Activated carbon for diarrhea: solution to a delicate problem with black tablets

Almost every adult has encountered such a delicate problem as diarrhea, but not everyone knows how to eliminate it as safely and correctly as possible. You can often hear that activated charcoal helps best with diarrhea in adults. This remedy is recommended by experienced grandmothers, all-knowing neighbors, numerous friends and relatives. Let's find out what doctors say about this.

Activated carbon - an emergency treatment for diarrhea

Activated carbon for diarrhea in adults: benefits of the drug

The drug has been known for a long time. It has not lost its relevance today. This is an effective drug, which is associated with the ability to bind and remove toxic substances from the intestines, including potent poisons.

How does the adsorbent work in the intestines?

Activated carbon is a natural substance. It is a carbon-containing compound obtained from natural components. The substance has a porous structure, due to which it has a total large surface area (1 g of coal has a sorption surface of up to 1400 m²). Due to this, it can bind chemical compounds having a relatively small molecular weight. The process is called adsorption. Bound compounds are excreted from the intestines. The substance also has a slight catalytic effect, due to which it has certain similarities with enzymes. It is capable of catalyzing the breakdown reactions of certain toxins containing chlorine atoms. Following oral administration, the active compound exerts effects in the intestine. It is not absorbed into the blood and is excreted virtually unchanged.

The medication has the ability to adsorb various toxins, alcohol, alkaloids and other compounds on its surface. Due to its high sorption capacity, it is widely used in medicine (for diarrhea, intoxication, poisoning), everyday life (charcoal filters), and in the military industry (production of gas masks).

Properties

• Treats intestinal and skin diseases.
• Removes waste, toxins, harmful substances, poisons.
• Promotes weight loss.
• Eliminates signs of intoxication.
• Improves well-being in case of alcohol and drug poisoning.
• Accelerates the healing of ulcers.
• Promotes speedy recovery from infectious diseases.

Coal is a porous material in its structure. If the preparation is made from wood, then the pores are larger, and if from coconut, then there are fewer.

Accordingly, large molecules are absorbed by carbon with large pores, and small molecules are absorbed by small ones. Thanks to this property, toxins and harmful substances are removed from the body, but also beneficial microelements are absorbed by this absorbent.

Therefore, if you are intoxicated, you should not drink activated carbon alone. Be sure to add probiotics.

Rules for taking activated carbon for diarrhea

To obtain the effect and to avoid the development of side effects, the use of the medicine must include the implementation of several rules:

1. Dosing of medicine.
2. Frequency of use per day.

Following the recommendations allows you to get a good therapeutic effect, reduce the amount of toxins in the intestines and the manifestations of diarrhea.

Dosage calculation

According to the instructions, the dose of the drug is calculated based on 1 tablet (0.5 g) per 1 kg of human body weight. On average, a single dose for an adult weighing 60-70 kg is 6-7 tablets. If your body weight is more than 65 kg, then you should drink 7 pieces, and if your body weight is less than 65 kg, you should drink 6 pieces. Correct dosage calculation is very important:

1. If the number of tablets is insufficient, toxins from the intestines will not be fully bound, so the effectiveness of the drug against diarrhea will be insufficient.
2. Exceeding the dosage leads to excessive sorption activity of the drug, in which nutrients and vitamins necessary for the body will be bound together with toxins.

The dose is calculated based on the indicator 1 tablet per 10 kg of body weight, regardless of the age and gender of the person.

Frequency of intake per day

Compliance with the use of the medicine affects the effectiveness. Tablets are taken 1 to 3 times a day, depending on the severity of the disease and the severity of diarrhea. It is important to consider several recommendations:

1. For severe diarrhea of ​​infectious origin, the frequency of use is 3 times a day.
2. The tablets should be taken 1 hour before meals and other medications. This is necessary so that the intestinal sorbent does not bind useful compounds.
3. The duration of the course of therapy (number of days) is determined by the cessation of diarrhea. Usually the tablets should be given for 1 to 3 days. Longer use of the medicine can provoke the binding of essential vitamins and minerals, the development of hypovitaminosis (due to the intestinal sorbent, vitamins do not normally enter the body) or anemia (anemia associated with insufficient intake of vitamins and microelements in the body). They most often occur in childhood. This is due to the fact that the growing body is sensitive to deficiencies of nutritional compounds and vitamins.

Following simple recommendations makes it possible to avoid the development of side effects. The compound is not absorbed into the blood, therefore it is a safe drug for the human body.

Contraindications

Carbon tablets should not be used to eliminate diarrhea in patients who have been diagnosed with the following pathologies:

• internal bleeding;
• undergoing a course of chemotherapy or radiation therapy;
• the presence of ulcerative lesions;
• individual intolerance;
• impaired intestinal patency;
• recently underwent surgical treatment.

The dangers of uncontrolled treatment of diarrhea at home

Uncontrolled treatment of diarrhea at home without a doctor’s prescription leads to negative consequences:

1. Dehydration is severe dehydration of the human body due to loss of water and mineral salts. Dehydration develops more quickly in children and older people.
2. Severe intoxication of the body associated with the absorption of toxins from the intestines into the blood. It is characterized by a sharp deterioration in general condition with an increase in temperature and body aches.
3. Specific complications that can cause certain intestinal infections (violation of the integrity of the intestinal mucosa, bleeding of varying intensity, inflammation of regional lymph nodes).

To avoid dangerous consequences, you should consult a doctor, especially if diarrhea continues for more than 2 days, if you experience abdominal pain or fever. In childhood, you need to contact a specialist immediately.

Important! After taking the medicine, there may be black stools, which is not a cause for concern and is due to the corresponding color of the medicine.

