Manufacturer: Janssen Cilag
Pharmaceutical name: Loperamide
Pack: 4 pills (2 mg)
Imodium decreases the speed of digestion, allowing the small intestines more time to absorb fluids and nutrients from the food consumed.
Imodium is utilized for the treatment of diarrhea. Additionally, it helps to diminish the volume of stool in individuals with an ileostomy (a procedure that alters the bowel's pathway through a surgical opening in the abdomen). It functions by targeting opioid receptors located in the muscle lining of the intestinal walls. By interacting with these receptors, loperamide lessens the intestinal muscular contractions (known as peristalsis) that propel food and waste through the digestive system.
This slows the transit of intestinal contents, providing extra time for the reabsorption of water and electrolytes from the gut contents back into the body. Consequently, this leads to firmer stools that are expelled less frequently.
Imodium is available over the counter for the management of acute (sudden and short-term) episodes of watery diarrhea in adults.
It can also be employed to manage flare-ups of chronic (long-term) diarrhea, although this should only be done under a doctor's guidance. It should be used to address diarrhea related to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) only after a doctor has confirmed the diagnosis of IBS.
When obtained without a prescription, Imodium can be used to manage: Acute diarrhea in adults and children ages 12 and older. Acute diarrhea linked to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in adults aged 18 and above, following a doctor's diagnosis.
Imodium can also be prescribed for the following conditions, but only under a physician's guidance: Acute diarrhea from any cause, including the sudden exacerbation of chronic diarrhea for up to five days, in adults and children over eight years (capsules) and children over four years (syrup). Chronic (long-term) diarrhea in adults.
Medications and their potential side effects can affect different individuals in various ways. Here are some of the side effects known to be associated with this medication. The presence of a side effect listed here does not imply that all individuals using this medicine will experience that or any side effect: constipation, dizziness, drowsiness, abdominal cramps, abdominal swelling, flatulence, indigestion, nausea and vomiting, paralysis or lack of movement in the intestine leading to a halt in material progression through the gut (paralytic ileus), and skin reactions including rash and itching.