View source for Antidiarrhoeal



==Overview==
An '''antidiarrhoeal drug''' is any [[medication]] which provides symptomatic relief for [[Diarrhea|diarrhoea]].

==Types==
* [[Electrolyte]] solutions are used to replace lost fluids and [[salt]]s in acute cases. 
* [[Bulking agent]]s like [[methylcellulose]], [[guar gum]] or plant [[dietary fiber|fibre]] ([[bran]], [[sterculia]], [[ispaghul]], etc.) are used for diarrhoea in functional bowel disease and to control [[ileostomy]] output. 
* [[Absorbent]]s absorb toxic substances that cause infective diarrhoea, methylcellulose is an absorbent as well. 
* [[Opiate]]s slow intestinal transit, but [[Loperamide]] is most commonly used, since it doesn't have the usual narcotic [[adverse drug reaction|side effect]]s.

==See also==
* [[ATC_code_A07#A07F_Antidiarrheal_micro-organisms]]

{{Major Drug Groups}}
{{Antidiarrheals, intestinal anti-inflammatory/anti-infective agents}}
[[Category:Antidiarrhoeals|*]]

[[fr:Antidiarrhéique]]
[[hr:Antidijaroici]]
[[th:ยาแก้ท้องร่วง]]
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{{WS}}