Diarrhea

For work, some of us recently took a long trip through Mexico. At such times, getting diarrhea is an occupational hazard. A wicked bout of the Hershey squirts depletes you of potassium and magnesium, leaving you dehydrated, tired and depressed. Keep drinking during and after your case of the runs. When you get to where you have some control over what you’re drinking, like when you get back home, boil up a quart of water and add 1/2 teaspoon of of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper in it. Mix it up and let it simmer for 20 minutes. When it’s cool enough to drink, drink 1/4 cup each half hour. If the shits continue, or if you prefer, you can steep 4 teaspoons of powdered ginger root in just-boiled water and drink that. About 3 cups a day should do the trick.

I could list a million more remedies. What they all have in common is they get you to continually drink water with a little flavor. Usually the flavor helps knock out the bacterial infection you may have picked up. But if your runs are from protists, like amoeba, or if your runs are from a viral infection, the home remedies may blow it out the ass, so to speak. A doctor can put you on something stronger.

I will add that Hippocrates recommended drinking barley water. Rather than tell you how to prepare it, I prefer to recommend cold beer, and lots of it. I figure since beer makes you pee, it might as well give you the runs too. And that way you can enjoy them.

Then, as soon as you feel better, as you resume eating normally you’ll start replacing the potassium and magnesium.