190
submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world to c/nostupidquestions@lemmy.world

Diarrhea is usually caused by the body dumping water into your intestines so I was wondering if holding it in would help with dehydration?

I currently have food poisoning so that's why I thought of this.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] SloppyPuppy@lemmy.world 20 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Eventually the pressure will overcome your sphincter strength. And its fluid - it only needs a tiny tiny hole to Come out. And its going to happen much faster than you think.

[-] thermal_shock@lemmy.world 8 points 6 days ago

yeah, don't hold diarrhea, you will not win.

[-] FeelzGoodMan420@eviltoast.org 23 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

This is stupid because you'd essentially be holding onto the toxins that your body is trying to expell. Please just shit and drink water.

[-] TempermentalAnomaly@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

A major function of the colon is water absorption. The membrane is so small that viruses would be too large to get through.

[-] filcuk@lemmy.zip 3 points 6 days ago

If you have diarrhoea, it may have been caused by bad food, something you may not want to be absorbing, which may be why the body is trying to purge it ASAP.

[-] TempermentalAnomaly@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

You wouldn't be absorbing "bad food". The body has diarrhea because it is unable to absorb water in the colon. It's unable to absorb water in the case of food poisoning because the bacteria that grew in the food is creating a protein that blocks the water absorption receptors in the colon lining.

[-] FeelzGoodMan420@eviltoast.org 1 points 6 days ago

Okay...but you certainly want to be getting rid of toxins, not holding them in your body. That makes no sense.

[-] TempermentalAnomaly@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

The body does not have diarrhea as a protective mechanism to purge the bacteria that caused the food poisoning. The bacteria is secreting a protein that inhibits water absorption which causes diarrhea.

Preventing or reducing diarrhea would be a beneficial outcome for a bacteria infection such as ETEC whose cause of death is dehydration.

This is by no means an endorsement of OP's hold it in strategy.

[-] BlindFrog@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

I really liked this explanation going beyond the webmd "BaCTeRiA & ViRuSes caused ur diarrhea", and I really like sources and further reading material, so

"Gut Microbiota and Diarrhea: An Updated Review"
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2021.625210/full

Right after the Introduction section is "Gut Microbiota-Mediated Diarrhea and Its Mechanism". The authors go into how some example bacteria/fungi/viruses stimulate diarrhea.

My take away has been 1) drink water, 2) if it doesn't feel like a one-time wee out the wrong hole, probably go see a doctor

[-] TempermentalAnomaly@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

That was a fascinating read. Thanks for sharing.

[-] FeelzGoodMan420@eviltoast.org 1 points 6 days ago

Ok well let's just pretend you have food poisoning and you hold in the bacteria but still somehow shit the rest of the food/water out, but you keep hydrated. Like what happens to all the bacteria you're now holding in your body? I'm genuinely curious. I'm not arguing against you at all!

[-] TempermentalAnomaly@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

The reason one feels sick is because the bacteria found in the food were able to make a colony despite the innate defenses of the immune system such as the gut biome. As the bacterial colony is established, it creates an environment that is beneficial to the bacteria, but not beneficial to the surrounding tissue. This leads to cell death of the tissue. Upon cell, there are chemical markers released and enter the surrounding tissue and then the blood stream. Both of these signal to nearby and far off cells and tissues that there is somerhing happening and the cellular immune system, white blood cells, responds. These white cells have a host of defenses including raising the body's temperature resulting in a fever.

From here many things can happen, but in the case of most healthy people in the developed world, the type of bacteria faced in food poisoning will be dealt with with little need for any medication that directly assists the immune response. Staying hydrated helps and mitigating digestive discomfort are the best things.

[-] UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml 29 points 6 days ago
[-] Uruanna@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

Having a drink?

[-] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 17 points 6 days ago

Yes, but that would be a bad thing

Your body is flushing all that water into your intestines because it detected something bad and decided to get rid of it fast. The longer the bad thing stays, the worse, so it just firehose blast it out.

If you keep it in, first you'll have to deal with the increased pressure, not good for your intestines. Then your body will have to deal with whatever it is that is bad for you.

Better just go to a bathroom and a doctor if you're still having it after 2 days

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 16 points 6 days ago

Holding it in is antithetical to the concept of diarrhea

[-] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 9 points 6 days ago

Doctor: You're actually even more full of shit now.

[-] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 213 points 1 week ago

Hopefully not. Diarrhea is used to flush bacteria and poisons out of the body. I guess if the body would regain the water it could also regain the bacteria.

Just drink a lot of water and let your body do the work it needs to do.

In case you question my credentials, I'm the developer of Diarrhea 4.

[-] hakunawazo@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

Thanks for that.
Most fitting game music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdd4rBlsj2o

[-] Walican132@lemmy.today 75 points 1 week ago

Play the fartastically funny new game Diarrhea 4 (not to be confused with Disgaea 4).

This fucking killed me thank you for it.

[-] deranger@sh.itjust.works 20 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Diarrhea isn’t necessarily “used” by the body in all cases. With things like rotavirus and Vibrio (cholera) it’s caused by the infectious agent and aids in its spread. It can be so severe it kills the person via dehydration.

[-] AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world 17 points 1 week ago

I thought diarrhea was (at least sometimes) caused by too many of your gut bacteria getting killed by fever so they can’t digest solids enough to extract the water.

load more comments (6 replies)
[-] Boomkop3@reddthat.com 124 points 1 week ago

It's not to be reabsorbed, just absorbed.

Your body uses water to absorb nutrients. Diarrhea is when your colons run in overdrive and pump out their contents before the water is properly absorbed.

If your body thinks whatever is in your bowels is not safe and dumping it out the other end, you should find a toilet.

