7 Essential Oils for Diarrhoea and How to Use Them

Updated on March 18th, 2020

Essential oils for diarrhea may be an excellent option for those who prefer natural remedies and are searching for a safe and natural way to resolve gastrointestinal symptoms associated with diarrhea.

Diarrhea refers to having recurrent bowel movements, which tend to be extremely inconvenient, with the majority of people soliciting a quick resolution to it.

All of us have gone through diarrhea at a particular stage in our lives, and we understand that frequent loose stools are not the only complication associated with diarrhea. Most cases of diarrhea are often associated with nausea and abdominal cramping. Studies reveal that using the appropriate essential oil can help resolve the symptoms associated with diarrhea, including nausea and abdominal cramps.

It is imperative to remember that the treatment of diarrhea varies from patient to patient and symptom to symptom, with the immediate medical treatment required in some cases.

Director of the Center for Infectious Diseases, Herbert L. DuPont studied the exiting causes, treatment, and prevention strategies for acute diarrhea(1). He revealed that the main reason behind diarrheal infections includes foodborne pathogens and norovirus outbreaks, with most caused by contaminated leafy green veggies.

[ Also Read: Natural Ways to Cure Diarrhea ]

Effective Essential Oils for stomach ache and diarrhea

Essential oils are widely regarded as an ancillary Cinnamon oil has a high potency and can, therefore, be combined with other forms of treatments to get fast and effective relief. Most essential oils discussed in this article have potent antiviral and antibacterial properties and, therefore, come handy in destroying diarrhea-inducing pathogens. Also, essential oils have excellent anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic effects that help soothe cramps and spasms.

Essential oils also prove useful in stimulating the digestive processes, thereby helping the patient to relieve nausea or expel gas. Essential oil is a compound extracted from plants. The oil captures the plant’s flavor (or essence) and scent.”

Different aromatic compounds provide every essential oil a distinguishing essence. Essential oils are produced through a process called distillation (via water or steam) or through a suitable mechanical method like cold pressing. After the extraction of aromatic chemicals, carrier oil is used to prepare a ready-to-use product.

List of Best Essential Oils to Treat Diarrhea Naturally

1. Peppermint Essential Oil for Diarrhea

peppermint essential oil for fever
Image: Shutterstock

Menthol is the most active ingredient in peppermint oil(2). It exhibits an excellent antispasmodic effect by blocking the calcium channels in your intestines. As a result, peppermint essential oil helps alleviate intestinal cramping along with associated pain in the digestive tract. Studies have also revealed that peppermint essential oil is more effective as compared to most essential oils to relieve abdominal pain in people suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

How to Use?

  • Peppermint essential oil is a potent antispasmodic oil that is effective in improving the symptoms like nausea, cramps, and bloating. Peppermint is an excellent source of menthol that helps relieve flatulence and gas.
  • However, peppermint essential oils for diarrhea must be used with caution since it might have specific side effects such as seizures, bile problems as well as kidney disorders.

Precaution and Side effect

  • The safety of using peppermint for more than eight weeks is still unknown.
  • One should not use enteric centered oil if suffering from achlorhydria. It can make the case worse than possible.

2. Cinnamon Essential Oil for Diarrhea

Cinnamon essential oil, a potent treatment for diarrhea, helps destroy parasites and bacteria thriving in your gastrointestinal tract. Cinnamon oil has a high potency and is highly beneficial when used to cure muscle cramps, intestinal cramps, and many other aching problems related to diarrhea.

How to Use?

Also, cinnamon oil also exhibits effects similar to antibiotics when taken in high concentration. However, due to its high potency, the results of cinnamon essential oil can be experienced with only a minute dosage. Cinnamon can also aid in soothing muscle contractions and intestinal cramps, often experienced by people suffering from diarrhea.

Also, people with asthma must refrain from using cinnamon essential oil, since it could sensitize the mucous membrane or the skin causing severe reactions.

Precaution and Side effect

  • People who have ulcers in their mouth often tend to complain that they tend to feel a burning sensation when they use the oil.
  • People who are taking any medication, breastfeeding or pregnant, should consult their health specialist about using Cinnamon oil.

[Read: Benefits of Cinnamon Oil]

3. Cardamom Essential Oil for Diarrhea

Image: Shutterstock

Cardamom oil helps promote the release of intestinal gas and improve digestion. Cardamom oil has strong antispasmodic properties, helping relax muscle spasms along with reducing muscle contraction. Also, cardamom oil comes handy in destroying intestinal parasites that tend to cause diarrhea – hence facilitates fast recovery.

However, if you are suffering from seizures, epilepsy, asthma, or gallstones, you must avoid this oil.

How to Use?

Cardamom oil is beneficial for both the external and internal uses. For external applications, it can help in reducing the muscle contractions also relax the muscle spasms. Internally, it speeds up the recovery of diarrhea, as it fights against the intestinal bacteria present there.

