Intestinal infection in children and adults: treatment, symptoms - diarrhea, vomiting, fever

Intestinal infection is a disease in the form of acute inflammation of the mucous membrane of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract. Infection is susceptible to all - adults and children. Infections of the intestine manifest themselves with gastritis, enteritis, colitis, gastroenteritis, gastroduodenitis, enterocolitis. When the disease is disrupted digestion, there is diarrhea (diarrhea) with the remnants of undigested food in the stool.

A whole group of pathogenic microorganisms are able to enter into the intestine through the mouth and cause an acute inflammatory process.

Intestinal infection: symptoms, signs

By the term "intestinal infection", physicians refer to a group of infectious diseases in which the digestive system organs, such as the stomach or various parts of the intestine, are affected.

All intestinal infections are of an infectious nature, that is, they are caused by various pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses or protozoa.

Regardless of the nature of the pathogenic microorganism, all bowel infections are characterized by one type of symptomatology, which includes:

1. the phenomena of intoxication (fever, headache, weakness),
2. stool disorder (diarrhea),
3. nausea and vomiting,
4. stomach ache.

In addition to the same symptoms, some intestinal infections have unique manifestations, the presence of which can accurately diagnose the disease.

Thus, intestinal infection is a disease caused by a pathogenic microorganism, which occurs with the phenomena of general intoxication (headache, weakness, temperature), diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain due to inflammation of the intestinal mucosa or stomach.

Infections of the intestine are widespread, the person at any age is sick - a child and an adult. The most affected are children, elderly people and weakened by some other serious illness.

In developed countries, according to the frequency of visits to a doctor, intestinal infections rank second in terms of prevalence after acute respiratory viral infections (ARVI).

Why you can get infected

Microbes-causative agents of intestinal infections are released into the external environment with feces, saliva, urine and vomit masses by people who are currently suffering an infection or had been ill less than 2 to 4 weeks ago. Microbes enter the water, into various objects, as well as foodstuffs that are stored for a long time. Further, when contaminated with microbes contaminated by objects, products and water into the oral cavity, infection of any healthy person with intestinal infection occurs.

Infection with intestinal infections occurs when a pathogenic microorganism enters the digestive tract through the mouth with contaminated microbes, water, household items. That is, the intestinal infection is transmitted by fecal-oral and alimentary ways. In other words, if microbes-causative agents of intestinal infection are found in water, on any objects, parts of the body or products, then when they enter the mouth they penetrate into the underlying parts of the gastrointestinal tract and cause the disease.

How do microbes enter the mouth?

The ingress of microbes into the mouth causes:

1. use and poorly washed vegetables and fruits,
2. neglect of the rules of hygiene (not washed before eating, using the same household items with sick people, etc.),
3. drinking unboiled water (including during accidental ingestion during bathing),
4. insufficient heat treatment of meat and dairy products,
5. other reasons: kissing.

Often children become infected like this: an adult smacks a baby on the cheek, the child wipes the remaining drool with his hand, then after a while pulls the same hand into his mouth. And if an adult or another child was a carrier of an intestinal infection, then in his saliva there is a microbial pathogen, which will enter the digestive tract of a healthy baby, causing the disease.

What does this lead to?

Any intestinal infection leads to inflammation of the gastric mucosa or various parts of the intestine. And inflammation of the mucous leads, in turn, to a digestive disorder, which is manifested by diarrhea (diarrhea), abdominal pain and vomiting. Depending on the mucosa, which organ is inflamed, all intestinal infections can occur in the following forms:

1. Acute gastritis (inflammation of the gastric mucosa);
2. Acute enteritis (inflammation of the mucous membrane of the small intestine);
3. Acute colitis (inflammation of the mucous membrane of the large intestine);
4. Acute gastroduodenitis (inflammation of the mucous membrane of the stomach and duodenum);
5. Acute enterocolitis (inflammation of the mucosa of the small and large intestine).

