Gastrointestinal flu treatment

Gastric Flue: 12 things we need to know

Gastrointestinal flu has received so many names in the people that they can not be counted. It is also called intestinal, and abdominal, and gastric flu, although in fact it is not even the flu at all. The real name of this disease is gastroenteritis, or rotaviroz. What do we need to know about such a popular ailment in order to recover in time and competently?

Fact number 1. In fact, gastric flu is a norovirus

Stop blaming the stomach flu in your condition, and instead learn the true name of your problem: norovirus. It belongs to a family of viruses that cause gastroenteritis, although it can also be caused by an adenovirus and an astrovirus. But rotavirus infection is the most common cause of viral gastroenteritis, especially in newborns, the elderly and young children.

Norovirus can spread like wildfire in any crowded place, causing outbreaks in kindergartens, schools, hospitals and offices.

Fact number 2. Vaccination against influenza in this case will not help

When people say "stomach flu, they mean the flu virus that circulates in the environment and every year attacks a person through the nose and throat. Immunizations from influenza can protect against this virus, but not from the one that causes viral gastroenteritis.

The confusion between ordinary and gastric flu can be associated with some symptoms characteristic of both diseases. For example, it may be aches and pain throughout the body, nausea, subfebrile temperature, headache and muscle pain.

But among the symptoms of ordinary flu, there is no such thing as abdominal pain (at least in adults).

Fact number 3. It's very contagious!

Gastrointestinal flu spreads "by the fecal-oral route which is as dangerous as the airborne pathway by which ordinary flu spreads. Basically, the viruses of the gastric flu enter the body with infected feces or vomiting. Constant and thorough hand washing is the best defense against gastroenteritis.

Wash your hands especially carefully if you change diapers or clean for a sick child, and adults in the family should constantly clean up for themselves and observe personal hygiene.

Fact number 4. You can get stomach flu with food

Viral gastroenteritis is not exactly the same thing as food poisoning, which can arise from any diseases caused by industrial pollutants, including dangerous bacterial toxins, such as salmonella. But norovirus is the number one cause among all foodborne diseases.

Viral gastroenteritis can be transmitted from person to person or from touching a contaminated surface. But you can also get viral gastroenteritis from sewage, contaminated food or water, or dishes cooked or processed by an infected person. Hence all these inscriptions "wash your hands" in the restaurants and bathrooms of the hotels.

Fact number 5. Viruses that cause gastric flu are more hardy than common flu viruses

Compared to other viruses, noroviruses can be surprisingly hardy and stay alive for several days. They remain on household surfaces even after harvesting, so they easily spread. Even small amounts of viruses can cause infection.

To avoid infection with the intestinal virus, wash your hands with soap and water, which are more effective than hand sanitizers. Avoid cooking if you are sick (you can be contagious for 3 days or more after the disappearance of flu or gastroenteritis symptoms). Wash the laundry gently, using gloves to avoid catching stomach flu through contaminated clothing and bedding.

Use detergents based on environmentally friendly substances to kill the virus on hard surfaces.

Fact number 6. Symptoms of gastric flu occur slowly

Diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain will not appear in you immediately after the viruses have reached the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms of gastric flu usually develop gradually, within one or two days.

But other types of food poisoning can manifest quickly and hard - just a few hours after you ate something stale. Their symptoms are usually more severe, for example, such as abrupt and prolonged vomiting and diarrhea.

Fact number 7. Gastric influenza passes by itself

Both diseases - and gastric flu, other types of food poisoning - are what doctors call "self-restraint, that is, these diseases go by themselves and rarely require treatment.

You should know that norovirus is the main cause of foodborne illness, but salmonella and other pathogens can lead to hospitalization or death.

If you have viral gastroenteritis, you should begin to feel better after two or three days of the course of the disease. And food poisoning is caused by other causes - it affects you more and faster, but it passes faster, and you can return to normal working mode in a day or two.

Fact number 8. Dehydration is the biggest risk in stomach flu

It goes without saying that if you lose a lot of fluid due to watery diarrhea and vomiting, you need to drink fluids. But, apart from the liquid, you also lose sodium, potassium and other minerals known as electrolytes, and they also need to be replenished with the right diet. To replenish the reserves of potassium in the body, you need to eat rice porridge on the water and bananas - they have a lot of potassium.

