Helping to get you back on your feet (Dioralyte Sachets)

Member Name: i_am_joy

Product:	Dioralyte Sachets
Date:	09/03/09 (138 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good for your health, replenishes you when you're poorly, tastes nice

Disadvantages: Expensive

One item I always keep in my medicine cabinet is Dioralyte as if I'm suffering from a stomach upset this helps to soothe it and also replaces water and important salts that are lost when you are suffering from diarrhoea. The Dioralyte certainly came in handy on Saturday when myself and my nine year old granddaughter came down with a brief but rather annoying case of the runs, strangely neither of us actually felt ill so I assume it was something we'd eaten that didn't agree with us.

Without going into detail we both had very liquid stools and everything we ate or drank during the course of the stomach upset sent us running for the loo within ten minutes. There was very little actual stomach pain and neither of us felt sick so it seemed the best course of action was to take Dioralyte until it passed, while the drink doesn't stop you going to the toilet it aids your recovery as a well hydrated body can better fight illness and when you have diarrhoea you'd be surprised at just how much water you're losing.

Dioralyte comes in a box of six sachets of flavoured powder which you have to dissolve in 200ml of water and drink. I always buy the blackcurrant flavour as it's a nice tasting drink, but I believe it's also available in orange. The fine powder dissolves well in cold water and it takes just a quick stir to get rid of all the powder, you'll end up with a red drink which looks very much like a glass of normal Robinsons cordial. On the odd occasion that I've had to use Dioralyte for my 21 month old granddaughter I always use preboiled water and I find the powder dissolves almost on contact with the warmer water and all I then need to do is put the top back on her cup and give it a quick shake.

The drink is quite strongly flavoured with a pleasant blackcurrant taste, it's very easy to drink as the taste is more like pop than medicine although I must be honest and say it reminds me of the cheaper squashes on the market rather than the more natural tasting Robinsons. The children like it, sometimes it's a bit of a struggle to convince the baby to drink some when she's poorly but this is more down to the fact that she knows it's not her normal juice than any problem with this product.

Now, Dioralyte is one of those products that I couldn't possibly tell you if it works or not because it's helping the inside of your body rather than giving any physical effects. My doctor wholeheartedly recommends it though and so has every pharmacist I've ever spoken to if myself or one of the girls' have come down with the runs, and this is why I trust the brand really.

The active ingredients in Dioralyte are sodium chloride 0.47g, potassium chloride 0.30g, glucose 3.56g, disodium hydrogen citrate 0.53g. These were taken from the back of the box and presumably these are the minerals and salts that would generally be lost should you be suffering diarrhoea, obviously the fact that you're transforming the powder into a liquid drink means that you're putting some water back into your body which is good as it's so important to stay hydrated while you're feeling like this.

Almost everyone can use Dioralyte, it's gentle and natural enough to be given to even very small babies although I'm not sure what the lower age limit is. My granddaughter was first prescribed it at six months when a course of antibiotics left her with quite a severe case of diarrhoea, but to be honest I'd say if a very young baby was afflicted with acute diarrhoea then I'd certainly recommend you take them to the doctor rather than putting your trust in over the counter medicine just in case the upset tummy is a symptom for something more serious.

There is a small group of people who will need to check with their doctor before using Dioralyte and these are diabetics, those with kidney or liver failure, if you're on a low sodium diet and people with intestinal obstruction. I have diabetes in a minor form which I control through my diet and as soon as I was diagnosed my doctor went through my medications to see if they were all suitable, when I asked him about Dioralyte he said it was fine for me to continue using it and apparently it's those with more severe forms of the disease who need consult their doctor. However this is only my personal understanding so please if you are in any of the groups above do go and see the doctor before taking this drink, or even a call to NHS Direct should do it providing you are 100% certain of the names and doses of medication you take.

Dioralyte is expensive, six sachets cost me £3.47 from my local chemist and it's not much cheaper if you buy it from the supermarkets. You can get it on prescription from your doctor but unless he is prepared to prescribe at least three boxes then given the price of prescriptions now you would be better off buying it over the counter, of course children under 16 get free prescriptions so if your little one has diarrhoea then get them down to the doctor for a check over and this will save you quite a bit of money.

Summary: A nice tasting drink to help keep you hydrated during a bout of diarrhoea