Why You SHOULDN'T Take Anti-Diarrhea Medicine If You Have Food Poisoning

Playing Pharmacist Dr. Stacia Woodcock On What You SHOULDN'T Do If You Have Food Poisoning

Pharmacist Dr. Stacia Woodcock On What You SHOULDN'T Do If You Have Food Poisoning Aired January 11, 2019

Pharmacist Dr. Stacia Woodcock always has answers to all of our questions, so we brought her back to bust some medical misconceptions.

What is the doc tackling this time? Dreaded food poisoning.

True or False? You can treat food poisoning with an over-the-counter anti-diarrheal.

The answer? False. (90% of our audience got it right, but our very own Rach was surprised!)

"When you have food poisoning, you have a toxin in your body," Stacia explains. "The diarrhea is saying 'get it out!' As soon as it's out, the diarrhea will stop."

"When you take an anti-diarrheal," she continues, "it holds that in and it'll make it worse."

When she puts it that way, it makes a whole lot of sense, right?

What should you do instead? Dr. Stacia recommends hydration and rest. Letting it run its course is the key to feeling better faster.

"We all know, you're sitting on the cool tiles in the bathroom," Rach says. And let's be honest, we do. (Sadly, we've all been there!) At least now we know the right steps to take if it happens again. And as always, check in with your doctor!