Precaution and Side effects

  • The use of cardamom oil in excessive amounts can be harmful. It can cause overdose and disbalance most of the ongoing healthy mechanisms in the body.
  • Pregnant women should not use cardamom oil, as it might cause a heating effect on the baby, out of irritation. They should not use the oil without being prescribed by the doctor.

[Also Read: Herbs for Treating Diarrhea]

4. Oregano Essential Oil for Diarrhea

Oregano is a prevalent herb, which acts as an ingredient in many food items as a seasoning. It has a lot of anti-inflammatory properties along with an impressive number of antibiotic and antibacterial effects. Other than showing excellent results in curing diarrhea, it can also be used as a natural cholesterol reducing agent.

How to Use?

Oregano is a popular herb and exhibits tremendous anti-inflammatory effects along with strong antibiotic and antibacterial effects. Also, it is known to reduce cholesterol. Due to its strong potency, oregano oil should be used in nominal amounts to avoid disruption of intestinal flora. Also, it can aggravate diarrhea if misused.

Precaution and Side effects

  • It should be consumed only in smaller amounts. If consumed in excessive quantity, then it can cause harmful effects on the body, along with other dangerous reactions.
  • Even one or two drops more than the desired usage of oregano oil can be dangerous for the body and might create adverse effects.

5. Tea Tree Oil for Diarrhea

tea tree oil
Image:ShutterStock

Widely recognized for its antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties, tea tree essential oil helps treat the root cause of diarrhea. Also, it helps soothe gastrointestinal inflammation along with relieving pain associated with acute diarrhea.

How to Use?

Tea tree oil is beneficial only for the external use and application on the body. It should not be consumed through mouth anyhow as it is highly poisonous for the body. It can create a lot of problems in the functioning of internal metabolisms.

Precaution and Side effect

  • Tea tree oil can be sometimes irritable for the skin of some people.
  • Many of the laboratory researches say that the tea tree oil can cause altering hormonal effects when accompanied by lavender oil.

6. Ginger Oil for Diarrhea

Ginger exhibits strong antiviral and antibacterial effects and, therefore, helps with diarrhea by calming intestinal inflammation and improving digestion.

How to use

If you want to get relief from the intestinal inflammation and cramps, then a Ginger oil(3) massage can help a lot in treating the problem naturally. Other than ginger oil, many oils can show some similar benefits just like the ginger oil, they are –

  • 1 drop of tea tree
  • 1 drop of lavender
  • 1 teaspoon of olive oil
  • 1 drop of lemon

You can use these oils by mixing and adding them to a suitable carrier oil for blending. Choose to massage gently on the body by rubbing the mixture on to your belly twice daily until the symptoms of diarrhea show their absence.

7. Lavender Essential Oil for Diarrhea

lavender essential oil for cellulitis
Image: shutterstock

Lavender essential oil exhibit excellent therapeutic properties with its potent analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects that help relieve the symptoms associated with diarrhea. This essential oil helps soothe and calm the body and mind with its pleasing aroma. Also, it comes handy in causing blood vessel dilation by reducing stress, tension, and fear, which tend to trigger throbbing muscle cramping.

How to Use?

A gentle massage by using Lavender oil on certain parts of the body can cause a soothing effect on the mind, as well as on the body too. It can help you out in dealing with muscular cramps also. It relaxes the blood vessels by dilating them. The benefits of using Lavender oil for the external application can be beneficial and essential for various problems. You can also use it as hair oil, which will provide strength to the roots of the hair and will reduce the hair fall too.

Precaution and Side effects

It is safe to consume small amounts of Lavender oil through the mouth. But it can be extremely harmful if the intake is in larger quantities. It can alter many metabolisms and show drastic effects.

Consumption of Lavender oil through the mouth can also cause an increase in appetite, constant headaches, and constipation too.

Diarrhea is an unpleasant and painful condition characterized by frequent loose stools. The symptoms of diarrhea include inflammation of the intestinal tract, bloating, abdominal cramps, and pain. There can be several underlying reasons behind diarrhea such as food poisoning, anxiety, bacteria, viruses, and more.

While there are several prescription drugs available out there to relieve the symptoms of diarrhea, people looking for alternative treatment methods and natural alternatives can resort to essential oils to treat diarrhea. However, essential oils must be regarded as a complementary treatment mode (and not as a standalone treatment regime) to support therapeutic medicines and improve their effectiveness.  Essential oils are considered to be safe to apply to the skin or inhale, as long as they have been added with a base oil. Remember that essential oils are not to consume.


FAQ’s

1. What is watery diarrhea a sign of?

The causes of watery diarrhea could be viral or bacterial infections, sometimes parasitic infections and intestinal disorders also cause watery diarrhea.

2. How long should diarrhea last?

Acute diarrhea could last anywhere between 2 days to 2 weeks. It typically gets cured by the end of 2 weeks.

3. Can smelling diarrhea make you sick?

No, smelling it might make you uncomfortable, but it won’t make you sick. This disease isn’t spread through the air.

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