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Complementary, Holistic, and Integrative Medicine

A Review of Therapies for Diarrhea

The first 300 words of the full text of this article appear below.

	Introduction

 
In 2002, diarrhea was ranked as the seventh leading cause of death in the world. (1) Estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) 2000–2003 report show that worldwide, diarrhea accounts for 18% of deaths in children younger than the age of 5 years. (2) Diarrhea commonly is defined as loose or liquid stools that are passed frequently. (3) Although diarrhea acts as a defense mechanism in the body, quickly eliminating infective organisms, it can cause dehydration, especially in malnourished or immunosuppressed individuals. (3)

This review examines published scientific literature on the use of common complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) that have been used to prevent and treat childhood diarrhea that is infectious, acute, or persistent. Due to the high prevalence of this disease in developing nations, much of the literature in this review stems from these regions.

Natural health products (NHPs) are used widely for the prevention, treatment, or relief of various conditions, as well as for promotion of personal well-being. NHPs include vitamins and minerals, amino acids, probiotic products (ie, a live microbial culture), homeopathic remedies, and traditional medicines.

	Dietary Supplements

 
     Zinc
Zinc is an essential mineral; without it, immune function is compromised and rates of infectious disease can increase. (4) The role of zinc in childhood diarrhea has been studied extensively.

A 2008 meta-analysis of 22 studies, 16 addressing acute diarrhea (n=15,231) and 6 examining persistent diarrhea (n=2,968), found that zinc supplementation reduced average stool frequency by 18.8% compared with a 12.5% reduction with placebo. (5) Zinc supplementation and placebo reduced the duration of diarrhea by 15.0% and 15.5%, respectively.

Positive findings also were noted in an earlier review that included 25 published and 17 unpublished trials (7 prevention trials, 5 therapeutic trials for acute diarrhea, and 5 for persistent diarrhea) of preschool-age children in developing countries (n=5,362). (4) Pooled analysis . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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