The form of the intestinal infection is important for the formulation of the diagnosis, but not for treatment, which is almost the same in all cases of diseases by different infections. The diagnosis is formulated as follows: acute colitis against a background of intestinal infection. That is, the main diagnosis is the localization of the inflammatory process (inflammation of the mucous membrane of the large intestine), and the indication of an intestinal infection is only a specification of the causative factor of inflammation.

Intestinal infection: treatment, how and how to treat

Depending on which type of pathogen the disease is provoked, the intestinal infection may be bacterial, viral or protozoal.

In principle, the type of pathogen is not very important for treatment, since the therapy of virtually all intestinal infections is exactly the same. That is, the treatment of any intestinal infection is carried out according to the same principles, regardless of the type of microbe that provoked it. There are differences only in the treatment of severe bacterial infections, but these diseases are easily recognized by the characteristic clinical symptoms inherent only to them, so identification of the pathogen is simply not necessary.

In the treatment of intestinal infections, the main role is played by replenishment of fluid and salt losses, as well as diet, since the main and very dangerous consequence of any infection is dehydration. If a person can live without food for a month, then without enough water and salts - literally a few days or even hours. Therefore, the main thing in the therapy of any intestinal infection is the replacement of the volume of water and salts lost with vomiting and diarrhea.

In the overwhelming majority of cases, you do not need to take any medications to treat intestinal infection - antibiotics, sorbents, antiviral agents and others, since the human body independently produces antibodies to microbes and destroys them, leading to recovery (as in situations with ARVI).

In the meantime, antibodies have not been developed, the body needs to simply, conditionally speaking, "hold out". To "hold out", it is necessary to constantly replenish the loss of fluid and salts, which are excreted from the body with a liquid stool and vomiting.

That is why

the main treatment for any intestinal infection is a copious drink of rehydration solutions (Regidron, Trisol) and diet. Reception of antibiotics for intestinal infections is necessary only with severe cholera, blood admixture in fecal masses and prolonged diarrhea with lambliasis. Enterosorbents and probiotics can be taken at will, as their effectiveness for the treatment of intestinal infections is not proven, but these drugs do not bring harm.

Usually, if the fluid loss is adequately filled, intestinal infections do not go through the medication themselves after 3 to 5 days without taking any medications. If the infection is severe or fluid loss has not been adequately compensated, then complications may develop, and in this case the disease will last longer.

In 90% of cases, any intestinal infection, provided that the loss of fluid and salts is replenished, passes independently, without special treatment. And only 10% of cases of intestinal infections require special therapy - taking antibiotics, intravenous solutions of salts and others.

What to treat intestinal infections: what are

Currently, intestinal infections include about 30 different diseases, among which the most common are the following:

Group: Bacterial intestinal infections:

1. Botulism;
2. Typhoid fever;
3. Halophilia;
4. Dysentery;
5. Yersiniosis;
6. Infection caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa;
7. Infection caused by clostridia;
8. Infection caused by Klebsiella;
9. Infection caused by the prostate;
10. Campylobacteriosis;
11. Paratyph A and B;
12. Salmonellosis;
13. Staphylococcal food poisoning;
14. Cholera;
15. Shigellosis;
16. Escherichiosis (infections caused by pathogenic varieties of Escherichia coli E. coli).

Group: Viral intestinal infections:

1. Adenoviral infection;
2. Infections caused by Norfolk group viruses;
3. Coronary viral infection;
4. Reovirus infection;
5. Rotavirus infection;
6. Enterovirus infection (Coxsackie viruses A and B, ECHO viruses).

Group: Protozoal intestinal infections:

1. Lambliasis;
2. Amoebiasis;
3. Schistosomiasis;
4. Cryptosporidiosis.

Acute intestinal infection: what is it?

All intestinal infections are acute, that is, they develop suddenly, differ marked characteristic symptoms and pass within a relatively short time. Cases of chronic intestinal infections are not known, since these diseases either completely cure or lead to human death due to dehydration. Thus, it is obvious that intestinal infection can only be acute.

