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| Antidote · Gastric lavage · Whole bowel irrigation · Activated carbon · Cathartic · Hemodialysis · Chelation therapy · Hemoperfusion |
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In medicine, a cathartic is a substance which accelerates defecation.
This is in contrast to a laxative, which is a substance which eases defecation, usually by softening the stool.[1] It is possible for a substance to be both a laxative and a cathartic. However, agents such as psyllium seed husks increase the bulk of the stool.[2]
Cathartics such as sorbitol are sometimes used in response to poisoning.
Cathartics were used in the Fort Lewis, WA area in the influenza epidemic of 1918. An original report by Elizabeth J. Davies, a public heath nurse, mentions cathartics, pneumonia jackets and copious amount of drinks as treatments for influenza patients.[citation needed]
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