Medicines against flatulence and cramps
If one suffers from flatulence, painful abdominal cramps are often added. These are caused by the cramped intestinal muscles and the tense abdominal wall. Most medications for flatulence also contain an antispasmodic component.
Above all, the active ingredient mebeverine relaxes the tense muscles of the digestive tract. However, other drugs, such as Iberogast® with the herbal active ingredients angelica root, fennel, caraway and peppermint or Buscopan® with butylscopolaminium bromide also have an antispasmodic effect. Iberogast® is administered in liquid form.
To treat flatulence and cramps in adults, 20 drops of Iberogast® are drunk dissolved in a glass of water. Buscopan® is taken in tablet form. Both drugs can be bought in pharmacies.If you don’t have any medication at hand, hot-water bottles or a relaxing bath can help relieve stomach cramps.
Medicines for flatulence and diarrhea
If flatulence occurs in the context of a diarrhoea illness, as can be the case with gastro-enteritis, the treatment of diarrhoea is the main focus. Most diarrhoea medications contain additional antispasmodic agents and thus automatically counteract flatulence and cramps. Imodium® with loperamide is effective against diarrhea by inhibiting the activity of the intestinal muscles, thus ensuring that nutrients can be reabsorbed through the intestinal wall and that the chyme can be thickened in the intestine so that the stool can once again assume a normal consistency.
Imodium® is sold in a wide variety of dosage forms. For example, there are hard capsules for swallowing or melted tablets that can be melted on the tongue. Side effects when taking medication with loperamide are constipation (constipation) resulting from the inhibition of intestinal activity.
Another drug used to treat flatulence and diarrhoea is Active Carbon. It is mainly used to treat diarrhoea caused by bacteria. In the case of food poisoning or infection with salmonella, activated carbon binds bacterial toxins in the intestine and causes these toxins to be excreted via the stool.
The trigger for the diarrhea is thus eliminated. Active Carbon is taken in tablet form as Kohlekompretten®, but can also be dissolved in water as a powder and then drunk. The most important factor in diarrhea with flatulence is, in addition to drug treatment, the sufficient intake of liquid to stabilize the water and electrolyte balance.
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