Flushing Out The 'Flush-Out' Theory

Public opinion on common ailments based on myth not fact
New research carried out for NcNeil Limited¹ has shown that 73% of the British public incorrectly believes that the body deals with illnesses by flushing out the harmful bugs and toxins.

The research showed that many people believe that common ailments such as an upset tummy or colds and flu (42% and 45% respectively) should be left to run their course without treating the symptoms. This is because of the belief that any germs or viruses would be flushed out of the body as part of a ‘natural defence mechanism’.

These findings highlight the fact that many people are suffering unnecessarily with the symptoms of common ailments, such as diarrhoea or a runny nose, when they could be treating them. In this modern day and age, everyday remedies are available to help ease these symptoms, enabling the sufferer to feel better more quickly and get on with their busy lives.

Dr Martin Goldman, Consultant Gastroenterologist and Editor of Gastroenterology Today comments, "Our immune system is a highly developed and efficient mechanism for fighting pathogens which works behind the scenes to restore the body to normal. When we suffer from an illness, though, it can cause our body to display a number of ‘symptoms’. For instance, a stomach bug can cause diarrhoea while a cold or flu bug can cause a runny nose. These are merely symptoms of the illness rather than the body’s natural way of fighting it. Just like itchiness is not the body’s way of fighting a rash."

Statistics
Diarrhoea and colds / flu are common conditions which can cause considerable disruption to people’s everyday lives:

• 100,000 people in the UK suffer from diarrhoea at any given moment ²
• The average bout of diarrhoea lasts 2.43 days ³
• In Britain alone, more than 150 million school and working days could be lost each year because of flu-related illnesses ⁴
• Flu symptoms usually last about 7 to 10 days ⁵
• Cold symptoms last anything from 4 to 14 days ⁶

Diarrhoea treatment guidelines reviewed
Dr Goldman continues, "A recent review⁷ specifically looked at all the evidence on the treatment of diarrhoea and concluded that self-medication of uncomplicated acute diarrhoea in otherwise healthy adults is recommended. It further concluded that loperamide is the treatment of choice, as it effectively helps relieve discomfort and social disruption and has an excellent safety profile. There is no evidence to suggest that treating diarrhoea with loperamide traps in toxins or pathogens to prolong the illness."

To help dispel the myths about ‘flushing’ bugs and toxins out of the body, a leaflet entitled Restoring The Balance: A Short Guide To Treating Diarrhoea, sponsored by IMODIUM®, has been produced. This leaflet highlights what actually happens to the body when you get a bout of diarrhoea and explains how treating diarrhoea with IMODIUM® can help restore fluid balance in the bowel. For your free leaflet click here.

See our 'Restoring The Balance' section for more information.

1. TNS Consumer OnLineBus, March 2004
2. Source: Taylor Nelson Consumer Survey
3. U&A Consumer Research study, July 2003
4. Estimation by Prof. Ron Eccles, Director of the Common Cold Research Unit, Cardiff University, 2000
5. Consumer Health Information Centre(CHIC) web site, www.chic.org.uk, 2000
6. Sperber S.J. The common cold. Infections in Medicine 11 (1994) 235-242.
7. D Wingate et al; Guidelines for adults on self-medication for the treatment of acute diarrhoea, APT, 2001; 15:773-782

McNeil Limited was formally known as J&J MSD