be taken in large quantities in a short period of time. 2. Contraindicated in patients with oliguria or anuria, severe diarrhea or vomiting, impaired glucose absorption, intestinal obstruction, intestinal paralysis, and intestinal perforation. 3. Infants and young children should use small amounts multiple times. Some parents think that oral rehydration salts taste bad, so they add milk or juice to improve the taste. This is incorrect. This will change the osmotic pressure and affect the efficacy. 4. Do not divide one bag into several times for dissolution, as it is impossible to accurately divide it, which will affect the rehydration effect. 5. Pregnant and lactating women are advised to use the drug under the guidance of a doctor. 6. Elderly patients have reduced physiological functions, and close attention should be paid when using the drug. 7. Patients with severe dehydration or severe vomiting should seek medical attention immediately.

02 Antidiarrheal Drugs

The commonly used antidiarrheal drug is smectite. It is a highly effective gastrointestinal mucosal protectant, the main structure of which is dioctahedral smectite. It has a strong binding and inhibitory effect on viruses, bacteria, and their toxins in the digestive tract, and it also has the effect of improving mucosal quality and effectively preventing the attack of pathogenic microorganisms. Smectite acts on the digestive tract without being absorbed and has no toxic side effects.

03 Antibacterial Drugs

Not all diarrhea requires the use of antibacterial drugs. Diarrhea is divided into infectious and non-infectious diarrhea. Antibacterial drugs are ineffective against non-infectious diarrhea, viral diarrhea, and diarrhea caused by parasites.

Bacterial infectious diarrhea also requires the determination of the type of pathogen before selecting a specific antibiotic. If you are infected with Salmonella typhi or paratyphi, you can use ceftriaxone or ciprofloxacin; if you are infected with Campylobacter, you can take azithromycin; if you are infected with Shigella, you can take azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, or ceftriaxone.

Precautions: Misuse of antibacterial drugs may lead to intestinal dysbiosis and worsen the condition. It is recommended that you use antibacterial drugs under the guidance of a doctor.

04 Probiotic Preparations

Intestinal dysbiosis can cause diarrhea, and such patients can supplement probiotics for treatment. Common probiotics include Bifidobacterium triple live bacteria and Bacillus licheniformis live bacteria, which are available in capsule, powder, and granule forms. Patients who have difficulty swallowing capsules can open the capsules and disperse them in water, or directly choose powders or granules.

Probiotic live bacteria preparations are recommended to be taken with warm water 30 minutes after meals. When opening capsules or dissolving powders, the water temperature should not exceed 40℃. Live bacteria preparations should not be taken with antibacterial drugs. If they need to be used together, they should be separated by 2-3 hours. Some types of live bacteria preparations (such as Bifidobacterium triple live bacteria capsules) need to be refrigerated (2℃-8℃) for storage.

The above drugs are often used in combination in the treatment of infectious diarrhea, and the order of administration is important. It is recommended that you take smectite before meals and probiotics after meals, generally with an interval of 1-2 hours; take antibacterial drugs 1-2 hours after taking probiotics.

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