Oak bark for diarrhea: instructions for use and method of preparation

Author of the article: Tironova Inna Igorevna

Gastroenterologist, therapist

15 years of experience

Professional skills: Colon hydrotherapy, treatment of gastrointestinal diseases

For indigestion, you can supplement drug therapy with folk remedies. Oak bark is good for diarrhea. It helps stabilize stools and restore normal bowel function. Oak infusions and decoctions are suitable for patients of all ages.

Features of using oak bark for loose stools

The drug can be prescribed for inflammatory diseases of the oral mucosa and pharynx. It is used as an auxiliary medicine for stool disorders in adults and children.

The following medicinal properties of oak bark are noted:

Reduced inflammation of the mucous membrane.
Astringent, compacting, promoting fluid retention in tissues.
Antimicrobial.

There are several ways to use oak bark for diarrhea: in the form of decoctions and infusions orally or using enemas. The choice of the form of the drug depends on the age of the patient and the characteristics of the intestinal ailment.

The medicine is well tolerated, there are only the following side effects:

Allergy to components of the infusion.
Decreased sense of smell and taste during long-term treatment.

Some patients who do not comply with the dosage of the traditional medicine may also experience constipation. Therefore, pregnant women and patients suffering from chronic constipation and intestinal obstruction should not take oak bark.

Side effects and contraindications

The only absolute contraindication to the use of oak bark for diarrhea is the presence of hypersensitivity (increased reaction of the body's immune system) to it.
People suffering from frequent constipation, thrombophlebitis or hemorrhoids should also avoid using this remedy, since the tannin contained in oak bark can significantly worsen their condition.
Pregnant women and mothers breastfeeding should consult their doctor before using oak bark to treat diarrhea.
The question of the advisability of using oak bark to treat diarrhea caused by serious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract can only be decided by a qualified specialist.
Oral consumption of oak bark infusions and decoctions is not recommended for children under seven years of age. Treatment of diarrhea in children under seven years of age with oak bark preparations is carried out only by administering enemas. In this case, the treatment will have a local effect, extending only to the intestines.
The most unpleasant side effect of treating diarrhea with oak bark products is the possibility of an allergic reaction.
Overdose or long-term (more than two weeks) use of infusions or decoctions of oak bark can lead to poisoning, accompanied by attacks of severe nausea and vomiting.
There is no information in the medical literature about the interaction of oak bark-based products with other medications in the medical literature, so they are often used as an adjuvant to complement traditional treatment.

Oak bark decoction for diarrhea

Oak bark contains:

Tannins.
Pectins.
Acids (gallic and ellagalic).
Phlobafen (antioxidant).

Due to the astringent properties of oak bark, when consuming a decoction for diarrhea, a decrease in intestinal motility is achieved, which allows fluid to be retained in the gastrointestinal tract and the speed of bolus passage to be reduced. Tannins help reduce the sensitivity of inflamed mucous membranes and eliminate abdominal pain. Most often, oak bark for diarrhea in the form of a decoction is prescribed to children who are infected with worms or overeating.

The most popular decoction recipes:

Two tablespoons of dry raw materials are poured with a glass of boiling water in an enamel pan. The container is placed in a water bath, where it is kept hot for half an hour. The contents of the pan are stirred periodically. While still hot, the mixture is filtered and diluted with boiled water to a volume of 200 ml. At the end of preparation, a rich decoction is obtained, which children should take 1 teaspoon in the morning and evening, adults – 1 tablespoon three times a day.
For 3 liters of water, 10 tablespoons of dry raw materials are used. The mixture is boiled over low heat for half an hour and filtered. Used chilled. This decoction should be taken by adults for acute diarrhea. Drink a glass of medicine at once in the morning, at lunch and before dinner. This will stabilize the stool and restore water and electrolyte balance.

The use of this drug in young patients is recommended from the age of two - only with the permission of the pediatrician.

The effect of oak decoction on the gastrointestinal tract

Causative agents of intestinal infections, laxatives, food poisoning, poor nutrition are the main causes of gastrointestinal disorders. Diarrhea occurs against the background of increased intestinal motility, inflammation of the walls and disruption of the absorption of nutrients and water. A decoction of oak bark eliminates the main symptom, providing a pronounced anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and astringent effect.

The composition contains tannins in high concentrations, which provide a therapeutic effect on the gastrointestinal tract. When interacting with proteins, they form a dense layer on the mucosa and protect the intestines from further irritation.

