When are gastrointestinal home remedies useful?
One advantage of home remedies against gastrointestinal flu is that they are ready to use almost immediately: A doctor’s prescription is not necessary, and in most households the respective “ingredients” are already available. In principle, certain home remedies can reduce unpleasant symptoms such as the diarrhea typical of the disease. Whether and how well gastrointestinal home remedies help in individual cases, however, varies from patient to patient. Used correctly, however, they at least do no harm. What they cannot do: Shorten the duration of the illness.
In general, you should only try home remedies such as healing clay or apple pectin for a simple, uncomplicated stomach flu. However, home remedies have their limitations. If the symptoms are severe, persist for a long period of time, do not get better or even get worse, you should always consult a doctor!
What are the gastrointestinal home remedies?
In addition, there are other tips and home remedies for stomach flu that can be helpful such as gastrointestinal tea or probiotics.
Adsorbents
Adsorbents are active substances that can bind (adsorb) bacteria and their intestinal irritating toxins or also viruses. The patient then excretes both together, allowing the intestines to recover. Adsorbents include, for example, pectins, healing clay and white clay, as well as activated charcoal.
However, the effectiveness of adsorbents against diarrhea is sometimes controversial among experts and has not yet been clearly proven by studies. Nevertheless, the remedies seem to help many people. You can get healing clay and activated charcoal in any pharmacy.
Always ask the pharmacist about the use of adsorbents. In doing so, inform him or her about any medications you are already taking. This is because some medications (such as cardiac glycosides for heart failure) may interact with adsorbents.
Pectins
As an alternative to fresh food, you can get ready-made preparations with high pectin content from the pharmacy.
Healing earth
Healing clay is a special, very finely grated sand (loess), which consists of various minerals and trace elements. These include mainly aluminum and silicon compounds. The fine granulation results in a large surface area, which allows healing clay to bind a great many substances (such as bacterial toxins).
If you would like to use healing clay as a home remedy for self-treatment against diarrhea in case of a gastrointestinal infection, mix one to two teaspoons of it in half a glass of cold water or tea. Drink the mixture in small sips.
Also similar to healing clay is the kaolin-containing “white clay” (bolus alba). It is usually used in the form of finished preparations that contain other active ingredients.
Activated charcoal
Swelling agents
Swelling agents such as psyllium husks and flaxseed can bind a lot of water in the intestine under strong swelling. This increases the overall volume of the stool and makes it somewhat more solid, which is very helpful in cases of diarrhea – especially since the more solid stool also takes longer to pass through the intestine. When the stool swells, it also coats bacteria and toxins, virtually taking them with it toward the exit.
By the way: With their ability to bind a lot of water, swelling agents also help with constipation. When swollen, they soften hard stools and make them easier to eliminate.
Important with swelling agents – always take together with sufficient liquid!
Gastrointestinal tea
Another popular home remedy for gastrointestinal flu is tea prepared from effective medicinal herbs. Classics are, for example, fennel and chamomile. Tea preparations with these medicinal plants have a soothing effect on the gastrointestinal tract and also have an anti-inflammatory effect.
Do not use fresh blueberries – they can increase diarrhea!
Also a tea from the leaves of blackberries, green and black tea contain tannins and can help against diarrhea.
Probiotics
Many people know the term probiotics from yogurt advertisements. It refers to certain microorganisms that are taken for the benefit of a healthy intestinal flora. In this way, useful bacteria in the intestine are supported and pathogenic germs are suppressed. This is intended to support digestion and our defenses in general – a healthy intestinal flora is essential for a well-functioning immune system!
People with immunodeficiency should not take probiotics with fungal cultures, as this may lead to excessive fungal infection.
Heat applications
Heat can be beneficial when abdominal cramps torment gastrointestinal sufferers. A hot water bottle or a warmed cherry pit cushion does a good job here. The heat relaxes and can thus relieve the cramps. A damp washcloth between the stomach and the hot water bottle intensifies the effect (damp heat).
Potato pads are also strong warmers. To do this, boil the potatoes, mash them and place them on a cloth. Then let the mashed potatoes cool down a bit, place the pad on the stomach and tie it with a cloth. Caution: If the potatoes are too hot, there is a risk of burns!
Gastrointestinal remedies without prescription
Cola and salt sticks – a suitable gastrointestinal home remedy?
If you had stomach flu as a child, you often got cola and pretzel sticks from your mom as a home remedy. The idea behind it: To replace the fluids and electrolytes lost through vomiting and diarrhea with the sweet drink and salty snack. But are cola and salt sticks really a good tip for gastrointestinal problems?
Of course, cola is a form of liquid, but it hardly contains any electrolytes. In addition, the soft drink is very high in sugar and, in the regular version, caffeine, which further irritates the stomach and intestines.
Conclusion: Cola and salt sticks are not a suitable gastrointestinal home remedy!
Eating properly with gastroenteritis
Keeping food down during a bout of gastroenteritis is often almost impossible. In addition, many sufferers lack appetite. Therefore, they often do not eat anything for several hours and instead just drink a lot (tea, water), which is quite helpful.
Those who do not want to do without food completely or who want to eat something again after a few hours of fasting should choose easily digestible food. Suitable are for example:
- Soup broth
- White bread, rusks
- Oatmeal
- Potatoes
- Rice
- Baby porridge
Gastrointestinal home remedies: when is it better to go to the doctor?
So there are numerous ways to make the time of the disease more bearable with gastrointestinal home remedies and the right diet. Sometimes, however, a visit to the doctor can still not be avoided:
As a rule, it is an unpleasant but relatively harmless disease. However, it can sometimes be very severe, for example with high fever, bloody diarrhea or generally very severe diarrhea and vomiting. Especially in older people and small children, gastroenteritis can then quickly become dangerous.
In such cases, gastrointestinal home remedies are not sufficient as the sole treatment. Instead, additional medication may be necessary, which the doctor must prescribe. These may include infusions (for severe water and salt loss), antibiotics (for bacterial infections), or medication for severe abdominal cramps.
Even if there is a possible connection with a trip abroad, a visit to the doctor is recommended for gastroenteritis. Home remedies are also often not sufficient as the sole treatment here.
