Diarrhea

Don’t Let Diarrhea Stop You in Your Tracks!

It is thought that around 179 million cases of acute diarrhea occur each year in the United States! According to health professionals, most acute cases are preventable and occur as a result of Norovirus, & food borne pathogens like Salmonella (mostly from contaminated green leafy vegetables). Norovirus is highly contagious and accounts for the majority of diarrhea cases, with older people particularly vulnerable (83% of acute diarrhea-related deaths occur in people over the age of 65), especially in co-living areas or areas with a high level of interpersonal mixing & contact such as care homes or hospitals.

When Should I Seek Treatment?

If you are passing blood in your diarrhea or have a fever you should seek help immediately. If diarrhea lasts longer than 48 hours, you should also seek medical assistance. Whilst occasional bouts of diarrhea can often resolve themselves after a short period of time, diarrhea can be fatal in extreme cases; a form of diarrhea known as Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea, for example, can be fatal, and usually occurs in patients whose diarrhea comes on severely soon after having taken antibiotics in a hospital setting.

What Tests Will You Perform?

We have an awesome suite of tests, therapies & treatments at our fingertips. We will get to know your medical history & any pertinent information such as current use of medications or existing medical conditions, food allergies, etc., & we may also take a stool test & microbiome test to ascertain whether you are suffering from parasitic infection, a virus or bacterial infection, or whether poor gut health is contributing to your symptoms. A nutrient test will flag up any poor nutrient absorption, whilst thermal imaging scans of the intestinal tract & bowel can alert us to any unusual metabolic activity or tissue growth within the area. We may also test for food intolerances and allergies & even perform an epigenetic hair test to gain a really clear picture of your overall health.

We will immediately ascertain whether there is blood or mucus in your diarrhea, if you also have a fever, and if you have any stomach or rectal pain. We will ask if you’ve travelled anywhere recently where you don’t usually go, such as an overseas trip, and confirm how long you’ve been suffering from diarrhea & how often a day you are having to use the toilet. We will establish current medication & antibiotic use in case those are contributory factors, & identify whether you tend to experience diarrhea after eating specific foods. 

If you’ve recently returned from a vacation, it might be that a parasite, bacteria or infection is causing your diarrhea. If you suffer intermittently, a digestive dysfunction such as IBS, a lactose intolerance, a wheat intolerance, or high stress levels might prove to lie at the root of your issues. 

For some women, the hormonal changes associated with the menopause or menstruation may cause diarrhea and other digestive problems, for which we can consider hormonal therapy or other supplement-based or lifestyle strategies.

Whatever the cause, we will diagnose and fix them quickly, then give you the tools & strategies to stop it from happening again! 

What Treatments Do You Offer?

The treatment or therapies that we provide will be tailored to your unique needs, and will be prescribed based on the exact root cause of your diarrhea. We may prescribe probiotics or IV nutrients if the cause is a nutrient imbalance or deficiency. We might prescribe custom-made plant-based supplements if you need a range of nutrients alongside probiotics to rebalance gut health, &/or we might prescribe a range of other treatments. 

Whatever we prescribe will be clearly discussed with you, work rapidly, be based on a highly-personalized strategy, and restore you to optimized health as quickly as possible.

What Can I Do To Prevent Diarrhea?

Seeking help is a great idea if your diarrhea persists. If you suffer a short, occasional bout, here are some self-care strategies that may alleviate your symptoms:

• Always wash food (including vegetables)
• Wash your hands regularly
• Take a probiotic to maintain good gut health
• If you are suffering from a mild bout of diarrhea, drink lots of fluids, use a sports drink to replace electrolytes, & wash hands often so others don’t catch it (e.g., if the cause is norovirus)
• Rest
• Avoid beans, and other raw fruit and vegetables, carbonated drinks, spicy and fatty foods, coffee, alcohol & any other food that might trigger you
• If you suspect food intolerances, avoid those foods then seek help from a medical professional to investigate further

Frequent or persistent diarrhea can be a sign of something more serious and we strongly recommend that you seek medical assistance if you are experiencing frequent bouts of diarrhea or diarrhea lasting over 48 hours.

Let the Doctors Studio Help You

Let us help you restore gut health and eradicate any uncomfortable symptoms of dysfunction  – such as diarrhea, gas, bloating and constipation – today. We will find the root cause of your problem swiftly and accurately, fix the problem, reverse the damage, optimize your health, then give you the tools to make sure that you won’t suffer from diarrhea again! If you feel that you, or someone you love, would benefit from a nutritional screening, stool testing, epigenetic hair test, food intolerance test, or microbiome test to get to the root of diarrhea or any other digestive issues, contact the Doctors Studio today!