Oak stops bleeding and accelerates regenerative processes, helps restore damaged microflora and restore health.

Oak bark infused with water

A medicine made from oak bark, prepared in water, is an excellent remedy for diarrhea. It is used for intestinal disorders caused by:

Food poisoning.
Overeating.
Infectious diseases.
Impaired balance of intestinal microflora.

Oak bark is a quick-acting medicine. Literally half an hour after taking it, it helps normalize stool. To prepare a bark tincture, use 10 g of dry pharmaceutical mixture and half a liter of chilled boiled water.

The dry mixture is placed in a glass jar and filled with liquid. The container is tightly sealed and placed in a dark place. Prepare an infusion of oak bark in water for at least 12 hours. After which the solution is used to treat acute diarrhea in adults: 2-3 tablespoons are taken every 3 hours.

The use of water infusion is effective not only for acute diarrhea, but also for the treatment of chronic forms of illness. To cure prolonged diarrhea, you should take 3 tablespoons of the medicine three times a day. Oak bark for chronic diarrhea is taken for a long time, the therapeutic effect is noted on the second or third day of treatment.

How to prepare and store oak bark?

Oak bark is sold at the pharmacy. If trees grow nearby, you can dry the plant yourself. The most useful elements are contained in the oak bark that is not older than 23 years. It is advisable to choose a “healthy” branch (one that has no cracks or growths). The best time to collect bark is in the spring. It is necessary to make a circular transverse cut every 15 cm. It is necessary to separate the necessary sections of bark from the branch. Next, you should dry the raw materials in the sun (for 4 days). The bark should be placed on a clean cloth and turned over once a day. To speed up the process, many people use the oven. Shelf life - 4 years.

On a note! It is best to store raw materials in a thick fabric bag.

Infusion of alcohol-containing liquids

To treat chronic diarrhea, an alcoholic tincture of oak bark is also used. It can be used for dysbiosis and irritable bowel syndrome. The medicine is prepared as follows:

It is necessary to pour 200 ml of vodka into a container into which 10 tablespoons of dried bark are first poured.
The jar with the mixture should be tightly sealed with a lid and placed in a cool, dark place (with a temperature of no more than 18ºC).
After 7 days the mixture will darken. After this, the antidiarrheal tincture will be ready.

A long waiting time is a prerequisite for preparing the medicine. If alcohol is used instead of vodka, the amount of liquid must be reduced to 100 ml. The finished mixture is filtered and the bark is thoroughly squeezed out.

The medication is taken before meals in the morning and evening. To do this, dissolve 20 drops of tincture in half a glass of chilled boiling water and drink slowly. The positive effect of treatment can be observed on the third day of treatment. If there are no improvements or side effects appear in the form of constipation, vomiting, you should immediately inform your doctor.

Important! When using folk remedies made from oak bark to treat diarrhea, you cannot refuse to take medications prescribed by a gastroenterologist. Tinctures and decoctions are used only as aids.

Infusions and tinctures

An infusion is a water extract from plant materials, and an alcoholic tincture is called an infusion.

An infusion of oak bark is prepared as follows:

Boil 500 ml of water and cool for half an hour;
Finely break two tablespoons with your fingers and place in a clean glass jar;
pour boiled warm water, close tightly with a nylon lid and leave for 10 hours in a dark place;
Strain the resulting infusion into another jar and drink a quarter glass 4 times a day over 2 days. Continue treatment for no more than 3 days.

Alcohol tincture on the bark is obtained as follows:

one teaspoon of finely chopped bark is placed in a 500 ml dark glass bottle;
pour 400 ml of good vodka into the bottle, close tightly;
infuse in a dry, dark, cool place for 10 days.

How to use the tincture: add 7-8 drops of alcohol extract to a tablespoon of water and take 3 times a day 20 minutes before meals. The course of treatment is 5-7 days. You can drop the tincture onto a piece of refined sugar.

This dosage form is contraindicated:

Children under 18 years old.
Pregnant and lactating.
Patients with stomach and intestinal ulcers.
People with kidney and liver diseases.
Suffering from alcoholism and nervous disorders.

Ethyl alcohol is quickly absorbed in the intestine, enters the blood and has a therapeutic effect faster than aqueous preparations. When treating with oak bark products of any form (infusions, decoctions, tinctures), you must follow a diet, diet, and daily routine.