After recovery from intestinal infection in humans, digestion disorders can be observed within 1 to 3 months, which are referred to as complications or residual effects of the transferred disease. Digestive disorders are caused by severe damage to a large number of intestinal cells, which require time to restore. Accordingly, as long as the intestinal cells are not restored, the person can be left with residual effects after the infection, which are various variants of digestive disorders: a single liquid stool, flatulence, colic, etc.

However, complications are not a sign of a chronic intestinal infection, but only show a deep damage to a large number of intestinal cells. Some time after the infection, when the intestinal cells recover, all the symptoms and episodes of digestive disorder completely disappear. In the period of residual effects after the transferred intestinal infection it is recommended to observe a diet and carefully process thermally food products, and vegetables and fruits should be thoroughly washed out so that they do not recur repeatedly and maximize the recovery of intestinal cells.

Classification of acute intestinal infections

Currently, there are two main classifications of intestinal infections: the first - pathogenetic, for clinical use, and the second - etiological, for scientific purposes.

Practitioners use a pathogenetic classification, and scientists and researchers apply etiological. Pathogenetic classification is based on the features of the course of the disease, and etiological - on a variety of pathogenic microbial pathogens of infection.

According to the etiological classification, all intestinal infections are divided into the following types:

1. Bacterial intestinal infections (salmonellosis, dysentery, cholera, typhoid fever, botulism, yersiniosis, escherichiosis, staphylococcal food poisoning and others);
2. Viral intestinal infections (adenovirus, rotavirus, enterovirus, reovirus, coronary viral infections, etc.);
3. Protozoal intestinal infections (amoebiasis, giardiasis and others).

Bacterial intestinal infections are caused by various microbes belonging to bacteria. And microbes-causative agents of infections can be both pathogenic, and conditionally-pathogenic.

Pathogens are bacteria that are not normally present in the human body, and when they enter the intestine they always cause an infectious disease. Examples of pathogenic bacteria are cholera vibrio, typhoid fever.

Conventional-pathogenic bacteria include such microorganisms, which are normally present in the human intestine in small amounts, and therefore do not cause harm. But if these opportunistic microbes multiply or get in large quantities into the intestine from the outside, then they become pathogenic and cause the disease.

An example of conditionally pathogenic bacteria are golden staphylococci, which are normally present in a small amount in the intestine. But if a large amount of Staphylococcus aureus enters the intestine with poor-quality food products (eggs, mayonnaise, etc.), then the microbe acquires pathogenic properties, and the person develops intestinal infection.

Bacterial intestinal infections are transmitted by fecal-oral and alimentary-household ways, that is, if the hygiene rules are not observed or when poor-quality products contaminated with microbes are used.

Viral intestinal infection is caused by ingestion of viruses in the human intestine, which can cause acute inflammation of the intestinal mucosa. Most often people of different ages meetenterovirusandrotavirusintestinal infections. Unlike bacterial, viral intestinal infections can be transmitted not only by fecal-oral and alimentary-household routes, but also by airborne. Thus, the risk of contracting a viral intestinal infection is higher than that of bacterial infections.

In addition, a person who has survived a viral infection remains a carrier of the virus and a source of infection for others within 2 to 4 weeks after recovery. And for bacterial infections, a person is a source of infection for others only 2 to 4 days after recovery.

Protozoal intestinal infection is less common than bacterial and viral infections, and infection usually occurs when ingestion of unboiled water, for example, drinking from unchecked water bodies or accidental ingestion during bathing. Unlike bacterial and viral, protozoal intestinal infections can take a long time and require treatment with antiprotozoal drugs.

According to the pathogenetic classification, intestinal infections are divided into the following three groups:

1. Infections caused by an unidentified pathogen (constitute approximately 70% of the total number of cases of intestinal infections recorded by doctors);
2. Infections caused by an established pathogen (constitute approximately 20% of the total number of cases of intestinal infections recorded by doctors);
3. Bacterial dysentery (about 10% of the total number of cases of intestinal infections recorded by doctors).