[-] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 23 points 1 week ago

... in an expedited manner.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (9 replies)
[-] 14th_cylon@lemm.ee 92 points 1 week ago

Have you had lot of success in your life trying to hold diarrhea?

[-] ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world 45 points 1 week ago

For the most part yeah. Just don't trust a fart.

[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 28 points 1 week ago

I have a pretty decent collection of plugs; one of them oughta be enough to hold back the deluge. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[-] Hobbes_Dent@lemmy.world 55 points 1 week ago

Just remember that it’s a two-ended pipe, even if a long one.

load more comments (5 replies)
[-] NotSteve_@lemmy.ca 19 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I was Celiac for most of my life without knowing it so yes I got quite good at it

Side note but fuck my doctor for just telling me it was anxiety for years and that it took seeing a random NP to actually get me tested

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (5 replies)
[-] AstralPath@lemmy.ca 50 points 1 week ago

I have IBS and yeah, if I can successfully hold it in the urge goes away for a couple hours and a more normal BM is the result.

The challenge is knowing when its worth trying to hold it in. It's like a 10% of the time kind of thing.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] BananaTrifleViolin@lemmy.world 36 points 1 week ago

Your colon is very good at extracting water; if you can hold it in then yes in theory it could remove some of the water. However in reality when you have diarrhoea your colon is inflamed and irritated during and you can't really stop it happening. You'd have to overcome the cramping and the body trying to push the contents outwards.

The most likely outcome of trying to hold it in is it gets worse and you get an explosive and even less controlled expulsion.

[-] CrimeDad@lemmy.crimedad.work 27 points 1 week ago
[-] daggermoon@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

I read that and I regret it. Like I have crippling horny disease too but that's too much even for me.

[-] CrimeDad@lemmy.crimedad.work 2 points 6 days ago

Like I have crippling horny disease too …

Lol I read that and I think I regret it. What is crippling horny disease? What does it have to do with that infamous post?

[-] daggermoon@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

It just means I'm horny as most of us are. What I meant is I understand horny makes us do things, as it made OP barely eat for 3 days for anal sex I assume. I'm not as dedicated as OP.

[-] CrimeDad@lemmy.crimedad.work 1 points 5 days ago

I don't have any personal experience with it, but a buddy of mine who does once explained to me that unless you like it poopy then your bowels should be voided much sooner than three days ahead of anal sex.

[-] daggermoon@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

That sounds impracticable.

[-] CrimeDad@lemmy.crimedad.work 1 points 5 days ago

I recall my friend explaining that you should avoid dairy for three days beforehand, but that there are products that can help clear you out right away if necessary.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 19 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Sure, part of the job of your intestines is to deal with the water in your food. Espectally the large intestine, if I remember correctly. However... I wonder what your plan is to hold it in. The whole point of diarrhea is to flush everything more quickly through your intestines, and then out. That's why it's still wet at the end. You'll get kind of a traffic jam at the rear end. With more incoming. And I don't think the intestines are designed to withstand pressure. And the sphincter isn't really meant to hold back fluids...

So no. You need to drink a lot to deal with the dehydration. In bad cases the doctor can connect you to a drip. Those will be things that have an effect.

And all of that happens with a reason. I suppose you can force the intestines to stop with the diarrhea by using some medication. But then the pathogens/viruses/whatever your body is trying to get rid of, will grow inside of you, and you're bound to experience other issues.

load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 28 Dec 2024
190 points (96.6% liked)

No Stupid Questions

36260 readers
1060 users here now

No such thing. Ask away!

!nostupidquestions is a community dedicated to being helpful and answering each others' questions on various topics.

The rules for posting and commenting, besides the rules defined here for lemmy.world, are as follows:

Rules (interactive)


Rule 1- All posts must be legitimate questions. All post titles must include a question.

All posts must be legitimate questions, and all post titles must include a question. Questions that are joke or trolling questions, memes, song lyrics as title, etc. are not allowed here. See Rule 6 for all exceptions.



Rule 2- Your question subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material.

Your question subject cannot be illegal or NSFW material. You will be warned first, banned second.



Rule 3- Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here.

Do not seek mental, medical and professional help here. Breaking this rule will not get you or your post removed, but it will put you at risk, and possibly in danger.



Rule 4- No self promotion or upvote-farming of any kind.

That's it.



Rule 5- No baiting or sealioning or promoting an agenda.

Questions which, instead of being of an innocuous nature, are specifically intended (based on reports and in the opinion of our crack moderation team) to bait users into ideological wars on charged political topics will be removed and the authors warned - or banned - depending on severity.



Rule 6- Regarding META posts and joke questions.

Provided it is about the community itself, you may post non-question posts using the [META] tag on your post title.

On fridays, you are allowed to post meme and troll questions, on the condition that it's in text format only, and conforms with our other rules. These posts MUST include the [NSQ Friday] tag in their title.

If you post a serious question on friday and are looking only for legitimate answers, then please include the [Serious] tag on your post. Irrelevant replies will then be removed by moderators.



Rule 7- You can't intentionally annoy, mock, or harass other members.

If you intentionally annoy, mock, harass, or discriminate against any individual member, you will be removed.

Likewise, if you are a member, sympathiser or a resemblant of a movement that is known to largely hate, mock, discriminate against, and/or want to take lives of a group of people, and you were provably vocal about your hate, then you will be banned on sight.



Rule 8- All comments should try to stay relevant to their parent content.



Rule 9- Reposts from other platforms are not allowed.

Let everyone have their own content.



Rule 10- Majority of bots aren't allowed to participate here.



Credits

Our breathtaking icon was bestowed upon us by @Cevilia!

The greatest banner of all time: by @TheOneWithTheHair!

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS