15 Natural Home Remedies For Diarrhea That Work

updated: 11/15/2019

Diarrhea is a terrible situation related to a malfunctioning digestive system. It results in from loose stool, sometimes many times a day that you may get caught up in at least once in your life. Diarrhea usually makes you exhausted because of its symptoms. Therefore, today we will give you some home remedies for diarrhea. However, before finding ways to treat diarrhea, let’s learn some necessary information about this condition. 

What Is Diarrhea?

Diarrhea is one of the body’s defense mechanisms to get rid of infections or microbes from the body. As a result, your body throws out loose and watery stools two or more times a day, along with fluid, electrolytes, and nutrients from the body, which lead to fatigue and dehydration. It usually takes 2 to 4 days for diarrhea to disappear completely – but this depends on the cause of the diarrhea.

Diarrhea can affect anyone. If left untreated, it may affect your blood pressure and kidneys.^[1]

What Are The Causes Of Diarrhea?

• Food Allergy: When the digestive system cannot process some kinds of food products due to a food allergy, these foods may upset the stomach and as a result, the body tends to release those foods as much as possible ^[2].
• Contaminated water: The dirty water may upset the digestive tract resulting in diarrhea ^[3].
• Lactose intolerance: Some people are unable to digest lactose, which is present in milk or other dairy products. This causes diarrhea because of insufficient amounts of the enzyme necessary to properly digest and Lactose. Cutting out dairy products will soothe the problem ^[4].
• Intestinal Diseases and Digestive Disorders: There are many types of intestinal diseases and digestive disorders such as ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, and microscopic colitis. Another condition associated with diarrhea is Irritable Bowel Syndrome. If you suffer from one of these diseases, there are greater chances that diarrhea may be more of a chronic problem, therefore you must consult your doctor for treatment options ^[5].
• Alcohol and caffeine: these stimulants may cause watery stools in some people. It is wise to reduce or eliminate your morning coffee and evening beer if you believe they are contributing to your diarrhea. Cutting out alcohol can be beneficial for your overall health as well.
• Medications: Laxatives, antacids, antibiotics, drugs that contain magnesium and anti-viral medications may cause diarrhea.  However, it is essential you do not just stop taking medicine – talk to you doctor so they can discuss alternative medications for your condition ^[7].

What Are The Symptoms Of Diarrhea?

• Loose and watery stools
• Fever and nausea
• Vomiting 
• Painful abdominal cramps
• Blood associated with stools
• Dehydration and weight loss
• Stomach bloating

When You Need To See Doctor?

Visit your doctor if your symptoms are severe as follows (or if your loose stool does not resolve):

• You get high fever and streaks of blood in the stools
• You get worse belly pain
• You feel dizzy
• You encounter dehydration

If it seldom happens in a year, it is normal, and dietary adjustments may help. But when diarrhea lasts for weeks, this causes life disruption. If your diarrhea lasts for more than 3 – 4 days, consult with your doctor. Do not hesitate to visit your doctor for medical treatments.

There, you have discovered some information about diarrhea, it is time to find out what the natural remedies for diarrhea are.  After that, if you want to know home remedies for other diseases, please visit our Home Remedies page.

Top 15 Effective Home Remedies For Diarrhea 

1. Yogurt

Yogurt contains such live bacteria such as Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium, which is a beneficial remedy among home remedies for diarrhea ^[8][9]. These live cultures restore the good bacteria in your intestine and may help diarrhea.

Include 1-2 servings of yogurt in your daily regimen to promote gut health. To produce more benefits, choose kinds of yogurt that are not pre-flavored when you purchase from the store. For better result, you can mix or eat a banana with your yogurt to make it taste better.

2. Peppermint

Drinking peppermint tea may also be an effective method to get rid of diarrhea symptoms and relieve stomach problems ^[10] because peppermint is often used to soothe an upset stomach or to aid digestion. It helps relieve digestive gas, flatulence and cramping, which are common with diarrhea. In this sense it also helps with menstrual cramps.

Peppermint has antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial properties. Methyl salicylate and menthol, two main ingredients in peppermint, have antispasmodic effects, with natural calming effects on the gastrointestinal tract. According to some studies, using peppermint for indigestion and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is highly recommended. There are a few forms of peppermint you can use to treat diarrhea symptoms, be it tea, tincture, capsule, or oil form

Follow these directions to brew peppermint tea correctly:

• Steep 2-3 peppermint leaves or a sprig of mint into bowled water
• Add a little honey and sugar if these foods do not make bother your stomach
• Strain this liquid and drink it slowly

Note: You can purchase peppermint tea bags at the store, and they also provide the same effects.

