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Lifestyle and home remedies

By Mayo Clinic staff

Supportive treatment for diarrhea includes:

  • Plenty of fluids. Choose fluids containing water, salt and sugar, such as diluted fruit juice, soft drinks and broths.
  • Good nutrition. If you have watery diarrhea, eat starchy foods, such as potatoes, noodles, rice, wheat and oatmeal. Other good choices are saltine crackers, bananas, soup and boiled vegetables. If you aren't hungry, you may ingest a liquid diet at first. After your diarrhea clears up, you may have temporary difficulty digesting milk and milk-based products.
References
  1. Kelly CP, et al. Treatment of antibiotic-associated diarrhea caused by Clostridium difficile in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 28, 2010.
  2. Bartlett JG. Narrative review: The new epidemic of Clostridium difficile-associated enteric disease. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2006;145:758.
  3. Pepin J, et al. Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea in a region of Quebec from 1991 to 2003: A changing pattern of disease severity. Canadian Medical Association Journal. 2004;171:466.
  4. Kelly CP, et al. Clostridium difficile — More difficult than ever. New England Journal of Medicine. 2008;359:1932.
  5. LaMont JT. Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Sept. 28, 2010.
  6. Efron PA, et al. Clostridium difficile colitis. Surgical Clinics of North America. 2009;89:483.
  7. Monaghan T, et al. Recent advances in Clostridium difficile-associated disease. Gut. 2008;57:850.
  8. Kelly CP, et al. Antibiotic-associated diarrhea, pseudomembranous enterocolitis, and Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea and colitis. In: Feldman M, et al. Sleisenger and Fordtan's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, Management. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/linkTo?type=bookPage&isbn=978-1-4160-6189-2&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-6189-2..00108-6. Accessed Sept. 30, 2010.
  9. Bartlett JG, et al. Clinical recognition and diagnosis of Clostridium difficile infection. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2008;46(suppl):S12.
  10. Bakken JS. Fecal bacteriotherapy for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. Anaerobe. 2009;15:285.
DS00736 Nov. 3, 2010

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