Home remedies: Diarrhoea can be managed at home

Jan 21, 2013

Diarrhoea is not only embarrassing and painful it is also the number two killer among children. But there are home remedies to help deal with it,

Diarrhoea is not only embarrassing and painful it is also the number two killer among children. But there are home remedies to help deal with it, writes Elizabeth Namazzi 
 
Flavia will never forget the day she got “the runs” on her way from Mbarara. “I was in a taxi, half way to Kampala, when my tummy started turning. I felt the urge to go to the toilet so I told the conductor to stop. I run to the bush, and that was the first of many stops that day. I explained to the conductor that I had diarrhoea so he, fortunately, understood my problem,” she recalls. 
 
Diarrhoea is a serious problem in Uganda for Ministry of Health reports show, it is the second killer disease in children under five after malaria. Internationally, diarrhoea kills over 500,000 children a year. 
 
Causes 
Poor sanitation is one of the causes of diarrhoea. Leave your food uncovered, use dirty utensils, neglect to wash your hands with clean water and soap after using the toilet or before eating food, eat unwashed raw foods and you will definitely get diarrhoea. 
 
Whenever you get diarrhoea, says pharmacist Kigongo, it means that you have eaten bad/toxic food, failed to wash your hands with soap or failed to observe proper sanitation. He, however, points out that diarrhoea is not managed at home necessarily bad for you “because it means you have eaten something bad and the body is getting rid of it”. 
 
He does not encourage taking over the counter medicine to stop diarrhoea because “you should not try to stop it. By the time it stops, you will be rid of the toxins that caused it in the first place,” he advises. 
 
Bill Gottlieb, in the book Alternative Cures, emphasises Kigongo’s explanation. He writes that instead of stopping diarrhoea, “you may want to use an alternative home remedy, one that won’t stop the diarrhoea but will soothe your digestive tract and make the experience a little easier to bear.” Which home remedies can make your diarrhoea experience more pleasant? 
 
Garlic: Widely known as an antibiotic, antiseptic, antioxidant and immune stimulator, garlic is useful when you get the runs. Just chop it in pieces and swallow two tablespoons three times a day for five days. 
 
Pawpaw seeds and leaves: 
Grace Kityo, a housewife who grew up with a herb loving grandmother, says Pawpaws sooth help to relieve diarrhoea “eating pawpaws, chewing fresh pawpaw seeds or boiling pawpaw leaves and pawpaw roots for five minutes. Boil about a handful leaves in two cups of water and let it cool before you drink the liquid. It always works,” she testifies. 
 
Bananas: When Patty’s one-yearold girl got severe diarrhoea, she was worried sick because her daughter was very weak. “I got home and the maid told me that my daughter had had severe diarrhoea the whole day. She was very weak so I recalled a TV programme that recommended bananas and pawpaws. I gave her one banana and it worked like magic. She was much better by morning,” the 27year-old entrepreneur recalls. 
 
Bitter leaf (omululuza): yes, mululuza (Luganda) is one of the bitterest leaves around, but it is also one of the best medicines for diarrhoea. Known as omubiriri in Lhukonzo, ekibirizi in rutooro, it was used in each of these societies whenever someone got diarrhoea. Pound the leaves with leaves of mango, passion fruit plant, pigeon peas (called obong or njugu in Luo, epena in Teso). Dry the mixture and boil the powder in water. Drink two glassed three times a day. 
 
Aloe vera: Another bitter plant that works wonders for diarrhoea. According to Mary Musisi, a retired nurse, one should take aloe vera juice for quick relief. To make the juice, she directs, “warm one leaf in a saucepan for about two to three minutes to make it soft. Then squeeze the leaf to extract the juice. 
 
Take one tablespoon thrice a day if you are an adult. Children between one and five years should take one teaspoon while those between five and 10 years can take half a teaspoon. If you can’t stand the bitter taste, you can mix a little honey or sugar to sweeten it a bit,” she advises. 
 
Ekiyondo: This, Adriaens writes, is a good remedy for acute diarrhoea. It is called ekikanya in Lukhonzo, and enyondo in rutooro. “Put fresh leaves on fire for two minutes and squeeze out the juice. Take for five days,” Adriaens directs. 
 
Fluids: Because you are losing fluids, make sure you drink to replace the lost fluids. However, avoid dehydrating drinks like alcohol and caffeinated drinks like coffee and sodas. Ginger tea and carrot juice, Musisi says, is particularly good because it makes the stool less watery. 
 
Charcoal: Musisi adds that ordinary cooking charcoal is very effective for diarrhoea and stomachaches. “Crush the charcoal into a fine powder then boil two tablespoons in a cup of water for five to ten minutes. Take a thrice a day,” she directs. Medically, Musisi says, charcoal tablets are prescribed over the counter for diarrhoea and stomachaches because they neutralize poisonous toxins. 
 
Rice or Spaghetti soup: Joyce Ajuna, a mother of three, turns to boiled rice or spaghetti when her children get diarrhoea. “Boil rice or spaghetti with a lot of water. Drink the water and eat the rice or spaghetti,” she advises.

First published in Discovery Magazine (Sunday Vision) October 9, 2011: Vision Group Resource Centre
 

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