Home remedies for diverticulitis that may be recommended include following a liquid diet, increasing your intake of fiber and anti-inflammatory foods, avoiding red meat and high-fat foods, cutting back on alcohol, exercising, and trying certain supplements.
Try a liquid diet
A doctor may recommend a temporary liquid diet to someone experiencing a flare-up of symptoms. Some foods and drinks that people can prepare at home for a liquid diet include: water, coffee, and tea without milk. strained fruit juices with no pulp, such as white grape or apple juice.
In about 95 out of 100 people, uncomplicated diverticulitis goes away on its own within a week. In about 5 out of 100 people, the symptoms stay and treatment is needed.
A high-fibre diet can often ease symptoms of diverticular disease, and paracetamol can be used to relieve pain – other painkillers such as aspirin or ibuprofen are not recommended for regular use, as they can cause stomach upsets. Speak to your GP if paracetamol alone is not working.
Taking Tylenol (acetaminophen) as directed can take the edge off your pain and help you feel better. Other pain relievers might be your preferred drugs of choice. But when it comes to diverticulitis, acetaminophen is your best bet.
Diverticulitis can cause symptoms including abdominal pain. One of the most common diverticulitis symptoms is abdominal pain on your lower left or right side. Diverticulitis pain can get worse when you sleep or exercise. The pain might be managed with changes in diet and medications.
If you are having a flare-up, your doctor may put you on a low-fiber or clear liquid diet for a time to give your digestive system a chance to rest and heal.
Plus, probiotics have anti-inflammatory effects, which may help to ease inflammation from diverticulitis. Probiotics are available in supplement form, but they can also be found in certain foods, such as yogurt, kombucha, and fermented vegetables.
Mild cases of diverticulitis are usually treated with antibiotics and a low-fiber diet, or treatment may start with a period of rest where you eat nothing by mouth, then start with clear liquids and then move to a low-fiber diet until your condition improves. More-severe cases typically require hospitalization.
Water allows the easy passage of stools through the colon. Thus, water helps the intestinal wall from getting inflamed. Yes, drinking water may help resolve diverticulitis.
The most common symptom of diverticulitis is belly or abdominal pain. The most common sign that you have it is feeling sore or sensitive on the left side of your lower belly. If infection is the cause, then you may have fever, nausea, vomiting, chills, cramping, and constipation. Diverticular colitis.
Actually, no specific foods are known to trigger diverticulitis attacks. And no special diet has been proved to prevent attacks. In the past, people with small pouches (diverticula) in the lining of the colon were told to avoid nuts, seeds and popcorn.
Pay attention to symptoms and follow a healthy lifestyle.
Stay away from nuts and seeds, and don't eat popcorn — that's what doctors said years ago if you had diverticulosis, a condition marked by tiny pouches (diverticula) that develop in the lining of the colon.
Recovering from a flare-up of diverticulitis could take as long as two weeks. 1 The first few days of recovering from uncomplicated diverticulitis at home will include following a liquid diet, resting, and using recommended medications for pain relief.
13 However, if you're having symptoms of diverticulitis, look for lower-fiber options, like applesauce. Bananas are another good source of fruit fiber. They also have a lot of potassium and can be especially helpful if you're recovering from a stomach upset. If you're prone to constipation, avoid unripe bananas.
If diet and lifestyle changes are ineffective, a doctor may recommend taking over-the-counter (OTC) laxatives or medications that can ease constipation, such as: osmotic agents, such as MiraLAX or milk of magnesia. stool softeners, such as Colace or Docusate. lubricants, such as mineral oil.
To help with the pain, your provider may suggest that you: Rest in bed and use a heating pad on your belly. Take pain medicines (ask your provider which ones you should use). Drink only fluids for a day or two, and then slowly begin drinking thicker liquids and then eating foods.
Physical adaptation to a severe social stress possibly generates sustained dominance of the sympathetic over the parasympathetic activity, leading through a prolonged spasm of the sigmoid to the creation of diverticula and the related disease.
Severe diverticulitis may lead to complications that require immediate medical attention. If a diverticulum has perforated (burst), it may cause an increase in the severity of your symptoms, as well as rapid heart rate, dizziness, light-headedness, or weakness.
You can get some fluids from the foods you eat—especially foods with high water content, such as most fruits and vegetables. Water is the best beverage choice to stay hydrated. Avoid or limit sugar-sweetened beverages, including regular soda, fruit drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, and sweetened coffee and tea.