CeraLyte® Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) for the Traveler
June 15, 2015
CeraLyte® Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) for the Traveler
CeraLyte® is a patented, homogeneous blend of natural rice and electrolytes. It comes in either a powder “ready to mix” with water packet, or in a ready to drink form, and meets the standards set by the World Health Organization for electrolyte replacement therapy, also known as “ORS” or “ORT.” The key to CeraLyte is superiority is its DUAL ACTION: it works fast to rehydrate you, while also reducing diarrhea fluid losses. Most studies of CeraLyte compared to glucose or sugar-based solution show a 20 to 50% reduction in fluid losses and at least one day less of diarrheal illness.
There are two important characteristics that give CeraLyte this superior performance as compared to standard glucose ORS:
1) Cera’s patented enzymatic process maintains all the qualities of rice. Each liter of CeraLyte has 40 grams of rice-base, as compared to only 13.5 grams of glucose in solutions like the new “low osmolar “ World Health Organization “ORS” packets, or 20 grams in Pedialyte®. This difference is important because sugar and sodium are both required for the body’s water absorption mechanism to work effectively;
2) CeraLyte has low osmolarity (<250 mOsm/Liter). Osmolarity controls how fast something empties from your stomach and how fast it is absorbed through the intestinal cells in your blood stream. Drinks with osmolarity higher than 300 (most sports drinks, juices, soft drinks and colas – some with osmolarity as high as 800 Osm/Liter) sit in your stomach longer, making you feel bloated or nauseous, and may actually increase diarrheal fluid losses. This is because these drinks have a high simple sugar content which can draw even more water out of your thirsty tissues into your intestines.
The bottom line is that only CeraLyte ORS has the dual action of reducing fluid loss and rehydrating.
TYPICAL QUESTIONS FROM TRAVELERS:
Q: Why do I need to take an oral electrolyte solution or ORS with me when traveling?
A: While vaccinations protect you from specific diseases, they do not protect you from all diseases. Fifty percent (50%) of travelers get some type of diarrhea while on their trip. One of the more serious complications of diarrhea is dehydration. Water, juice and soft drinks do NOT restore the electrolytes you lose with diarrhea and may make the diarrhea worse. CeraLyte ORS has been scientifically formulated to correctly replace the electrolytes as well as the fluids people lose when they have diarrhea.
Q: Why can’t I just take an antidiarrheal product like Kaopectate® or Immodium®?
A: Antidiarrheal drugs can decrease how often you need to use the bathroom, but they do nothing to treat or prevent the dehydration and electrolyte loss of diarrhea. This is because they work either by thickening the stool or by decreasing intestinal motion. The fluid and electrolyte loss is STILL HAPPENING…It is just “masked” when these drugs stop the intestinal action. CeraLyte decreases the amount of stool through enhancing re-absorption of fluid from the intestines back into the blood stream, safely replacing lost fluids and restoring the body’s proper electrolyte balance.
Q: Why can’t I just get the ORS wherever I am?
A: The last think you want to be doing when diarrhea hits is to be searching around a foreign place looking for ORS (and public bathrooms)! Also, it may be difficult to find an effective ORS at a local pharmacy. Most available ORS only treats dehydration. CeraLyte, which is a rice-based ORS, has the added advantage of reducing the fluid loss and shortening the diarrheal episode. Using CeraLyte instead of a glucose-based ORS can help bring you back to good health faster so you can enjoy the rest of your trip.
Q: Why start drinking the ORS immediately? Can’t I wait a day or two to see what happens?
A: You will feel better faster and are likely to recover faster if you start drinking CeraLyte OS as soon as you have two or three loose stools. One of the reasons people feel fatigued when they have diarrhea is the dehydration that diarrhea causes. If you let yourself get dehydrated, you could end up in a hospital (or worse). Diarrhea can be caused by many things, including salmonella, E.coli, or it could be simple travelers’ diarrhea. It could also be cholera or shigellosis, or Ebola, which can be life threatening. Using ORS at the start of the illness can avert or reduce the dehydration that is a serious consequence of these serious diarrheal diseases.
Note: if there is blood in the stool or a high fever or if you feel very weak and shaky, or if someone with you (especially a child or an order person) has these symptoms, or additional treatment, such as an antibiotic may be necessary. Call a doctor or go to a clinic right away and keep sipping CeraLyte. If you have an antibiotic, use that first and then call for appropriate help.
Q: How do I mix CeraLyte when I am traveling?
A: If you are at a hotel, ask the hotel to send a carafe of boiling water and/or bottled water up to your room, along with a clean teacup or mug. You can mix the CeraLyte powder into cold or hot water. CeraLyte comes in either lemon, berry or natural/unflavored powder. The Unflavored CeraLyte tastes similar to Asian noodle soup mix broth when mixed into hot water.
Q: How much do I drink? How do I know when to stop drinking the CeraLyte?
A: For adults, drink a cup (6 or 7 oz.) after every diarrhea episode. For children, one-fourth to one-half cup after each episode. Continue drinking CeraLyte ORS until the diarrhea stops. If your hands or feet get puffy, you should cut back on the amount you are drinking. Each 10 gram packet makes 7 oz. of CeraLyte. Each liter packet has 10 tsp for 34 oz. of water (carafe) or you can mix two level teaspoons into 7 oz. of water. It is best to drink or sip slowly, especially if you feel nauseous.
Q: What if the illness includes vomiting?
A: Sip CeraLyte from a teaspoon until the vomiting stops. CeraLyte empties from the stomach into the intestine very quickly, so fast that some CeraLyte will be absorbed even if there is some vomiting. This may help reduce the vomiting, and will minimize the amount of dehydration and help you recover faster.
Q: Can we eat or drink anything besides CeraLyte when we have diarrhea?
A: Yes, eating the right foods even though you have diarrhea (or vomiting) can help people recover more quickly. You can eat anything you want EXCEPT sweet things. Most diarrheal disease experts recommend eating complex carbohydrates such as rice, potato and sweet potato, noodles as well as easy to digest foods such as lean meat, chicken, fish, or eggs, and hot cereals or bread, toast, rolls or crackers. You can drink water, unsweet tea, or other non-sugary drinks (diet drinks are okay). Resuming a normal diet as soon as possible will help you recover faster because protein helps the body repair itself.
Cera Products, Inc 88 Main Street, Suite-D, Hilton Head Island, SC 29926
Tel 843-842-2600 fax 843-842-2601 or see our website at www.ceraproductsinc.com
©Cera Products, Inc. 2015 all rights reserved. Except for internal non-commercial use, no parts of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the prior written permission of Cera Products, Inc.
Share:
Leave a comment
Comments will be approved before showing up.
