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Diosmectite

Medication adsorbent antidiarrhoeal digestive
Aka: Smecta, smectite
Brands seen in Singapore: Smecta
Not medical advice. Check with your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change the timing of anything you take.
How to use
What it’s for
Acute diarrhoea in adults and children from 2 years
When to take
Label: an average of 3 sachets a day, for 7 days
Take with
50 ml water · preferably in between meals
Pros & cons
Pros
  • General sale list in SG — no prescription needed
  • Cochrane: may cut diarrhoea by about a day in children
  • Cochrane: no deaths or serious adverse effects reported
Cons
  • Cochrane rates the evidence low-certainty
  • No effect on hospitalisation or iv fluid need
  • Binds other medicines — HealthHub: 2 h apart
Sources
  1. Singapore National Drug Formulary — SMECTA SACHET 3 G/SACHET [SIN06338P] product information, indication + forensic classification, last updated 28 July 2026 · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Treatment of acute diarrhoea in children of 2 years and above, in addition to oral rehydration. Treatment of acute diarrhoea in adults … Fluid and electrolyte depletion may occur in patients who have diarrhoea … Forensic Classification GENERAL SALE LIST”
  2. Singapore National Drug Formulary — SMECTA SACHET 3 G/SACHET [SIN06338P], Dosing section · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Adults: An average of 3 sachets per day for 7 days. The contents should be thoroughly stirred in 50 ml of water … Children … Over the age of 2 years: 2 to 3 sachets per day … preferably in between meals”
  3. Singapore National Drug Formulary — SMECTA SACHET 3 G/SACHET [SIN06338P], Dosing + Contraindications / Special Warnings · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “In case of acute diarrhoea, the daily dosage can be doubled … If the symptoms do not improve within 7 days, consult your doctor … contraindicated in patients with a fructose intolerance, glucose and galactose malabsorption syndrome or sucrase/somaltase deficiency”
  4. HealthHub (MOH Singapore) — Anti-Diarrhoeal, medication information leaflet (lists dioctahedral smectite), article last reviewed 23 January 2024 · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Dioctahedral smectite … work by binding to the toxins … may reduce the absorption of other medications. They must be taken apart from other medications by two hours … If your symptoms persist or worsen after 1 week … speak to your healthcare professional”
  5. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews — Smectite for acute infectious diarrhoea in children (Pérez-Gaxiola et al., 2018, issue 4; 18 trials, 2616 children), PMID 29693719 / PMC6494641 · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “Smectite may reduce the duration of diarrhoea by approximately a day … low-certainty evidence … There was no evidence of an effect on need for hospitalization … and need for intravenous rehydration … No deaths or serious adverse effects were reported”
  6. HSA — Listing of Registered Therapeutic Products (data.gov.sg dataset d_767279312753558cbf19d48344577084, managed by Health Sciences Authority, last updated 7 Aug 2026), Forensicclassification column · read 2026-08-27
    what it says
    “SMECTA SACHET 3 g/sachet | SIN06338P | General Sale List | DIOCTAHEDRAL SMECTITE | 3g/sachet | DKSH SINGAPORE PTE. LTD. — the only smectite product in the register; no row matches the spelling 'diosmectite' (pulled via datastore_search API, 27 Aug 2026)”
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Updated 2026-08-29. Every line above traces to a numbered source. Kozen-X is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. It lists what published sources have written down — nothing more. A pair not listed is unrecorded, not cleared. Before you start, stop or re-time anything, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.