I fear the answer is "die quickly and feebly" and I fear it'll be soon.Do you know of any emergency remedies?

-- apokoliptik (apokoliptik@yahoo.com), November 22, 1999

Answers

Docs recommend a clear liquid diet. Personally, I would let it run it's course for a couple of days. Your body is tring to rid itself of something foreign. Go with the flow so to speak. If you feel the need, I recommend blackberry brandy. Generally a good stopper-upper! Also, stay away from high fiber food and spicy food.

-- Big D (ddac@yahoo.com), November 22, 1999.

Obviously the answer to this tricky question is: Take the diarrehea and post it here with all the other runny posts...

-- ProudPolly (Proudtobe@Polly.net), November 23, 1999.

Hopefully you will have bought medicine before hand to be prepared.

If you have not then if you have tea then make some tea and put (for an adult or child over 12) 1/2 teaspoon cinnimon in it along with some sugar if you have it. I always give my children cinnimon tea every 4 hours for diarrehea instead of store medicines. Most of the time diarrahea is caused by bacteria and cinnimon will kill bacteria in your system. You can of course just put the cinnimon in water or eat it on toast but we like tea and since you need the hydration tea is good.

You can also eat some food, soup, stew or just meat and sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon of thyme four times a day instead of cinnimon. Drink plenty of good clean clear liquids and you should be ok in a day. It is really best to not eat meat when having diarrahea so that should be last option.

-- Onebyone (susanwater@excite.com), November 23, 1999.

Rice, eat rice. Rice stops the runs.

Now, what happens if you're severely constipated because there's too much rice and not enough natural liquids and fresh fruits & veggies?

We take care of the dying, and constipation is much more of a problem than diarrhea.

For this reason we have not stored even one grain of rice nor one bean.

Yeah, we're becoming like our patients. Take real good care of them and got to wondering why we didn't take as good care of ourselves ...

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), November 23, 1999.

Also,, drink the water used after making rice before using it all. This 'rice water' is used as an anti-diarrheal in third world countries.....

-- mmmm (mmmm@mmmm.com), November 23, 1999.

There are a lot of possible circumstances that might surround this question and affect the answer. But, if you are relatively safe and have a place to be for a couple days - stop eating anything. A two or three day fast will not hurt you, and it is the fastest and cheapest way of ending the problem without drugs. Take only clear liquids to prevent dehydration, which is the real killer with diarrhea. Be sure your liquids are pure and not the original cause.

-- Joe (paraflyr@cybernet1.com), November 23, 1999.

I agree about the rice. Also here is an "emergency electrolyte" dry powder recipe. The biggest problem with diarrehea is that it makes you dehydrated. Dehydrated people tend to get listless, feverish, don't-care-if-I-live-ish....

1/2 tsp Morton Lite Salt (has potassium in it)
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 level tsp of sugar
1 packet of Kool-Aid (optional)
2 liters of water

A rule of thumb is that the body needs
10 to 20 CC of fluid/ pound of body wght /day.
If that body is dehydrated it needs 30 to 40 cc
per day/pound/wght.


-- Berry Picker (BerryPicking@yahoo.com), November 23, 1999.

Meant to add, just in case of flame attacks, that this is not theory or mere book learning. I have travelled extensively through Central and South America with a backpack and little money; ditto for my wife, only add India and the islands of Oceania for her. We both have had to employ this course of treatment many times.

-- Joe (paraflyr@cybernet1.com), November 23, 1999.

REhydrate rehydrate rehydrate repeat every 30 minutes for ever. it's the dehydration and the electrolyte imballance that screws up the heart rhythm and kills you.

Chuck

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), November 23, 1999.

A child will become dehydrated and will die if not rehydrated fast. Here is remedy that I saved from the prep forum. I have forgotten who posted the original, but it is one post that just might save many lives.

ELECTROLYTE AND FLUID REPLACEMENT

One teaspoon of "Lite Salt" (by Morton, 1/2 iodized potassium chloride, 1/2 sodium chloride in a blue cylinder)

1/3 teaspoon of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate),

10 teaspoons of table sugar (sucrose),

one quart of water.