Indications for use

The drug belongs to the group of intestinal adsorbents. The active substance is activated carbon, the auxiliary substance is potato starch.

Adsorbents bind substances and remove them from the body, preventing them from entering the blood. Do not injure the gastric mucosa. They have a sorbing effect on toxic compounds, heavy metal salts, gases, and alkaloids. The tablets have instructions for use.

The product is used in the following cases:

• Allergic reaction to food additives, medicinal components;
• Dysentery;
• Salmonellosis;
• Intoxication of an exogenous, endogenous nature;
• Case of food poisoning;
• Gastrointestinal diseases with symptoms of increased gas formation, dyspepsia;
• Poisoning with alcohol, heavy metal salts,
• Viral hepatitis (with hyperbilirubinemia);
• Renal failure (with hyperazotemia);
• As a way to eliminate flatulence before ultrasound or x-ray.

The drug is used to eliminate diarrhea of ​​various origins. The purpose of taking charcoal is to collect harmful, toxic compounds and remove them from the body, cleanse the stomach.

Loose stools as a side effect of taking activated charcoal

Diarrhea after starting to take the pills develops in the following cases:

1. Treatment of pathologies not related to the presence of toxins in the intestines (functional disorders).
2. Strong antibiotics taken the day before.
3. Acute intestinal infection of bacterial origin (salmonellosis, dysentery), which requires specific therapy.

Using an intestinal sorbent is a good way to combat diarrhea. If loose stools do not stop, you should consult a doctor. The development of diarrhea in young children cannot be treated independently.

What is diarrhea and what are its causes?

Diarrhea is continuous loose stool or diarrhea. Diarrhea causes pain in the abdomen, flatulence, and rumbling in the abdomen. Fever and vomiting may be present. There are several types of diarrhea:

• Medication. Such diarrhea is caused by drug poisoning or consequences after taking them (dysbacteriosis). All medicines should be taken as directed and prescribed by a doctor.
• Infectious. Salmonellosis, diphtheria, amoebiasis, cholera, etc.
• Dyspeptic. Poor functioning of the liver, stomach or pancreas.
• Nutritional. Appears when you are allergic to foods.
• Toxic. Poisoning with various chemicals.

Also, the causes of diarrhea may be the following:

• Emotional stress
• Stress
• Malabsorption syndrome
• Rectal cancer

The causes of diarrhea can be different. You should quickly find out the cause, because dehydration can lead to serious consequences.

pharmachologic effect

After penetration into the gastrointestinal tract, the drug begins to exert its effect. Coal microparticles quickly bind toxic substances and prevent their absorption by the intestinal walls. The medication moves through all intestinal sections, cleanses them, and after eight hours it comes out along with black-colored feces. If a person has severe diarrhea, then taking Activated Charcoal will help him normalize his bowel movements in just a few hours.

When planning to eliminate diarrhea using an adsorbent, people should know that the drug can only remove those toxic substances that are localized in the gastrointestinal tract. In the case when they have managed to penetrate the bloodstream, it is necessary to take completely different medications. In such a situation, patients need to urgently seek medical help.

Natural cure for poisons

Almost every home medicine cabinet contains a medicine for stool disorders. For diarrhea, many mothers and grandmothers are sure, charcoal is the surest remedy that will help and not harm.

Since childhood, the tablets familiar to everyone are obtained by processing several materials. The raw materials for the manufacture of medicine are:

• coal;
• wood;
• lignite (fossil wood from coniferous trees);
• coconut shell.

The raw material is heated without air access to very high temperatures, after which the resulting charred mass is crushed and packaged in the form of powder or tablets.

What does this technology provide? The conversion process in a virtually oxygen-free environment and special treatment result in a material with a large number of pores and a high ability to absorb a wide variety of substances, including toxic ones. This feature makes activated carbon an indispensable aid for diarrhea and poisoning.

The highest adsorbing activity was observed in coal obtained from coconut shells. It has the largest number of micropores. From coal, a material is obtained in which macropores and mesopores are formed, and the ash content will be higher. But this does not mean that some pills are better than others. Experts say that different coals can and should be used purposefully. To remove small toxin molecules, a finely porous product is used; for large ones, it is better to choose tablets with meso- and macropores.

Not so long ago, white coal began to be sold in pharmacies. This fourth generation sorbent differs from black sorbent not only in color, but also in chemical composition: it is made from silicon. Black tablets are made of carbon.

Adverse reactions

Coal may cause diarrhea. In addition, its use can provoke other undesirable reactions:

• dyspeptic disorders;
• stool retention;
• impaired absorption of vitamins, calcium, nutrients (hypovitaminosis occurs if charcoal tablets for diarrhea are taken for a long time, more than 2 weeks).

If you take activated charcoal for diarrhea, it can cause your stool to turn black.

If any of the “side effects” indicated in the official instructions worsen or adverse reactions not described in the annotation appear, you need to report them to your doctor.

Sorbex

Sorbex is available in capsules with a black cap and body, they have a white inscription in Latin. Inside the capsules there is a black shiny coarse powder.

The medication contains activated carbon as an active ingredient. In addition, the composition includes inactive ingredients:

• gelatin,
• iron oxide black,
• black shiny BN.

Sorbex can only be treated in patients over 7 years of age.

If you have diarrhea, you should drink the drug 1-2 hours before or after eating or taking other medications.

Drink Sorbex in the following doses:

Method of use

Even a novice chemist knows that the larger the surface of contact between substances, the faster the reaction proceeds. Therefore, it is necessary:

• grind each tablet to a powder;
• Pour the resulting mixture with water and drink.

If it is not possible to crush the tablet, it should be chewed thoroughly and washed down with plenty of water.