Food Poisoning And Stomach Flu Prevention And Treatment

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Antidiarrheal Medications

Source: https://thumbor.forbes.com

Antidiarrheals are medicines that act on the gastrointestinal tract to stop or lessen loose, watery stools. While they relieve symptoms of diarrhea, these drugs are not cures since they do not remove the source of the infection. Nevertheless, these drugs make life more comfortable for patients suffering from stomach infections by lessening the painful contractions of the gut. By slowing down gut movement, antidiarrheals give the body enough time to reabsorb water that would be otherwise lost with the passing of stool.

Examples of antidiarrheals are:

1. Antimotility agents which slow down gut peristalsis or movement such as loperamide (Imodium) and diphenoxylate with atropine (Lomotil),

2. Antispasmodic agents such as dicyclomine (Bentyl) and hyoscyamine (Levsin) which ease stomach cramps by relaxing the smooth muscle of the gut.