That happens to be a life saving fluid replacement and partial electrolyte expedient replacement. At least it is expedient if you have had the foresight to purchase the above three items BEFORE an emergency happens while it is readily available and very cheap. Many people die in times of emergency because of fluid losses. This can be from burns, vomiting, or diarrhea. The body needs water and certain water soluble chemicals to function. If either or both of these drop below a certain level, you die. There are many non-fatal diseases like cholera that become fatal due to lack of simple things like proper fluid replacement. If you have ever had a bad case of diarrhea and start to have pain in your muscles or joints, congratulations, you have had the early warning symptoms of a potassium deficiency.

-- Carol (glear@usa.net), November 23, 1999.

Lotsa water, til you think you'll float...salt,...sugar, but not too much...pedialyte if you can get it. Need to stabilize and maintain electrolyte balance. Gastro-intestinal stuff will pass (no pun intended), unless you have a parasite, with no meds...

-- Donna (moment@pacbell.net), November 23, 1999.

Party Like It's 1999.

-- % (artist@formerself.com), November 23, 1999.

My Dear Mr. Apokoiptik

Sir the remeady hat I am about to suggest should onlybe used if you are truely in great distress from diarrehea. This concoction will "slam a plug in place real fast" Take a couple of heaping tablespoons of just ordinary flour, mix it into a half glass of water. The mixture should look for all the world lke milk. Then, and it will be difficult.Drink it dowm...Afterward you make drink water etc.to get the taste from your mouth.

I have had to use this remady twice, both times in countries over seas where there was no close medical help.(Bth time mine was of the Amomebic dysentry)(and very nearlylkilled me the first time,and might have if an old Irishman hadn't taken pity on me an made up the mixture.

If you have trouble , after a couple of days with resumption of normalacy. The a table spoon of Epsome salts take in water will brin about the desired result (just be careful about jogging around the Barrsacs liked the Sargent made us do in boot camp...) Because you will not make a third trip around that building, I'll tell you!!!!LOL

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Shakey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-- Shakey (in_a_bunker@forty.feet), November 23, 1999.

Leaving the city with advanced disentary could be a problem,How would one cover one's tracks? CHARCOAL POWDERED AND MIXED WITH WATER will help to put an end to the runs.use the excellent electrolite recepies listed above. the old stand by paragoric is another treatment---If you can find a small ball of opium ,it will dry you up(used it in Afganistan and it saved my life)Atropine injections serve a dual purpose,nerve gas protection/treatment and as a disentary treatment,this saved my life in Korea. If you have deep wounds that are geting infected,sans antibiotics,you can use fly maggots,they only eat dead or putrid flesh, your wound will be picked clean.(saved one of my regional force soldiers with that one!) get yourself a Special Forces Army medical manual.You can never have enough Hydrogen peroxide,if you get the 24% handle like acid,protect your eyes and cut it severly with water.Make sure you have worm medicine for your family,survival eating often gives you serious parasites, waxed dental floss for suture material.

-- barefoot doctor (cyoa@peasantmedicine.com), November 23, 1999.

Most supermarkets sell Pediatric Electrolyte for about $5.00 I bought two of them to keep for emergencies Y2K or otherwise.

-- Debi (LongTimeLurker@shy.com), November 23, 1999.

CULTURED YOGURT! Recommended to me by an RN when I had severe prostititis (prostate infection) and was suffering severe bouts of diarrehea. It works wonderfully after just one serving.

-- pizzaman (cjwarner@yahoo.com), November 23, 1999.

got gatorade?

-- ed (edrider007@aol.com), November 23, 1999.

A bottle of Pepto-Bismol stops diarrhea, if you have some.

-- Spidey (in@jam.pink), November 23, 1999.

Take acidopholus (sp?). You can buy it in any health food store and in most drug stores. This is the good bacteria that lives in your intestines and what they make yogurt out of (tho lots of yogurt today doesn't have live bacteria in it so is useless). This is an interspecies bacteria so is perfectly safe to give to any of your animals if they are having problems. I have spent a bit of time in central america and believe me this works.

-- Stacia (ClassyCwgl@aol.com), November 23, 1999.

Stacia,

I wholeheartedly agree. I suffered from a severe case of food poisoning. Acidopholus is what helped my stomach repair itself once the poisoning had run it's course.

I found my Acidolpholus at the local GNC health food store.

-- Deb M. (vmcclell@columbus.rr.com), November 23, 1999.

Boil some milk and drink it. It always works for me.

-- Gay Boling (wilber@montansky.net), November 23, 1999.

Cholera - I understand that chicken soup works well with this (but this could be because of the salts). Has something to do with proteins? Anyway CS with rice sounds like a winner. ( No I'm not kidding )

-- ..- (dit@dot.dash), November 23, 1999.