If you have severe diarrhea, you should drink oral solutions with electrolytes containing salts and sugars, as well as water. Energy drinks (especially for those who are fond of sports) are not the best choice, because they contain an incorrect mixture of salt and sugar in terms of replacing lost fluid.

Fact number 9. With gastric flu, carbonated water is not the best choice

Try to avoid drinking too much sugary soda or drinks, such as juice, which contains a lot of sugar. The exception is the orange juice shown during dehydration. The biggest mistake that people with gastric flu do is just try to drink a lot of soda water. They understand that they need to drink something to prevent themselves from dehydration, but do it wrong.

It is not advisable to consume dairy products, for example, kefir and yoghurts, milk, because the milk protein virus will convert to a toxin, and your condition will only get worse. It is also not advisable to use soda to eat bread and sweets, which are very poorly digested and digested.

If you lost a lot of water, you need to drink decoctions of chamomile, mineral water without gas, green tea, blueberry jelly.

Fact number 10. Do not treat gastric flu with antibiotics

Many mistakenly think that with gastric flu, antibiotics are always needed. But in fact there is no treatment for viral gastroenteritis other than time and relief of symptoms. Antibiotics in this case are useless, so do not be surprised if the doctor does not recommend them.

But with gastric flu, antidiarrheal drugs are shown, which can also help to ease spasms and diarrhea. But you should avoid them if you have bloody diarrhea and fever, as this can lead to worsening of symptoms.

Fact number 11. Children and the elderly, as well as pregnant women, are at greatest risk

At children of younger preschool and school age the immune system is still weak enough to fight with viral infections, in addition, with gastric flu, children and the elderly are at greater risk dehydration. Elderly people are more likely with viral gastroenteritis, and recovery from illness takes more time.

Anyone with chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, asthma, cancer or kidney disease, people who are HIV-positive or are taking medicines that suppress the immune system must necessarily consult a physician before taking anything from the disorder stomach.

Fact number 12. Do not rush on your way to recovery

When vomiting and diarrhea cease, you, of course, will feel very hungry. But you do not have to pounce on food, but wait a few days before arranging a banquet. Eat small portions and drink in smaller amounts. If you overload the stomach, you will too soon feel sick again. So do not include so far in the diet of fatty foods and allow time for the stomach to digest food.

When should I see a doctor if you have stomach flu?

If you see blood in a stool or vomiting, consult a doctor. Diarrhea itself is not a cause for anxiety, but call your doctor if you are extremely lethargic, confusion, or a change in the mental state, or lack of urine (or urine is dark and concentrated). All these are signs of severe dehydration.

In addition, you need medical help if you do not get better after three days of illness, you have a long vomiting, which does not allow the use of liquid in normal portions, or if the temperature has risen above 38 degrees Celsius.

Gastrointestinal flu is a rather dangerous disease, in which it is necessary to properly treat. And then you will recover very quickly.

ilive.com.ua

Gastrointestinal influenza

Among the variety of gastrointestinal infections, intestinal flu is most commonly known, which is caused by rotavirus. At the same time, there is less talk about stomach flu, and sometimes it is confused with intestinal flu. Let's try to figure out the difference between these diseases.

Signs of gastric flu

Called the gastric flu by norovirus - its microbiologists are classified into several species: the South Hampton virus, Mexico, Norfolk, Snowy Mountains, Hawaii, Lordsdale, Desert Shield.

Despite the original names, all these noroviruses lead to acute gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach and small intestine), which is accompanied by symptoms similar to those of rotavirus infection.

Initially, norovirus lets you know about yourself with vomiting, and there may not be too much fever. The peculiarity of gastric flu is that its symptoms develop slowly. After the first attack of vomiting (which is almost always mistakenly associated not with infection, but with poisoning) there may come a lull, and only after 3-7 days the temperature will rise and again become sick. All these days the patient complains of diarrhea, headache and weakness, pains in the upper abdomen.

If norovirus is masked for GI disorder, slowly worsening the patient's condition for a week, then Rotavirus infection (intestinal flu) develops rapidly and immediately acute, and manifests itself with diarrhea and high temperature.

Other features of norovirus

Suffer from gastric flu only in winter (and rotavirus - at any time of the year), and infection more threatens adolescents and preschool children than small children (and intestinal flu is more common in children before of the year).

It is worth noting that adults also suffer from norovirus, it's easier to tolerate it in this case. Immunity to infection persists for six months or several years, after which the body becomes again vulnerable to gastric flu.

