brain pickin' time - for Diarrhea lasting longer than, say 3-5 days.... when and why should I think about ABX vs loperamide.... or should I just try the loperamide and if it doesn't work, hit him with Levo or Metro, depending on whether it's suspected E. Coli or Giardia?
so far, I've been letting it run for 5-7 days, making the pt push fluids and seeing if it self-corrects, and if it doesn't, delve a little further. so far, no one's had the super-foul smelling stools that go with giardia, but it's mostly the 10-15 x's a day, i-gotta-run-right-now E. coli. 3 days of Levo, and they're all better. is there something else I could try, besides (essentially) shooting in the dark? labs, doctors, and microscopes are not available.