Diet for a sudden diarrhea

When should a specialist be involved for a simple diarrhea?

You may have a sudden onset watery stool without fever or pain in the stomach, and you would very well know it happened due to eating some stale food – or a know trigger. Should you reach a GI specialist for this?

Even if the diarrhea is alarming, it is important to know, that the body sometimes has recognized an offending food, and the loose stool with an otherwise ‘complete well being’, may be just the body’s attempt to ‘fast-track’ the offending ingredient out. After this is cleared, you may find that you have got better without the need for any medication. While this is happening, you will need to be on a ‘Low Residue” diet – keep a watch on hydration and take soups with salts, and avoid high fiber and too many juices. You could use probiotics, common rescue medication like Rececadotril to reduce the water loss. Your doctor may have already discussed the safety of use of a ‘single dose – short course of medication to reduce stool frequency (Lomotil, Imodium, etc), so you could follow that advise. 

Obviously, your body got better because the immunity was normal.

If you have co morbid conditions (chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, diabetes, using steroids or immunosuppressive medication, etc) you may need to reach your primary care-giver or your regular doctor sooner than usual. A sustained attack of loose stool may become a trigger for a flare of an IBD colitis, as well as other immune mediated diseases.