How to prepare tea for diarrhea from oak bark

If you use oak bark for diarrhea in the form of tea, you should remember that you can only take a freshly prepared drink. A ready-made dry pharmaceutical mixture in bags is suitable for preparing the medicine. One sachet is placed in a half-liter jar and filled with boiling water. After half an hour, the bag is removed from the liquid and squeezed out. The prepared medicine should be drunk before breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Experts note that oak bark effectively helps with various stomach diseases and helps eliminate heaviness in the stomach. Oak tea stabilizes digestion well in cases of dysbacteriosis and overeating. Doctors especially note the need to follow a diet for diseases affecting the intestinal tract. If the patient takes medications but does not adhere to a gentle diet, it will be much more difficult to get rid of diarrhea.

Features of treatment for children

Foamy stool: causes, treatment, diet

You can give oak bark for diarrhea to children no earlier than 2 years old. In this case, the product can only be used as an enema. Before starting such therapy, you should definitely consult a pediatrician.

To make a useful solution, you need to take 1 small spoon of oak bark and chamomile, place in a thermos and add 500 ml of water. After half an hour, the mixture can be filtered and cooled to a comfortable temperature. Add 10 drops of valerian to the finished product. It can only be used for performing an enema.

On a note. For infants and children under 2 years of age, any formulations containing this substance are strictly prohibited. It contains many tanning and astringent ingredients that are harmful to the child’s body.

Oak bark decoction for children

Prescription of medicinal solutions from oak bark for children is carried out only by a pediatrician. The drug is allowed for those patients who are over two years old. Children can only be given water tinctures or decoctions; alcohol products are contraindicated for them. Dosing of medicine to a baby is carried out only by a doctor.

It is recommended to use antidiarrheal medication for children with the development of the following diseases accompanied by loose stools:

Food allergies.
Dysbacteriosis.
Helminthiasis.
Some intestinal infections.

Also, to treat diarrhea caused by helminth infection, young patients are recommended to use enemas with a medicinal decoction. You just need to make sure that the child is not allergic to oak bark.

Following a low-fat diet for diarrhea in children is mandatory. A small patient with indigestion is prescribed rehydration agents and enterosorbents to relieve intoxication. It is also necessary to eliminate the cause of the development of loose stools - give the child medications for worms, antimicrobial agents for intestinal infections.

Important! If parents do not know how to properly brew oak bark for diarrhea in a child, it is better for them to contact their pediatrician and receive precise instructions for using the medicine.

Instructions for use for children and adults

To ensure that the treatment of diarrhea with means prepared on the basis of oak bark does not cause harm to the patient’s health, it is necessary:

before starting therapy, make sure there is no allergic reaction to them;
use them to treat diarrhea in young children only with the permission of the attending physician;
during treatment, drink at least 2.5 liters of liquid daily;
follow a special diet;
strictly follow the instructions of the attending physician regarding the treatment regimen and dosage.

Diarrhea, which causes rapid dehydration of the body, is especially dangerous for young children, so it should be treated immediately. The use of oak bark makes the therapy safer.

Infusions and decoctions intended for the treatment of children are prepared in exactly the same way as products for adult patients. The only difference is in the dosage and the strict prohibition on the use of alcohol tincture.

A water infusion of oak bark is given to children three times a day, 5 ml.

If treatment of diarrhea with oak bark does not bring the expected result, you should immediately inform your treating specialist, who will change the treatment tactics.

The following video will tell you how to separate oak bark from wood at home:

How to brew and drink a decoction of oak bark for diarrhea?

You can prepare a decoction of oak bark to treat diarrhea in different ways:

A tablespoon of oak bark is poured into a small saucepan and, after pouring a glass of boiling water, kept in a water bath for 20-30 minutes. The finished drug, infused for 60 minutes, is filtered and taken 2 dessert spoons three times a day. This medicine is equally effective not only for diarrhea, but also for pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, food poisoning and bleeding.
For the treatment of diarrhea lasting more than 48 hours, the decoction is prepared differently. After grinding a tablespoon of medicinal raw material into powder, pour in 300 ml of hot water, place the container with the medicine on medium heat and bring to a boil. After this, reducing the flame, keep it on low flame for half an hour. The cooled and strained broth is taken 20 ml after each bowel movement. You can store it in the refrigerator. After 72 hours, it loses its healing properties, so it makes no sense to prepare more than 1 liter of decoction.
To treat severe diarrhea, you need to prepare a decoction of 100 g of oak bark and 3 liters of boiling water, boiling the mixture over low heat for at least thirty minutes. After infusion for half an hour, filter the broth and drink 200 ml three times a day. To avoid constipation, the product prepared according to this recipe should not be consumed for more than 72 hours.
For mild diarrhea , medicinal tea made from one and a half tablespoons of oak bark and a liter of boiling water can help. The drug, infused for at least 3-4 hours, is taken in 50-100 ml doses over 24 hours. Oak bark tea is taken exclusively for medicinal purposes, so adding any ingredients (in the form of honey, sugar or lemon) that improve its taste is unacceptable.