Ways of infection with intestinal infection: the causes of the disease

The source of intestinal infections is a sick person or an asymptomatic carrier that secretes pathogenic microorganisms into the external environment with caloric and vomit masses, as well as with urine. The isolation of microbes into the external environment occurs from the time of onset of the disease until complete recovery (disappearance of clinical symptoms). And in the case of viral intestinal infections, excretion of the pathogen continues for 2 to 3 weeks after recovery. Accordingly, a person who has an intestinal infection or who has undergone it less than 2 weeks ago, is a source of infection for others.

Ways of infection with intestinal infections - oral-fecal, domestic or, less often, airborne, and the mechanism of transmission of the disease - alimentary. This means that the causative agent of infection always enters the body in an alimentary way, that is, through the mouth.

The causative agent enters the body by eating contaminated food, swallowing water, accidentally licking dirty hands or objects.

The most common ways of transmission of intestinal infections are oral-fecal and domestic.

With these transmission routes, contamination of food, water or household items with pathogenic microbes from a sick person or an asymptomatic carrier occurs.

Typically, this microbial contamination occurs when the rules of personal hygiene and sanitary norms are not respected in the preparation and processing of products (for example, food is produced in unsanitary conditions, personnel working with food do not wash their hands after going to the toilet), so that the microbes caught in dirty hands, transferred to food, water or household items. Further, with the use of products or ingesting water, as well as licking contaminated household items, microbes enter the mouth of healthy people, from where they enter the intestines and cause infection.

Infectious agents of intestinal infections can be found on various foods, provided that they have been stored for a long time in inadequate conditions or treated in unsanitary conditions, so that infection can occur when using almost any products, including heat treated. After the pathogens of intestinal infections are resistant to cold, so they retain their pathogenic properties, even if the infected products were stored in the refrigerator.

The most common infection with intestinal infections occurs by oral-fecal route, in particular when you use dirty, unboiled water (drinking or accidentally swallowing water while swimming in water), milk and dairy products, eggs, cakes and meat. In second place in terms of the frequency of infection with intestinal infections is the household way, in which infection occurs during contacts with bacteria, contaminated with bacteria, toys, utensils and door handles. In the course of contacts with household objects, a person transfers causative agents of intestinal infections to his or her hands, and then, after a while, eating something or just accidentally licking his hands, injects microbes into the mouth, from where they enter the intestines and lead to the development of the disease.

In this way,the main reasonspread of intestinal infections isnon-compliance with hygiene standards, such as necessarily washing hands before meals, before cooking, after going to the toilet, after contact with a sick person, as well as using common utensils, towels and other household items. In addition, a huge role in the spread of intestinal infections belongs to the long-term storage of products. After the longer the products are stored, the greater the risk of catching intestinal infection when they are consumed, because they can be contaminated by pathogenic microbes when they are touched with dirty hands. And the longer the products are stored, the more likely that someone will touch them with dirty hands and carry the causative agents of intestinal infections to them.

The most common microbes-causative agents of intestinal infections enter the human body when using the following products:

1. Staphylococcus aureus - enters the body with the use of bacteria contaminated with mayonnaise, custard and puddings;
2. Bacillus cereus - various dishes from rice;
3. Cholera vibrio - ingestion of unboiled water from open water bodies and the use of any food products on which water droplets were found;
4. Pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli - ingestion of unboiled water from open water bodies and the use of any food products on which droplets of contaminated water are found;
5. Clostridia - being in a hospital;
6. Salmonella - the use of poorly washed and thermally unprocessed poultry meat or eggs;
7. Iersinia - the use of meat and milk contaminated with bacteria;
8. Paragemolytic vibrio - the use of raw or boiled seafood;
9. Some strains of Escherichia coli, Shigella, Campylobacter are the drinking of contaminated unboiled water and the use of any products cooked or stored with violations of sanitary standards.