3. Clear Liquids

Dehydration is common in diarrhea due to loss of body fluids, therefore drinking adequate liquids such as water is important. Your doctor may recommend you follow a “Clear Liquid Diet” which consists of liquids you can see through, such as plain water, in order to minimize diarrhea and stool and give your digestion a break while giving you hydration. However, it should only be followed for a couple of days or as prescribed by doctor as you don’t get enough nutrients. You can also drink fruit-flavored beverages, gelatin, tea and coffee, sports drinks, honey or sugar, fat-free broth, and fruit juices without pulp ^[11]. In such case, at least eight to ten glasses of water are recommended as an excellent home remedy that will supply fluids and boost the blood circulation to help your body recover from diarrhea. But you are not referring to smoothies or juice here other than apple juice. Only broth, plain tea, black coffee is allowed but may worsen some people, NON-red Jello and Popsices and broths.

Note:

• Avoid drinking caffeinated and alcoholic drinks
• Stop consuming acidic drinks such as tomato and citrus juice

4. BRAT Diet

BRAT diet tells you there are just four things necessary food items you need to include in your diet. BRAT stands for Banana, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast. They are more likely to ease your intestine, which will help you fight against diarrhea effectively ^[12]. Ripe banana and rice are g to be beneficial for your stomach.

What you need to do is to add up small portions of each food product for your daily meal. You can mix rice with soups to make your flavor taste.

Note:

• It’s better to mix a small amount of those ingredients to reduce your stomach’s further digestive upset. Overloading could fight against its effect.
• Avoid putting butter on the toast as it may worsen diarrhea from high fat content.

5. Chamomile Tea

Among other types of tea that are helpful for the body, chamomile tea is specially used to relieve diarrhea since it may reduce intestinal spasms and combats inflammation, promotes the digestive system to help you recover from diarrhea as soon as possible. Chamomile contains antispasmodic property that may soothe abdominal pain, hemorrhoids, gastrointestinal conditions, diarrhea, and stomach disorders ^[13].

Here is what you need to do:

• Steep a teaspoon of chamomile flowers in boiling water for 10 minutes. You can brew the tea with chamomile tea bag instead. For better taste, add some fresh lemon juice or drink lemon water.
• Strain and drink this liquid for a few times every day.

6. White Rice

Plain white rice is among the bland foods that are useful to consume with an upset digestive tract and diarrhea. It is a low-fiber food that is easy to digest and helps to absorb excess liquids in the bowel. Include white rice as part of your low-fiber diet during episodes of diarrhea. Plain white rice is bland, yes, but adding a dash of salt will perk the flavor up – once your stomach is better, add more flavors to it ^[16].

You can still use recipe just say try this:

• Boil a ½ cup of brown rice with three cups of water in a pot
• Cook the rice on low heat and let it simmer for 30-40 minutes
• Strain the rice to obtain the rice water
• Consume this water throughout the day. You can keep the rest in the fridge for the next intake

Note:

• It’s better to cook an adequate amount of rice water and drink it for one day.
• Try to put this edible in your balance diet to accelerate diarrhea improvement and prevent from other diseases.

7. Coconut Water

During diarrhea, our body losses several vital elements and nutrients such as sodium, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, and magnesium. Coconut water is one kind of root vegetables that will help you tackle these problems. Besides its well-known contribution to improve eyesight, carrot also contains other good properties such as antiseptic property, antioxidant agents, fiber content and lots of necessary nutrients that help diarrhea become treated faster and replenish the nutrition lost when suffering diarrhea ^[19]. Carrots also have vitamin A which is very beneficial for relieving diarrhea, especially in children ^[20]. Moreover, it’ll sort out the other problems associated with diarrhea also, enhance immunity and prevent further loss too. Follow this instruction to cook carrot soup:

• Wash some carrots
• Add some 2-3 peeled and sliced carrots to a cup of boiling water.
• Now, lower the amount of heat until the carrots become simmer.
• Pour approximate 1 ½ cup of water and mash the carrots thoroughly and boil them again.
• Simmer it again for the next 15 minutes and then pour it in some other glass through a strainer.
• Eat ¾ of a cup after every 20-30 minutes.
• Repeat the process until you recuperate from diarrhea

Note:

• While cooking the carrots, place a little bit of salt to make the soup taste better.
• To let the excellent effect of carrot falls more effectively, you had better continue eating this soup for a few days even after diarrhea.

