Medical Treatment

To replace fluids, the health care provider will often start an IV line if you are dehydrated and cannot eat or drink. Salt solutions flow through the IV, which replaces the lost fluids and often brings quick relief.

Because viruses cause most cases of diarrhea, antibiotics will not work. Even the more severe diarrhea caused by bacteria will usually go away in a few days even without antibiotics. In fact, antibiotics appear to make some bacterial diarrhea worse, specifically those caused by the E coli bacterium (often a source of food poisoning).

• Antibiotics may benefit some adults with diarrhea. If selected carefully, antibiotics may decrease the severity of illness and shorten the duration of symptoms. If you have recently traveled out of the country or have been camping (and may have been exposed to contaminated water in the wilderness), your health care provider may prescribe specific medication used to treat traveler's diarrhea or certain intestinal parasites.
  
  
• Your provider may recommend using over-the-counter antidiarrheal medication. These drugs, such as loperamide (Imodium) and bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol) may help some people with diarrhea, but should be avoided by others. Antidiarrheal medications are not usually recommended for infants and children with diarrhea.
  
  
• If you have severe diarrhea, especially if you are dehydrated, you may require hospitalization to receive IV fluids and to be observed.