Infusion

Preparing the infusion is a longer process. Having thoroughly crushed 10 g of oak bark, add 500 ml of boiled water cooled to room temperature, after which the container with the future medicine is hermetically sealed and infused for 8 to 12 hours in a dark and warm place. After this time, the product is filtered and taken 50 ml every three to four hours.

The first signs of improvement should appear by the end of the first day after starting to use the infusion, however, to consolidate the positive effect, you should continue taking it for at least 72 hours in a row.

The infusion prepared according to this recipe can also be used to perform an enema.

Tincture

To prepare an alcohol tincture, a teaspoon of carefully crushed oak bark is mixed with vodka (400 ml).

The resulting mixture is poured into a tightly closed dark glass container and infused for seven days in a cool, dark room, shaking the bottle periodically.

To cure diarrhea, take an alcohol tincture of oak bark before meals twice a day, dissolving twenty drops in 100 ml of boiled water. Alcohol tincture of oak bark is absolutely contraindicated for patients suffering from diseases of the cardiovascular system.

Enema solution

For many decades, oak bark has been one of the safest and most effective means for treating diarrhea in young children.

To prepare a solution intended for performing an enema on a child suffering from diarrhea, make a mixture of chamomile flowers and oak bark (taken one tablespoon each).

The prepared mixture is poured with boiling water (500 ml) and infused for 30 minutes in a thermos or in a saucepan, wrapped in a terry towel and placed in a warm place.

The finished solution is cooled to 37 degrees, carefully filtered, 10 drops of valerian tincture (aqueous) are added to it and a rubber bulb-syringe is filled with it, with which the prepared drug is administered.

The volume of injected product is calculated individually, in accordance with the age of the child.

Enemas

To treat children over 2 years old, medicinal enemas with a decoction of oak bark and chamomile are used. Place a teaspoon of oak bark and a teaspoon of chamomile flowers in a thermos. Pour 500 ml of boiling water and leave for an hour. Then carefully filter through double sterile gauze. The solution for administration into the child’s rectum should correspond to 36-39 0C. From 20 to 40 ml are administered, depending on the age of the child. For adults with inflammation of the colon, enemas with a volume of up to 100 ml are recommended. For children, it is recommended to give an enema using a device from a pharmacy with a gas outlet tube. For adults, a regular syringe is suitable.

Oak bark has stood the test of time and has proven effective against various types of diarrhea in adults and children over 2 years of age. Diarrhea caused by dietary errors or mild food poisoning can be successfully treated with herbal folk remedies. A wide range of dosage forms allows the bark to be used according to the individual needs of the patient. You can prepare medicinal raw materials yourself, taking precautions and without damaging the trees. Oak grows for a very long time.

The information on our website is provided by qualified doctors and is for informational purposes only. Don't self-medicate! Be sure to consult a specialist!

Author: Rumyantsev V. G. Experience 34 years.

Gastroenterologist, professor, doctor of medical sciences. Prescribes diagnostics and carries out treatment. Expert of the group for the study of inflammatory diseases. Author of more than 300 scientific papers.

Oak bark has long been used as an effective remedy in the treatment of various diseases. Decoctions and infusions are prepared from the plant. Medicinal mixtures based on oak bark are used for both external and internal use. The plant helps with diarrhea due to its antimicrobial and astringent effects.

Depending on the cause of diarrhea, oak bark can be used as an adjuvant or as an alternative to drug therapy. Compared to synthetic drugs, traditional treatment is safer for human health in terms of side effects and contraindications.

Diarrhea can occur due to a variety of reasons, for example, food poisoning, dysbacteriosis, infectious diseases, and stressful situations. Parasitic processes in the intestines and long-term use of antibacterial agents can also provoke diarrhea.

Diarrhea, regardless of the causes that cause it, can seriously ruin your life, disrupting all plans. At an early stage, it is well treated, especially with populist recipes. Oak bark is recommended for use in the treatment of not only adults, but also children, as well as the elderly. It contains organic acids that have a beneficial effect on the digestive tract, as well as the entire body as a whole.