What is diarrhea? When you suffer from diarrhea, your stools are watery and loose. It is very common, and can affect everyone regardless of age and gender. Although the feeling is very uncomfortable – depending on the treatment given – diarrhea normally lasts from two to three days and is usually not serious.

For many people, diarrhea strikes once or twice each year. If you have certain conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome, it can happen more often.

Globally, especially in the developing world, it is a leading cause of mortality in children younger than four years old. In the Philippines, diarrhea is the 3rd leading cause of child illness and the 4th leading cause of death among children less than 5 years of age.

Diarrhea may be caused by the following:

• Alcohol abuse
• Allergies to certain foods
• Diabetes
• Diseases of the intestines (such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis)
• Eating food sources that upset the digestive system
• Infection by bacteria (the cause of most types of food poisoning) or other organisms
• Laxative abuse
• Medications
• Overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism)
• Radiation therapy
• Running (“runner’s diarrhea”)
• Some cancers
• Surgery on your digestive system
• Trouble absorbing some nutrients (malabsorption)

Among travelers, the most common illness affecting them is Travelers’ diarrhea or TD. Between 20% to 50% of international travelers, or an estimated 10 million persons suffer from diarrhea each year. It usually happens when the traveler visits a place where the climate, sanitary conditions and social practices get too overwhelming, and the body system becomes vulnerable to diarrhea.

On the other hand, there are also certain antibiotic treatments that cause diarrhea. Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea or AAD occurs as a result of medications used to treat bacterial infections. About 5-30% of patients acquire AAD, either during antibiotic therapy or two months after the treatment.

Fortunately, there is a study that shows that ingesting non-pathogenic probiotic microorganisms can help strengthen the gut microbiota and inhibit the growth of pathogens, thereby strengthening the immune system. These actions of probiotics can help prevent diarrhea.

Bioflora-L Probiotics contains a combination of seven strains of probiotics and Lactic Acid Bacteria extract to help keep the immune system strong. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Time is of the essence. Start living CLEAN from WITHIN!