Topic Overview
If you have mild
(ulcerative colitis or
Crohn's disease) and diarrhea is your main symptom, try an antidiarrheal
medicine.
Take antidiarrheals only under your doctor's
supervision. You should not take them if you have a fever or blood in your
stools. If you have been taking
antidiarrheals for 10 days and still have diarrhea, check with your doctor.
Some of these medicines, such as loperamide (Imodium, for
example), are available without a prescription. Others, such as diphenoxylate
(Lomotil, for example), are available only with a prescription.
These medicines contain
ingredients that slow or stop the painful spasms in your intestines that cause
symptoms. They can be dangerous if you use them when you have moderate or
severe inflammation of the colon, because they can cause a serious complication
called toxic megacolon in which the colon swells to many times its normal
size.