As can be seen, most bacterial and protozoal infections are transmitted by eating food and water contaminated with microbes. This is a characteristic feature of bacterial intestinal infections.

As for viral intestinal infections, they are usually transmitted by domestic and airborne droplets. Thus, the most frequent infection with viral intestinal infections in children is as follows. An adult who is a carrier or has an intestinal infection in an asymptomatic form kisses the baby on the cheek. The child wipes away the remains of saliva, resulting in infection on his skin.. After a while the child will pull his hand into his mouth, and infection with intestinal infection will occur. If children play in a collective, for example, in a kindergarten or on the street by a group of friends, then the spread of viral intestinal infections occurs when the babies come into close contact with each other, at which the patient's saliva gets on the skin of the healthy, and from it already into the mouth and further into the intestine

Thus, from the point of view of infection with bacterial and protozoal intestinal infections, the use of water and products prepared with non-observance of sanitary norms is most dangerous. And from the point of view of infection with viral intestinal infections, close contacts of people are dangerous, in which saliva is left on the skin (for example, when kissing, spitting, trying to bite children).

Susceptibility to intestinal infections is the same for all people of any age and sex, so anyone can get sick. However, the children of the first year of life, the elderly (over 65 years), alcoholics, and those suffering from chronic diseases of the stomach and intestines are most easily infected.

Symptoms and syndromes common to all intestinal infections

After entering the oral cavity, the causative agent of the intestinal infection, together with swallowed saliva, a drink of water or a lump of food penetrates the stomach and intestines. In the stomach, the pathogen is not destroyed, since it is resistant to hydrochloric acid. Therefore, he calmly passes further into the intestine, where he begins to actively multiply, causing the development of an infectious disease.

Being in the intestine, various pathogens of intestinal infections behave differently. Some microbes penetrate into the cells of the intestinal epithelium, cause in them the development of a pathological inflammatory process with their destruction. Accordingly, destruction of the intestinal cells and inflammatory process in them lead to the development of characteristic symptoms of infection. Penetration into the cells of the intestinal epithelium is characteristic for viruses, salmonella, campylobacter, shigella, Yersinia, some varieties of pathogenic E. coli and for paragemolytic vibrio.

Other microbes actively multiply and colonize the intestines, displacing from it representatives of normal microflora, which simply perish. In the process of life, such microbes release toxic substances (enterotoxins), which cause inflammation and death of cells of the intestinal mucosa. Accordingly, under the influence of enterotoxins, the symptoms of intestinal infection develop. To the microbes which cause the symptoms of infections due to the isolation of enterotoxins, the vast majority of the varieties of the pathogenic E. coli, clostridia and cholera vibrio belong.

The third variety of pathogenic microbes secretes toxic substances, being directly in food products. And further, these toxic substances enter the intestine already in ready form together with food, causing the development of an infectious disease. To bacteria that produce toxins in food, include Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus.

Regardless of the mechanism of pathogenic action on the intestine, all causative agents of intestinal infections lead to an inflammatory process in enterocytes (cells of the intestinal mucosa) and digestive disorders. Therefore, all clinical manifestations of intestinal infections are caused and associated with digestive disorders and destruction of cells of the intestinal mucosa.

Due to digestive disorders, the main symptom of any intestinal infection, regardless of the type of its pathogen, is diarrhea (diarrhea, loose stools). And diarrhea is always present with any intestinal infection, and therefore is the main symptom. Other symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, fever, abdominal pain, weakness, etc. - may be absent or present in different cases, but they, unlike diarrhea, are not mandatory signs of intestinal infection.

In general, any intestinal infections are mainly manifested by the following two syndromes:

1. Intestinal Syndrome.
2. Infectious-toxic syndrome (syndrome of general intoxication).

Intestinal and infectious-toxic syndromes, always present with any intestinal infection, but have varying degrees of severity.

