Patient education: Managing diarrhea from your medicines (The Basics)

What is diarrhea? — 

These are bowel movements that are runny or watery, and happen 3 or more times in a day. Diarrhea is very common.

Can medicines cause diarrhea? — 

Diarrhea can be a "side effect" of some medicines or their ingredients. Some medicines disrupt the normal bacteria in the intestines. Others speed up how fast food and fluids move through the digestive system.

In some cases, diarrhea only lasts for the first few days or weeks after starting a medicine. For others, it can last the whole time you take the medicine.

You might have problems with diarrhea if you take:

●Antibiotics

●Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs ("NSAIDs")

●Medicines to treat:

•Problems with blood sugar

•Depression or other mental health problems

•Heart conditions, high cholesterol levels, or high blood pressure

•Conditions like gout, heartburn, or acid reflux

•Cancer

If you think your medicine is causing diarrhea, talk to your doctor or nurse. Do not stop taking the medicine on your own. Ask if there is another medicine you can switch to that causes less diarrhea.

What can I do on my own to help with diarrhea? — 

You can try these things:

●Drink a lot of liquids that have water, salt, and sugar. Good choices are water mixed with juice, flavored soda, and soup broth. If you are drinking enough fluids, your urine will be light yellow or almost clear.

●Try to eat a little bit of food. Good choices are potatoes, noodles, rice, oatmeal, crackers, bananas, soup, and boiled vegetables. Salty foods also help.

●Talk to your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist before taking:

•Probiotic supplements to help with diarrhea - These contain healthy bacteria that normally live in the body and help it work well. Some types of yogurts also have "active cultures" that have probiotics in them.

•Medicines that ease diarrhea - These include loperamide (brand name: Imodium), diphenoxylate-atropine (brand name: Lomotil), and bismuth subsalicylate (brand names: Pepto-Bismol, Kaopectate).

Do not take loperamide or diphenoxylate-atropine if you have a fever or blood in your bowel movements. Also, taking too much loperamide has led to serious heart problems in some people. If you have health problems or already take other medicines, talk to your doctor or nurse before trying loperamide. For all these medicines, do not take more than the label tells you to.

What else should I know? — 

Diarrhea can affect how your body absorbs other medicines you take. For example, if you take birth control pills and have severe diarrhea, you might need to use a back-up method of birth control to prevent pregnancy.

When should I call the doctor? — 

Call for advice if:

●You have more than 6 runny bowel movements in 24 hours. If you have other medical conditions, your doctor might want you to call sooner.

●You have blood in your bowel movements.

●You have a fever higher than 101.3°F (38.5°C) that does not go away after a day.

●You have severe belly pain.

●You are 70 or older.

●Your body has lost too much water. Signs include:

•Lots of diarrhea that is very watery

•Feeling very tired

•Feeling thirsty

•Dry mouth or tongue

•Muscle cramps

•Dizziness

•Confusion

•Very yellow urine, or not needing to urinate for more than 5 hours

More on this topic

Patient education: Diarrhea in teens and adults (The Basics)
Patient education: Diarrhea in children (The Basics)
Patient education: Side effects from medicines (The Basics)
Patient education: Managing constipation from your medicines (The Basics)

Patient education: Acute diarrhea in adults (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Acute diarrhea in children (Beyond the Basics)
Patient education: Chronic diarrhea in adults (Beyond the Basics)