How To Stop Diarrhea Fast: 3 Home Remedies That Work, According to a Top GI Doctor
Plus learn what can trigger sudden digestive upset in the first place
Whether you’ve come down with a virus or are experiencing the gastrointestinal side effects of new medication, diarrhea can be equal parts exhausting and dehydrating. The good news is that “the runs” typically, well, run its course without the need for medical intervention. Still, we’re all looking for fast relief when we can get it. So we asked a top gastroenterologist what causes watery stool and how to stop diarrhea with simple home remedies.
What is diarrhea?
Though we’re all too familiar with the answer, it pays to get the definition straight from the doctor’s mouth: “Diarrhea is a change in the stool’s consistency,” says Anish A. Sheth, MD, chief of gastroenterology at Penn Medicine, Princeton Medical Center and author of What’s Your Poop Telling You? “It becomes looser, or you may experience an increased frequency of stool from whatever your normal baseline is.”
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3 common causes of diarrhea
Dr. Sheth calls the main causes of diarrhea “the big three.” And no, he doesn’t mean the Pearson siblings from the late, great This Is Us. Here, he breaks down each of the key culprits behind acute diarrhea:
Food
There are two subcategories under this heading. “The first is food you’re intolerant of, like gluten or dairy, and the other is food that’s contaminated,” says Dr. Sheth.
“We tend to blame under-cooked meat and seafood a lot, but we can just as easily ingest [diarrhea-causing bacteria] such as salmonella and E. coli from contaminated greens, like kale or spinach.” To help avoid contracting these bad gut bugs that can cause food poisoning or traveler’s diarrhea, he recommends washing greens in warm water.
Infection
“If we eat something that doesn’t agree with us, usually we get one or two loose bowel movements, and the diarrhea goes away, no big deal,” says Dr. Sheth. “But an infection from a virus like the norovirus or bacteria like salmonella can last several days.”
Side effect of medication
Antibiotics are the most common medications that cause diarrhea, notes Dr. Sheth. “For example, if you’re taking antibiotics to treat a sinus infection, they can cause loose stools for the duration of the time you’re taking them, and maybe several days afterward.”
Chronic diarrhea, on the other hand, is characterized by loose stool that lasts longer than a few weeks. It can be triggered by health conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), lactose intolerance, ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease.
How to stop diarrhea fast
Though most cases of diarrhea are what Dr. Sheth calls “self-limiting,” meaning they will run their course, there are simple ways to stop diarrhea faster.
Try the BRAT diet
Nope, this isn’t short for a German sausage. It stands for bananas, rice, applesauce and toast, foods shown to ease gastrointestinal issues because they’re gentle on your digestive system.
“It’s the opposite of a high-fiber diet,” explains Dr. Sheth. “When you’re gassy, the last thing you want is to eat more roughage and high-fiber foods, because that’s just going to make you more bloated and have more diarrhea.” Here, a brief breakdown of each member of BRAT:
Bananas: A study in the European Journal of Pediatrics showed that green bananas significantly improved diarrhea. Plus bananas are rich in potassium, an electrolyte that diarrhea typically depletes.
Rice: Just as dry rice absorbs moisture from a phone dropped in water, it can also soak up excess fluid in the digestive tract, helping to harden stools and stop diarrhea.
Applesauce: The same reason babies love it is why adults turn to it for diarrhea: it’s easy to digest. Plus, applesauce is packed with pectin, which helps firm up stools.
Toast: White toast, notes Dr. Sheth, helps bind stools.
Dig into yogurt
Probiotics can be an effective way to restore balance in the gut and help stop diarrhea, per Dr. Sheth. In fact, a study in Digestive Diseases and Sciences showed that older patients who were given plain yogurt in addition to their regimen of antibiotics experienced significantly less diarrhea than their yogurt-free peers.
Consider OTC medications
The over-the-counter brands you grew up with are still recommended: “Pepto Bismol is very safe,” assures Dr. Sheth, adding that you might also consider the anti-diarrhea medication Imodium, if necessary.
One (or several) words of caution: “People should not be taking over-the-counter medications several days in a row,” says Dr. Sheth. “They help manage the symptoms of diarrhea and allow you to live your life a little bit better while this is going on, but they’re not fixing the underlying issue.” That’s why he urges you to see a medical professional if symptoms last more than a couple of days.
When to see a doctor to help stop diarrhea
Red flags to watch out for include severe abdominal pain, bloody stools and diarrhea that lasts for more than two to three days. “Certainly, if it lasts more than seven days, that’s cause for concern,” notes Dr. Sheth.
“The longer you have symptoms, the less likely it’s due to one of the three big causes [food, infection or medication], and more likely from inflammatory bowel disease [IBD].” He explains that this condition can be painful and typically manifests over several weeks, not days.
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