Diarrhoea can actually boost your immune system! Here's how

Diarrhoea is still taken as an embarassment by most of the people. But do you know why it happens? Above all, do you know that it happens in our favour? Does it help clear the bacteria causing a gastrointestinal infection, or is it just a symptom of disease that we all need to deal with preventive measures? According, to new study from Brigham and Women's Hospital, investigators explored the immune mechanism which causes diarrhea, concluding that it will play a critical role in pathogen clearance in the starting of infection.

Further study, published in Cell Host and Microbe, also reveals a previously unrecognized role for interleukin-22, an immune system molecule, in the host's defence against infection.

"The hypothesis that Diarrhoea clears intestinal pathogens has been debated for centuries," said corresponding author Jerrold Turner, MD, PhD, of the BWH Departments of Pathology and Medicine. "Its impact on the progression of intestinal infections remains poorly understood. We sought to define the role of diarrhea and to see if preventing it might actually delay pathogen clearance and prolong disease."

To investigate, researchers used a mouse model infected with Citrobacter rodentium, the mouse equivalent of an E. coli infection. Using this model, they saw an increase in the permeability of the intestinal barrier within just two days of infection -- well before inflammation and epithelial damage. They  uncovered a critical role for interleukin-22 that in turn influences another molecule called claudin-2, previously known to be involved in causing Diarrhoea.

They found that diarrhoea resulting from the signaling of these two molecules helped promote pathogen clearance and limited disease severity.  Researchers used a mouse model infected with Citrobacter rodentium, the mouse equivalent of an E. coli infection. Using this model, they saw an increase in the permeability of the intestinal barrier, well before inflammation and epithelial damage. They uncovered a critical role for interleukin-22 that in turn influences another molecule called claudin-2, previously known to be involved in causing diarrhoea.

They found that diarrhea resulting from the signalling of these two molecules helped promote pathogen clearance and limited disease severity. Other investigators have proposed developing new therapeutics to inhibit claudin-2. However, Turner and colleagues explain that the activation of this pathway may be critical for combating an infection, particularly in the initial stages of a disease.

What Is Diarrhoea?

Diarrhoea is an increase in the water content, frequency, and volume of bowel movements. It is frequent in people with HIV disease.

Diarrhoea can be a fundamental problem. Mild cases disappear within a few days. Severe cases can cause serious dehydration or nutritional problems.

How Diarrhoea can be treated? 

1)     Change Food, you eat on Regular Basis Especially.
2)     Different medications are used to treat diarrhea. Your health care provider may not be able to prescribe a medication without some idea of what is causing your diarrhea.
3)     Acidophilus capsules can help restore normal digestion, especially when you are taking antibiotics. Some types of yogurt contain "live cultures" of acidophilus that work the same way.
4)     Peppermint, ginger and are believed to help with digestive problems. Peppermint or ginger tea or ginger ale would be good choices for "clear liquids."