Intestinal Syndromedepending on the severity of the infection and the type of microbial pathogen can occur with a number of specific features. Given the characteristics of clinical symptoms, at present the intestinal syndrome with various intestinal infections is divided into several of the following types:

1. Gastritis syndromemanifested by severe pain in the stomach, the presence of constant nausea and repeated vomiting after eating or drinking. Diarrhea in gastric syndrome is a single or, rarely, 2 to 4 times during a relatively short period of time. Symptomatic gastritis syndrome usually develops in infections caused by golden staphylococcus (food poisoning) or viruses.
2. Gastroenteritis syndromemanifested by pain in the abdomen in the stomach and around the navel, as well as vomiting and frequent, first a mushy, and then a watery stool. Fecal masses, depending on the type of pathogen, can be colored in different colors: greenish (typical for salmonellosis), light brown (escherichiosis), etc. In fecal masses, mucus and undigested food residues may be present. Gastroenteritis syndrome usually develops with viral intestinal infections, salmonellosis, as well as diseases caused by pathogenic strains of Escherichia coli. A distinctive feature of viral intestinal infections is a liquid frothy brown stool with a sharp unpleasant odor.
3. Enteric Syndromeis manifested exclusively by frequent watery stools without nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain. The frequency of the liquid stool is determined by the severity of the infection and the type of microbe-causative agent of the disease. The enteric syndrome usually develops with cholera.
4. Gastroenterocolitis syndromemanifested by vomiting, frequent loose stools and pains throughout the abdomen. The process of defecation is also painful, and the emptying of the intestine does not facilitate relief even for a short period of time. In stools often there is an admixture of blood and mucus. Sometimes when defecating from the intestine only mucus is excreted. Gastroenterocolitis syndrome is characteristic of salmonellosis.
5. Enterocolitis syndromeis manifested by severe pain throughout the abdomen, frequent urges for defecation, during which either a loose stool or a small amount of mucus is secreted. Episodes of discharge of liquid stool and mucus usually alternate. Enterocolitis syndrome is typical for salmonellosis and dysentery.
6. Colitis syndromemanifested by pain in the lower abdomen (more often on the left), as well as painful frequent defecations, in which a small amount of liquid or mucus stools with an admixture of blood and mucus is released from the intestine. Often there are false urge to feces. After each defecation, there comes a short-term relief. Colitis syndrome is characteristic of dysentery.

Infectious-toxic syndromemanifested by an increase in body temperature above 37.5 degrees, as well as general weakness, headaches, dizziness, body aches, lack of appetite and nausea. Infectious-toxic syndrome with any intestinal infection usually appears first, and lasts from several hours to several days. Typically, the intestinal syndrome occurs after the complete disappearance or decrease in the severity of infectious-toxic.

Infectious-toxic syndrome, depending on the type of pathogen and the severity of the infection, can manifest itself in different ways, that is, a person may have some individual or a whole set of characteristic symptoms. So, in some cases this syndrome can be manifested only by headaches, in others - by the temperature with dizziness.

Thus, these diseases can be manifested by the followingsigns:

1. Multiple liquid stools (100% of cases);
2. Rumbling and splashing in the abdomen (100% of cases);
3. Increase in body temperature at various time intervals from several hours to several days (100% of cases);
4. Loss of appetite (100% of cases);
5. Nausea (100% of cases);
6. Pain in various parts of the abdomen (100% of cases);
7. Thirst due to dehydration (90% of cases);
8. Admixture of blood in fecal masses (80% of cases);
9. General weakness (70% of cases);
10. Loss of body weight (60% of cases);
11. Feces in appearance look like rice decoction (60% of cases);
12. Vomiting (20% of cases);
13. Delayed urination (10% of cases).

In addition to these symptoms, intestinal infections always lead to loss of water and salts (sodium, potassium, chlorine) by the body due to vomiting and diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration (dehydration). Dehydration is a very dangerous condition, as it can lead to death in a short period of time. Therefore, while the intestinal infection has not passed, you should closely monitor if there are signs of dehydration, and if they appear, immediately call an ambulance and be hospitalized.