I'll find the highest building in town, open a window on the top floor, drop my pants, scoot out on the ledge and wait for the first politician to pass under my perch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

-- 8 (8@8.com), November 23, 1999.

Keep in mind that one possible cause - especially with possible Y2K glitches - is contaminated water.

"March 1993: an estimated 370,000 people in Milwaukee fell ill in the largest recorded outbreak of a waterborne disease in United States history. High levels of a parasite called cryptosporidiosis entered the public water supply. The Milwaukee Aids Project attributed the deaths of 54 patients to the parasite." Info from OES. An interesting account of the outbreak - and lessons learned HERE.

Apparently one factor that made the outbreak worse was that we are all told to DRINK MORE FLUIDS, when faced with fever or diarrhea, or flu symptoms... but in this case the water was the source of the problem, so made the problem worse. It might be best at the first sign of illness (or perhaps if there is loss of power?) to ASSUME the water might be contaminated, and drink only boiled or pasteurized water.

See also this thread: How long to boil water?

I'm just reading that report on the Milwaukee outbreak. It looks VERY APPLICABLE to Y2K... I encourage all of you to read it [esp. in light of Senate reports that water and sewer systems are not looking so good y2k-wise]. Here's the link again:

Disaster in Milwaukee Subhead: Complacency was the root cause by Velma Smith

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), November 23, 1999.

Someone on preps board suggested pepto bismal as having bismuth, which kills intestinal bacteria. Stock some now.

Feel well.

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), November 23, 1999.

Let me say that I doubt the top scenario is one that will affect most of us. At least I hope not.

Let me also say, from one who caught a flagellant {not Giardia, but unidentified, still required treatment with nasty medicine} you want to do everything you can to protect you and yours from the get go. I seriously thought I might die if it went on untreated. A neighbor caught Giardia months before, most likey both cases came from our water out of the taps { very old pipes on the area}.

That said, the pedatrician 'BRAT' diet helps with a multitude of ailments {once the patient feels up to eating} - Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, & Toast. Maybe a few jars of babyfood bananas might be good to put away for more than banana bread. If someone has diarrhea don't give them peanut butter in addition to several things mentioned above by other posters. Got boullion?

Please learn water treatment methods, store water, and plan to treat it at the beginning of the year.

The secret woid is * PEPTO *

Go soap & disinfectants?

-- flora (***@__._), November 23, 1999.

Didn't mean to mislead above, if you are unlucky enough to pick up one of the nasty bugs, pepto ain't gonna do it for ya IMHO.

An ounce of prevention...

-- flora (***@__._), November 23, 1999.

Hi, Apokoliptic. A good question, and lots of interesting and helpful answers. This doesn't address your specific question; but in my case, having lived some years in the Far East and the Middle East, where gastroenteritis and diarrhea can hit suddenly and explosively (dehydrating one very quickly), I tend to rely on the old standby "cement pills": diphenoxylate with atropine, or Lomotil. I almost died from "gastro" one time in Turkey, spent a week with an IV in my arm. The Lomotil shut down the diarrhea in about a day, and the intense cramps were treated with Donnatol, or belladonna.

So, in anticipation of y2k, I got my doc to write me a substantial prescription, and stocked up.

But I'm also glad to get the alternative remedies provided above. Thanks to everyone who contributed.

-- Norm Harrold (nharrold@tymewyse.com), November 23, 1999.

Binging on chocolate (1lb)worked well for me in the tropics !!!

-- Chris (griffen@globalnet.co.uk), November 23, 1999.

applesauce has pectin...Mix rice chex or corn chex with applesauce and you have natural rememdy. Works great. Doctor's use it for Ped patient's.

speaking from experience in Medical profession

-- More Dinty Moore (dac@ccrtc.com), November 23, 1999.

Immodium is always in my bag if I'm traveling...

Kids can quickly die from dehydration when they get diarrhea. Pedialite is great, but my kids won't drink it. So, hypothetically, I would boil water, then mix up Gatorade according to the instructions. It is a medically sanctioned alternative to Pedialite, and my picky kids will drink it eagerly...

Soda given to a child with diarrhea, by the way, can kill them. It dehydrates them even more (sugar water is a treatment for constipation with babies, you know). I know a lady who almost killed her child with soda because she didn't know.

-- S. Kohl (kohl@hcpd.com), November 24, 1999.