How is the norovirus transmitted?

Like most infections of the digestive tract, norovirus is considered a disease of dirty hands. Infecting them can be airborne and oral-fecal route, and especially risky direct contact with patients with gastric flu people.

The incubation period averages 36 hours, but the first vomiting can begin already in 4 hours after infection enters the body. The virus is highly contagious.

You can get sick with gastric flu after eating contaminated food, especially in this respect seafood.

Than to treat a gastric flu?

The danger of norovirus infection lies in dehydration (the effect of diarrhea and vomiting) and intoxication, microorganisms actively release substances that poison the body.

Treatment of gastric flu in adults and children is aimed at restoring water-electrolyte balance, therefore it is necessary to drink:

• little by little, but often water (mineral without gas or boiled with the addition of salt and sugar);
• green tea, infusion of chamomile;
• Regidron or Glukosalan.

To combat intoxication use:

• Activated carbon;
• Smectu;
• Atoxyl.

From losers take Loperamide and its analogs, and with vomiting are struggling with Metoprolamid (more appropriate than injections, because tablets with frequent vomiting do not have time to act).

Specific drug against gastric flu does not exist, because therapy is to combat symptoms. After 24 - 60 hours the disease recedes.

If the child is sick, you need to see a doctor. Dehydration in infants occurs much faster, and this is very dangerous.

Diet and prevention

During the treatment of norovirus, you must abandon the sweet, lactic, fatty and spicy food. It is useful to drink herbal tea or a decoction of dried fruits with rusks, there are porridges on the water. Fruits and vegetables, too, should be excluded from the menu (bananas are an exception).

Diet with gastric flu should continue for several days after the disappearance of symptoms.

Vaccines against norovirus does not exist yet, and therefore mainly prevention of gastric flu is in frequent washing of hands, minimization of contacts with patients, disinfection of objects with which the infected person contacted.

WomanAdvice.ru

Treatment of intestinal flu in adults

Intestinal flu is a serious disease if not taken in time. It can become complicated and lead to irreversible processes in the body. A special course of treatment is not provided, the doctor prescribes therapy that will help the body actively fight infection. Treatment is symptomatic, facilitates the patient's condition.

We restore the water-salt balance

The disease leads to dehydration, exhaustion of the body, so you need to drink as much fluid as possible. Pay attention to special pharmaceutical salt preparations, which contain a large number of mineral salts, such belongs to Regidron. Also recommend to drink drinking as much as possible non-carbonated mineral water, a compote of dried fruits.

Salt preparation should be diluted, as written in the instructions, you do not need to do it by sight, so as not to harm the body, salt can always attract a large amount of water. Such a mineral mixture can be tried at home, you need: a kitchen salt - a tablespoon; sugar - two tablespoons; water - one liter. Recommend to add lemon to taste. To restore cells of the intestine, the stomach, you need to take infusion with mint, chamomile.

We are treated with medicinal preparations

Intestinal flu leads to the fact that there is a failure in the development of enzymes necessary for the digestive system. It is recommended to take Festal, Mezim.

It is advised to take enterosorbents, with the help of them you can remove toxic substances, recommend using Smectoo, activated charcoal, these drugs will help to quickly remove the virus from the body.

To remove pathogenic microflora from the intestine, it is necessary to use probiotics, they include a large number of bacteria, they participate in the digestive processes.

Whether it is necessary to take antibiotics or not, the attending doctor decides. Not always these medications help to destroy viruses, some can further damage, because they get rid of useful microorganisms.

We use a diet to treat intestinal flu

It is important to pay attention to dietary nutrition, so you can quickly restore the work of the gastrointestinal tract. In the diet to include sour-milk products, the porridge should be a liquid consistency, cook it on the water. Also recommend to use tea, only without sugar, it should be strong.

It is necessary to refuse whole milk, dark bread, sugar, raw fruits, vegetables. Intestinal flu lasts no more than a week, so you need to follow all the rules and observe quarantine about two weeks so as not to infect others.

If the patient has lost his appetite, you need to eat jelly, broth, semolina, rice porridge, they are cooked on the water, butter is not necessary to add. In the diet you can include low-fat cottage cheese, only you need to grind it.

It is allowed to use boiled meat, low-fat fish, wheat bread. Salt in your diet should be as small as possible.