8. Potatoes

Along with other root vegetables, potato provides rich sources of starch and other nutrition. Like plain white rice, PEELED potatoes can be soothing for an upset digestive tract. It is important to peel them to remove the FIBER – fiber should limited during episodes of diarrhea.

The solution with potato for diarrhea is:

• Wash two potatoes, peel and slice them into different cubes
• Put these pieces of potatoes into boiling water
• Strain and let them cool, add some salt
• Eat plain potatoes plain to help your stomach while giving you nutrition

9. Bananas

Banana may perform its function well even if you eat it alone or mix with other components to combat diarrhea. Bananas are a plain, bland food that helps settle digestive discomfort. It helps absorb extra liquid in the intestines, reduce water in your stools and replace electrolytes that your loses as the consequence of frequent bowel movements. Eat two bananas a day, especially for breakfast. Bananas are best eaten ripe.

You can also mix it with other ingredients. You can take a look of this remedy below:

• Grind the banana with some coconut water to make a shake
• Mix well and eat this solution to see the improvement

10. Avoid Dairy Products

Many people find diarrhea worsens with dairy products because they are hard to digest, especially times of diarrhea. Daily food products such as milk, butter and cheese may aggravate your condition. Even if you do not have the enzyme problem, stay away from these dairy products is highly recommended if you are suffering from diarrhea, and they are only available if your stomach has settled down and your condition is better.

Note: Alternative product you could use during this period may be soymilk as it is beneficial for maintaining digestive system and bone health.

11. Keep Clean

Keeping clean is one of the easiest home remedies, thus very important to directly combat the bacteria that possibly trigger the disease.

• Avoid raw foods and street foods.
• Wash vegetables under clean water and boil them thoroughly. If you eat raw vegetables, wash them at least four times with fresh water.
• Wash your hands carefully before the meal and after going out of the toilet.
• Never put dirty fingers on your mouth, especially for children.

12. Salt And Sugar

You should modify your daily diet list with the addition of more sugar and salt especially when you suffer from diarrhea because this solution works best for soothing your digestion, maintain hydrating and balance electrolytes ^[27]. Remedy with these two natural ingredients is simple, and you have to follow the steps below:

• Boil a glass of water and let it cool down
• Add a ½ teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of sugar in the water.
• Stir it thoroughly until the salt and sugar are dissolved
• Drink it immediately for several times each day and see the result.

13. Ginger

Ginger is known as another effective treatment that you should consider, especially for food poisoning, abdominal pain, and cramps developed during diarrhea. With anti-inflammatory properties, ginger may soothe frustrated bowels and accelerate digestive process ^[28]. Here is what advised to use ginger as a remedy against diarrhea:

Method 1: Ginger tea making

• Prepare a cup of boiled water
• Put a piece of ginger and let it cool, then strain the mixture
• Add a small amount of honey in it for better flavor.

Method 2: Straight digestion

• Grate a small piece of ginger
• Mix it with a teaspoon of honey
• Eat this mixture directly for twice a day to obtain the best result

Note:

• Even if you are sensitive with its strong taste, avoid drinking water so that you won’t lose the power effects of this remedy.
• Consuming powdered ginger may be helpful for people who have strong ginger resistance. You can add one teaspoon of cinnamon or cumin powder to create some tastes.

14. Green Tea

Green tea has antioxidant, anti-mutagenic, and anti-carcinogenic effects, which may protect our health for many diseases. In addition, do not forget to use green tea to potentially help prevent diarrhea caused by Helicobacter pylori infections ^[32]. It is easy to make the green tea to treat diarrhea:

• Steep a teaspoon of green tea in a cup of hot water and wait for 5-7 minutes
• Strain and drink the tea
• Do it 1-2 times daily

However, all content provided is for informational & educational purposes. We recommend you consult a healthcare professional to determine which method is appropriate for you and to avoid the side effects when applying these methods. In addition, asking for healthcare professional’s advice may help you know that you have to take medicine or not, especially for children, pregnant, or breastfeeding women.

If you have any feedback for our article of “Top 15 Natural Home Remedies for Diarrhea”, do not hesitate to drop your words below this post. We will reply as soon as we could.

 

The content in this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician before starting a diet, exercise, or supplement regimen. This article is intended for educational purposes only.

• Stomach Issues