Signsdehydrationare the following symptoms:

1. Persistent vomiting, which does not allow drinking liquids;
2. Lack of urine for more than 6 hours;
3. Urine is dark yellow in color;
4. Dry tongue;
5. Sunken eyes;
6. Greyish skin tone;
7. Diarrhea stopped, but there were pains in the abdomen or body temperature increased sharply, or vomiting increased.

Temperature with intestinal infection

With any intestinal infections, the temperature of the body almost always rises to different digits at different time intervals. With some infections, the temperature rises only for a few hours, while for others it lasts for 2 to 4 days. And the body temperature is kept within the same values ​​from the moment of its increase and up to normalization.

In other words, if the temperature rose to 38 degrees at the beginning of the disease, then, until it normalizes, it should keep within this value with slight fluctuations. If the body temperature rises sharply, it means that complications of the intestinal infection that need to be treated in a hospital (hospital) environment develop.

Temperature increasebody with various intestinal infections is almost alwaysfirst signdisease. That is, the temperature rises even before the appearance of diarrhea, abdominal pain and other signs of infection. In addition, quite often diarrhea appears after the normalization of body temperature, and subsequently the disease proceeds against the background of normal temperature, rather than increased.

In intestinal infections, increased body temperature is a factor that increases the loss of fluid in the body, so it is recommended that it be knocked down by taking antipyretics. This is necessary to reduce the loss of fluid, because at high temperature the body is cooled by the abundant evaporation of moisture. Doctors and scientists recommend taking antipyretics if the temperature reaches values ​​of 37.5 degrees or more.

Vomiting with intestinal infection

Vomiting does not always accompany intestinal infections. Sometimes it is absent, with some infections can be single, and in others - multiple. During the entire period of the infection, vomiting is not recommended to be treated with various antiemetics (for example, Cerucal), because in this way the body takes toxic substances out. When vomiting is necessary to drink abundantly, to make up for the loss of fluid and salts. And if vomiting is strong, then drink in small sips, a small amount of water or salt solutions at a time, but often.

If vomiting increases, or because of vomiting, it is impossible to drink saline solutions, you should immediately consult a doctor and be hospitalized.

Complications

Any intestinal infection can lead to the development of the following complications:

Dehydration(dehydration) is the most common complication of various intestinal infections that occurs as a result of loss of water and salts together with diarrhea and vomit.

Critical to the body fluid loss is 10% of the original amount. If there is a critical loss of fluid and salts, the person falls into a coma with a possible subsequent death.

Signs of dehydration is the absence of urination for 6 hours, dry skin and tongue, frequent pulse, low blood pressure and grayish shade of the skin. Thirst is not always present during dehydration, so this symptom should not be guided to assess whether there is dehydration or not.

In order to prevent dehydration in intestinal infections, it is necessary to drink plenty of saline solutions (Regidron, Trisol) at the rate of: one liter for three episodes of diarrhea or vomiting.

Infectious-toxic shock. It develops at the very beginning of the disease against the background of high body temperature. The shock is provoked by a high concentration in the blood of toxic substances released by bacteria.

Pneumonia. It is a fairly common complication of intestinal infections in children. As a rule, pneumonia develops against a background of moderate dehydration, when fluid loss is not fully replenished, but only partially.

Acute kidney failure.

Intestinal Infection in Children

Children are more likely to have intestinal infections than adults because they have much more contact with their peers and surrounding adults, and poor hygiene skills and an understanding of sanitary norms and rules are not sufficiently secured.

Intestinal infections in children mainly occur in the same way as in adults, and are characterized by the same clinical manifestations. But in children, unlike adults, intestinal infections often occur in severe form and dehydration develops faster. Therefore, when a child is ill, it is necessary to give him to drink salt solutions to compensate for the loss of fluids and carefully monitor his condition so as not to miss signs of dehydration, which should immediately hospitalize the baby in the hospital.