You can drink broths with raspberries, blueberries, currants, cocoa can be cooked on the water. When diarrhea decreases, gradually you can enter vegetarian soup, mashed potatoes, honey, carrots, buckwheat.

How to protect against intestinal flu?

1. You can not use unwashed fruits, vegetables, it is best to use them before boiling them with boiled water.

2. Before you drink milk, you must necessarily boil it.

3. Be sure to wash your hands with soap before eating.

4. If you have to contact the patient, observe the sanitary standards, you may need to take medications that improve the immune system.

5. Protect against rotavirus infection can be through vaccination.

Urgent flu emergency treatment

At the first symptoms of intestinal flu, you should consult your doctor, especially if there is a weakness, the head turns, it speaks of dehydration of the body, can also be very sick throat. In the event that the body temperature rises, vomiting, diarrhea, sweating, attention dissipation, constantly want to sleep, urgently need to call an ambulance.

Urgent medical care is needed if blood stains in vomiting and vomiting. Danger of dehydration, which dry out in the mouth, worries about thirst, difficulty urinating. Body temperature can rise to 39 degrees. Sometimes there is bloating, in the abdominal area there may be severe pain, which gives down the abdomen. You can not let vomiting and nausea last more than two days.

To accurately diagnose the disease, it is necessary to pass an analysis of stool. To prevent complications, you need to adhere to bed rest, drink as much liquid as possible, take medications that will help reduce heat.

Note that the temperature will be lost only if it is higher than 38 degrees. To treat rotovirus, you need to use folk methods, they do not harm like medications.

Intestinal spasm can be removed with No-shpa. Keep track of your health, if you become worse, worried about constant vomiting, diarrhea, you may need hospitalization, everything can end in a fatal outcome.

To get rid of diarrhea, you need to take Enterofuril. You need to drink it in the morning and in the evening, do not forget to observe the dosage. The drug can be used no more than 5 days. To restore the intestinal microflora will help Linex, Symbiot and other probiotics.

So, intestinal flu is a dangerous infectious disease. It is important to get rid of symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea in time, for this you need to drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration. When the disease is recommended to drink fruit drinks, broths with rose hips, mineral still water. If the disease worsens, you need to contact your doctor.

medportal.su

Symptoms and treatment of diarrhea in case of influenza

Diarrhea with influenza is a fairly common symptom, which indicates an infectious disease of the gastrointestinal tract. In another way, this disease is called intestinal flu. In addition, you can observe the temperature, weakness and dehydration of the body. For children this symptom can cause irreparable harm. But adults should not leave this unattended, if they have such a sign of the disease. It is necessary to treat, not eliminate the problem.

General information on intestinal flu

Intestinal flu is an infectious disease, which in medicine is called gastroenteritis. This disease belongs to the order of rotaviruses. The infection enters the gastrointestinal tract and multiplies there.Most often this disease affects children.They have a period of illness worse than that of adults. Symptoms are very well expressed, and in adults it can occur asymptomatically, in a latent form, but the person continues to be the carrier of the pathogen. This disease lasts for 5-7 days, then it must take at least a week for the patient to finally cure and cease to be the carrier of this disease.

The virus enters the person through the mucous membrane. From the type of virus that penetrated the human body, its further development and progress will depend. It's important what kind of immune system a person has. She can both fight the virus, and surrender and wait for the person to start to fight for their own health. The incubation period lasts 16 hours, and can last for five days. The most common way of getting the infection into the body is food. That is, low-quality dairy products, spoiled meat products, unwashed vegetables and fruits - all this can lead to a disease like intestinal flu. It also includes unwashed hands, unboiled tap water, swimming in different water bodies, lakes, rivers and so on.

The second way of getting the infection is by airborne droplets. When a person speaks loudly, sneezes or coughs, then his microbes spread in the air. There is also a contact-household way. Infection can get into the human body in places with a large population. These are kindergartens, offices, transport, shops, public toilets.

The causative agent of intestinal flu is very tenacious, and it is not so easy to destroy, especially with simple detergents. He can die only at the lowest temperature or at high (not lower than 60 degrees). And water with such a temperature does not flow in a conventional tap. Therefore, it is recommended to destroy this gastric virus with a concentrated chlorine-containing disinfectant.

