Diarrhea from Epsom salt baths all of a sudden?!

[les26]

Once in awhile I will take a nice, long, hot Epsom salt bath to relax and breathe in the steam etc., but about a month ago I did that and the next day as the day went on I developed diarrhea. At first I thought maybe it was a virus and the hot bath cranked up my immune system and flushed it out, and I felt better the day after that. Yesterday I was working outside in the damp weather and the allergies are always around and I thought a nice bath might make me feel better. I was caught in the cold rain last Sunday watching a soccer game, this after the day before being 79 degrees, and by Tuesday I wasn't feeling the greatest and that does happen to me if I get chilled and wet, but by the end of the week I was okay. But last night I made sure not to use too much salt, the first time I dumped more in than what they called for so I thought I better be careful this time, soaked about 45 minutes, got up to shower the salt off and it hit me, I barely made it out of the shower in time! Twice it hit me hard, and after that I felt so wiped out naturally, but had no fever, drank some Gatorade and ate some yogurt and went to bed, didn't run anymore but this morning while I didn't go to the bathroom I still felt strange, felt half-sick but I have no fever and even took an at home Covid test which was negative, and am working on replenishing myself and even called a pharmacist and talked about it, at first he didn't think it could be absorbed but then he looked it up in some medical journals online and it did have several reports of this complaint, and I did see other people post online that this happened to them, so I am assuming that is the reason, that I am absorbing this and it is acting like a laxative like it does if you take it internally?

I have been taking these baths a few times a year for many years, so to have this develop now is baffling to me. Any ideas or comments on this strange occurence?

Thank you!

 

[Furballsmom]

Gosh I'm sorry this happened! I've never used the stuff so unfortunately I can't comment about this.

 

[Margret]

It doesn't require epsom salts to relax in a hot bath and breathe in steam; is there a reason you need the salts? Why not just take a hot bath?

If there's a reason you seriously need epsom salts for this I recommend asking your doctor whether it would be safe to take some Imodium AD (or generic equivalent) just before taking the bath. Also, for some reason bananas tend to have anti-diarrheal properties, as does real tea (i.e. black or green tea, not herbal tea). But adding sugar to the tea will likely negate the anti-diarrheal effect.

Margret

 

[les26]

It doesn't require epsom salts to relax in a hot bath and breathe in steam; is there a reason you need the salts? Why not just take a hot bath?

If there's a reason you seriously need epsom salts for this I recommend asking your doctor whether it would be safe to take some Imodium AD (or generic equivalent) just before taking the bath. Also, for some reason bananas tend to have anti-diarrheal properties, as does real tea (i.e. black or green tea, not herbal tea).

Margret

I use the Epsom salts for muscle soreness and also the Magnesium that I absorb from it, but not like this lol!!

 

[Margret]

Muscle soreness is a real problem; I've had some success using Salonpas gel patches on painful areas. Also, there are capsaican creams that some people find useful, but be careful about combining them with a bath or shower - some people (like me) find that the cream makes them more sensitive to heat so that a standard hot bath suddenly feels scalding. And you may want to try some Yoga - those stretches tend to make your whole body feel good. The important thing to remember about Yoga is that it isn't supposed to hurt. If it does you're either doing it wrong or you aren't ready for that particular pose yet.

Magnesium is readily available as a supplement. I use Country Life Magnesium Potasium Aspartate, because I tend to be low in both magnesium and potassium, but Country Life has them as separate products also. The Aspartate version is easily absorbed, and I can usually find it on sale at either Kroger or my local Vitamin Cottage. Also, you can find online lists of foods that are high in magnesium; bananas are one such food.

Margret

 

[les26]

Muscle soreness is a real problem; I've had some success using Salonpas gel patches on painful areas. Also, there are capsaican creams that some people find useful, but be careful about combining them with a bath or shower - some people (like me) find that the cream makes them more sensitive to heat so that a standard hot bath suddenly feels scalding.

Magnesium is readily available as a supplement. I use Country Life Magnesium Potasium Aspartate, because I tend to be low in both magnesium and potassium, but Country Life has them as separate products also. The Aspartate version is easily absorbed, and I can usually find it on sale at either Kroger or my local Vitamin Cottage. Also, you can find lists of foods that are high in magnesium online; bananas are one such food.

Margret

I get Magnesium in my Country Life Total Mins iron free minerals plus eat a banana every morning and some nuts, so maybe I am getting enough already and the baths are putting me over the edge and it causes diarrhea?

 

[Jem]

Magnesium in too much quantity can cause diarrhea. Perhaps in combination with the heat and with your bowels getting relaxed as well, gets things going. Another thing to consider is how long you are staying in the bath and how hydrated you are before going in. Dehydration can cause serious digestive issues, and not just constipation but diarrhea as well and many don't realize how much we sweat while taking a hot bath...and if you worked hard before hopping in...I would suspect you may not have been hydrated enough.

 

[les26]

Magnesium in too much quantity can cause diarrhea. Perhaps in combination with the heat and with your bowels getting relaxed as well, gets things going. Another thing to consider is how long you are staying in the bath and how hydrated you are before going in. Dehydration can cause serious digestive issues, and not just constipation but diarrhea as well and many don't realize how much we sweat while taking a hot bath...and if you worked hard before hopping in...I would suspect you may not have been hydrated enough.

This here sounds pretty spot on!!

 

[les26]

Magnesium in too much quantity can cause diarrhea. Perhaps in combination with the heat and with your bowels getting relaxed as well, gets things going. Another thing to consider is how long you are staying in the bath and how hydrated you are before going in. Dehydration can cause serious digestive issues, and not just constipation but diarrhea as well and many don't realize how much we sweat while taking a hot bath...and if you worked hard before hopping in...I would suspect you may not have been hydrated enough.

I took a bath the other night, first one since these episodes that I had, made it not real hot, and did not put anything in it, no Epsom salt, nothing, and the next day I still did go 3 times but it wasn't diarrhea like it had been, and I made sure to drink zero sugar Gatorade before and after, so unless it was from something that I eat the night before it still seems like this will make me go to the toilet more the next day! So I'm wondering if my days of relaxing in a hot bath are now over lol?!!!

 

[IndyJones]

I think epsom salt has a laxitive effect if eatten, my vet said to rinse with clean water afterwords to make sure it is out of their fur. They can ingest it by grooming themselves.

 

[Margot Lane]

I highly recommend Tiger Balm! It does the trick as soon as you apply it to sore muscles. Only drawback is a scent difficult to categorize, but worth it.

 

[les26]

I think epsom salt has a laxitive effect if eatten, my vet said to rinse with clean water afterwords to make sure it is out of their fur. They can ingest it by grooming themselves.

I'm taking the baths not our cats!

 

[les26]

I highly recommend Tiger Balm! It does the trick as soon as you apply it to sore muscles. Only drawback is a scent difficult to categorize, but worth it.

I have used that in the past, it works but like you said it has a strong scent. I also wear soft contact lenses so I have to wash my hands 1,000 times so I don't get any in my eyes when removing them at night.