In addition, in children, intestinal infections are more often caused by viruses.

If the intestinal infection has developed in a child of the first year of life, then it must necessarily be hospitalized, since critical dehydration in infants younger than 12 months can occur very quickly and lead to tragic consequences until the fatal outcome.

Children older than one year can be treated at home if they have no signs of dehydration (lack of urine for 6 hours, dry tongue, sunken eyes, gray skin), and the condition remains stable and does not deteriorate.

Otherwise, intestinal infections in children flow and are treated the same way as in adults.

Intestinal infection in adults

Intestinal infections in adults are recorded quite often, especially during the hot season, when food storage is often performed in violation of sanitary norms and regulations.

In addition, in the warm season people go to nature, outside the city, where they cook independently or buy various dishes in a cafe, and this food is often found to be contaminated with pathogenic microbes.

Bathing in open water is also the cause of a high incidence of intestinal infections in the warm season, as often there is an accidental ingestion of water contaminated with microbes.

Adults, as a rule, successfully tolerate intestinal infections and recover without any consequences. Complications of infections in adults also develop relatively rarely, no more than 10% of cases and, as a rule, against a background of severe course of the disease.

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Rotovirus intestinal infection in children and adults

Rotavirus infection is sometimes incorrectly called "rotavirus". This infection is also known as "summer flu" or "gastric flu".

Rotavirus infection most often affects children, because, firstly, they are more susceptible to diseases than adults, and secondly, they do not yet have immunity to the infection. Adults suffer much less from gastric flu, since, as a rule, almost all have recovered from the infection even in childhood, and after a once-transferred illness, immunity forms to it, and the person very rarely becomes infected again during the rest of his life.

Symptoms

The first symptom of the disease is an increase in body temperature to 38 - 39 degrees, after which after a few hours there are cramping pains in the abdomen, general weakness and loss of appetite. Together with pain in the abdomen, vomiting (often multiple) and diarrhea occur. The stool can be up to 10 - 15 times a day, and the stools are liquid, foamy, brownish-yellow and with a very unpleasant, sharp odor. After 1 - 2 days, the stool becomes clayey and acquires a yellowish-gray color.

In addition to diarrhea and symptoms of general intoxication (headache, weakness, temperature) with rotavirus enteric infection, there may be sore throat, runny nose and conjunctivitis.

In general, rotavirus infection lasts from 3 to 8 days, after which there is a recovery.

Treatment

During the entire period of the disease, contact with others should be avoided, since the person is the source of infection.

The main means of treating gastric flu in children and adults is hunger and copious drinking of saline solutions.

Solutions can be prepared independently or purchased at the pharmacy rehydration drugs, such as Regidron, Trisol and others, which include all the necessary salts.

With regard to nutrition, you should eat as little as possible, preferring the steering wheel, bread crumbs and the like.

During the entire period of the disease rotavirus enteric infection, it is strictly forbidden to eat the following foods:

1. Milk and any dairy products. Milk can only be fed to infants who are breastfeeding. In this case, on the contrary, everything except the mother's milk is excluded from the infant's diet;
2. Fried and fatty;
3. Fruit;
4. Carbonated drinks and juices.

. In addition to basic therapy (hunger and drinking rehydration solutions), symptomatic agents can be used as needed. For example, to reduce the absorption of toxic substances from the intestine into the blood, it is recommended to take sorbents (Enterosgel, Smecta, Polysorb, Polyphepan), for lowering temperature - antipyretic drugs (Ibuprofen, Paracetamol, Nimesulide), and for the destruction of pathogenic microbes - probiotics (Bactisubtil or Enterol)

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Before use, consult a specialist.

Source: the editorial of the author's article Nasedkina A. K., a specialist in conducting research on biomedical problems from the sitehttp://www.tiensmed.ru/news/kishechnaia-infekcia-ab1.html