Rotavirus can be determined after half an hour after it has entered the human body. He will be in the cells of the small intestine. When the virus attacks the intestine, the structure of the mucous membrane immediately breaks down. Immediately disrupted the production of digestive enzymes, which, in turn, are responsible for splitting complex sugars. Consequently, these carbohydrates accumulate in the intestine, gradually begin to pull down all the fluid in the body to it and thereby cause diarrhea and watery diarrhea.

Symptoms of intestinal flu

When your child begins to suffer such a disease, you should immediately call a pediatrician, who will decide whether you need hospitalization for your baby or you can be treated at home.

Often this disease occurs in children in the first years of life and has the following symptoms:

• growing malaise;
• weakness;
• temperature 38 degrees and above;
• chills;
• abdominal pain;
• vomiting;
• dehydration;
• a loose stool without blood, an acidic odor is possible;
• can appear cough, headache, runny nose.

Very often these symptoms are mistaken for banal poisoning. For example, when there is diarrhea, the parents give the child a drug that eliminates this symptom, and does not even think that they just disguised him, and not cured. When a child has diarrhea, it means that his body is trying to get rid of the infection by all means, taking it out in different ways. And when the drug is given, the infection does not disappear anywhere, it just begins to accumulate inside the child, which can only aggravate the situation.

If the parents noticed that the vomiting of the child is observed no more than 5 times a day, and the stool - up to 10 times, the child can be left for treatment at home. It is important to remember that everything starts as a regular flu. That is, first parents can notice that the child coughs and sneezes, his throat hurts. These signs pass fairly quickly. This is what distinguishes the intestinal flu from any other gastrointestinal disease. This disease does not begin with an upset stomach. The main thing is not to miss these rapidly passing catarrhal phenomena.

As for diarrhea, it can be gray-yellow, slightly clay, but without mucus.

These symptoms may indicate other diseases, such as: cholera, food poisoning, salmonellosis and many others. And to be sure that it is an intestinal flu, you should immediately consult a doctor. Adults with rotavirus disease also have the same symptoms as children, but they tolerate it more easily and quickly. For them, the incubation period lasts only a few days.

Treatment of gastrointestinal influenza

Well-known treatment of gastric flu is not yet available. The doctor begins to treat the patient and prescribes to him those drugs that will help to remove intoxication, to establish a water-salt balance, disturbed by a similar flu. This treatment is aimed at reducing the negative impact of the virus on the human body. Drugs do not allow the body to be completely dehydrated, eliminate toxins and restore the work of the cardiovascular and urinary system.

In such cases, the specialist prescribes in the first place such a medicine as Regidron. It must be dissolved in boiled water and drink 1 packet every half hour. If you do not have such a bag at hand, you can use the folk method. It is a chamomile broth and a decoction of dried apricots (you can replace it with carrots or raisins). Add sugar, salt and soda, and drink every half hour. To make up for the water balance, you need to drink liquid, but do not immediately drink a glass or a jug of water, but little by little, but often. If a person drinks a lot of water at once, this will cause another vomiting attack.

Adults must drink a decoction or solution immediately after vomiting or diarrhea. If the child often vomits and he constantly goes to the toilet, then he needs urgent hospitalization. Often still appoint or nominate such preparation, as Smekta. It envelops the human intestine and tries to reduce the irritative process in the body. In this list, it is also necessary to add Activated Carbon, Enterosgel and many other similar medicines. If there is a very high fever with this disease, doctors prescribe medications that stop the rapid course of diarrhea.

Be sure to observe a very strict diet. After an adult or a child is being treated, he is prescribed drugs that restore the intestinal microflora. There are a lot of such drugs: Lineks, Hilak Forte and so on.

Complications after this disease can also be. According to statistics, only 2% of the total population can die from this disease. But this applies to those who have very weak immunity and did not turn to the doctor on time.

If an adult has had intestinal flu in childhood, then doctors give little chance that this virus will return.

Prophylaxis of ailment

It is necessary to know about the prevention of this disease, which will help to avoid it. Always wash your hands, especially before eating. Do not contact people who are sick at the moment. To buy and there are only the checked up and qualitative products, especially it concerns dairy products (including check it is necessary a period of validity). Wash vegetables and fruits, buy purified water and boil it.

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If you follow such simple rules every day and accustom your whole family to it, you can never find on your way a disease like intestinal flu. After all, the most important thing is to take care of your health and the health of your relatives and friends.

respiratoria.ru

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