Diarrhea: 6 hints to cope with it
Black tea against mild diarrhea.
Unfortunately, diarrhea can be a side effect in cancer patients. It’s a detriment to your health and it’s just annoying. Diarrhea is defined as the passage of three and more loose or liquid stools per day. Food and liquid pass through your bowel too fast – your body cannot absorb enough nutrients or water, which may lead to malnutrition and dehydration.
Some anticancer treatments affect parts of your intestines but diarrhea can also be caused by the cancer itself, infection, stress, drugs used to treat constipation or other medication like antibiotics.
Please, talk to your healthcare team immediately if you suffer from diarrhea! Beyond taking drugs, you can adapt your food choices to your symptoms to counteract them.
Try our tips to mitigate diarrhea:
1. Drink enough
The most important one: Drink enough fluids to avoid dehydration and absorb fluids lost through diarrhea. Ideally, chose beverages containing electrolytes (sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium), for example, oral rehydration solutions (ORS) or simple sugar-salt solutions (SSS) recommended by the WHO. A recipe for a simple home made Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) can be found below:
Mix together:
- 1 L of clean drinking or boiled water and then cooled - 5 cupfuls (each cup about 200 ml)
- 6 level teaspoons of sugar
- 4 tsp. sugar
- 1/2 level teaspoon of salt
- If possible, add 1/2 cup orange juice or some mashed banana to improve the taste and provide some potassium.
Stir the mixture till the salt and sugar dissolve. There are also ready-made powders for dissolving in water.
Avoid drinks with caffeine. These include regular coffee, tea, some sodas, and chocolate. Avoid also drinks that have a lot of sugar, such as regular soda and fruit punch and avoid very hot or very cold drinks or apple juice.
2. Less but more often
Switch to five or six small meals instead of three larger ones. Eat meals low in fiber to avoid faster bowel movements, such as potatoes or rice. Yeast bread and bananas contain high levels of sodium and potassium to compensate for the losses through diarrhea.
3. Eat low-fiber foods
Low-fiber foods include plain or vanilla yogurt, white toast, and white rice.
4. Boiled rather than raw
Avoid whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes (beans and peas), dried fruits, and raw fruits and vegetables. Boiled vegetables are more easily digestible.
Home remedy: Moro’s carrot soup:
- Boil 500 g (17.6 oz.) peeled carrots for a full hour and then purée them.
- Add boiled water to make a liter (34 oz.)
- Add 3 g (~ 1 teaspoon) of salt.
5. Drop laxative foods
Avoid food and liquid that worsen diarrhea – that includes high-fiber meals, sugary drinks, fatty or spicy foods, gas-inducing food like beans or raw foods, dairy products (check the lactose content), alcohol, caffeine, and sweeteners like xylitol or sorbitol.
6. Seek medical advice
If you have had diarrhea for more than 24 hours, consult your doctor: You may need special medication or intravenous fluids to replace the lost fluids. Never medicate yourself.
