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From: werner@aecom.UUCP (Craig Werner)
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Re: Placebos (???) : Kaopectate & Diarrhea
Message-ID: <2121@aecom.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 6-Dec-85 14:27:53 EST
Article-I.D.: aecom.2121
Posted: Fri Dec  6 14:27:53 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 7-Dec-85 17:14:46 EST
References: <769@drutx.UUCP>
Organization: Albert Einstein Coll. of Med., NY
Lines: 21

>>
>>Incidently, no one has ever proved the familar anti-diarrheal, Kaopectate, 
>>works clinically, indeed pharmacologically there is no reason why it should, 
>>but it continues to sell very well anyway because people think it works, & 
>>John Gurian
	WRONGO!
	Actually, Kaopectate is a very effective inhibitor of gut motility,
which would correlate very well with its effect at stopping the symptoms of
diarhhea.  Notice I say the symptoms.  If the diarhhea is caused by bacteria,
stopping it with Kaopectate will make you feel good for awhile, but it will
ultimately make the diarhhea worse and it last longer.

	For Montezuma's Revenge and other bacterial diarrhea, try Pepto-Bismol,
in advance.  It comes will recommended. The Gastronenterologist who lectured
on bacterial diarrheas placed a bottle of the pink stuff on the lectern.

-- 

				Craig Werner
				!philabs!aecom!werner
"Comedy, like Medicine, was never meant to be practiced by the general public."