Introduction
There are various drugs for diarrhea (diarrhea), which differ in their active ingredient groups. Some of these ingredients have different mechanisms of action, but all of them lead to a hardening of the stool consistency. The onset of action and the duration of the effect varies among the drugs. However, this can be advantageous because there are many different types and forms of diarrhea and mild diarrhea can be treated with rather weakly acting drugs, which cause the stool to solidify but not cause constipation.
Bacteria and yeast for the treatment of diarrhoea
Some medicines for diarrhea have bacteria as an ingredient. The drug Pro-Symbioflor, for example, is a combination of the bacterium Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis. Both bacteria occur naturally in the gastrointestinal tract and may be present in patients with diarrhoea.
The drug restores a natural balance in the gastrointestinal tract without the use of chemically produced substances. By taking Pro-Symbioflor, patients affected can activate the natural defenses of the immune system in the intestine and thus prevent diarrhea. The drug supports the development of the natural intestinal flora and thus promotes health.
Pro-Symbioflor is administered as drops and is therefore usually well tolerated. The drug is not only used as a remedy for diarrhoea, but also for irritable bowel syndrome (colon irritable), constipation (constipation), nausea, vomiting and chronic pancreatitis (pancreatitis). In addition to bacteria, there is also the possibility of using yeast to treat diarrhoea.
The yeast fungus Saccharomyces boulardii is contained in the drug Omniflora Akut®, as well as in Perenterol® and Perocur®, among others. These drugs are used particularly frequently if one suffers from diarrhea due to antibiotic therapy. Also with travel diarrhea violent diarrhea medicines are frequently prescribed, since they show a fast effect entrance and do not load the intestine additionally, as chemical substances sometimes do.
Electrolyte mixture against diarrhoea
So-called electrolytes can also be used to treat diarrhoea. Among the well-known preparations are Elotrans® and Oralpädon®. These contain a mixture of different electrolytes such as potassium chloride, sodium chloride and sodium citrate.
However, it is important to know that both drugs do not act directly against diarrhea but rather ensure that the lack of different electrolytes caused by the diarrhea is compensated. If a patient has diarrhea, most of the nutrients that are normally absorbed from food through the intestines will be partially or not absorbed at all. This means that there is a lack of various substances called electrolytes.
To compensate for this deficiency, a patient can take electrolyte mixtures. Often this also relieves the symptoms of diarrhoea, so that the patient can have a normal bowel movement again. Furthermore, diarrhoea causes the patient to lose a lot of water. This problem is also compensated with the medication against diarrhoea, in this case with the electrolyte mixture.