Gastroenteritis; Its Triggers, Prevention, and Treatment.

10 months ago (Edited)

You know what they say about stomach pain and how highly inconvenient it could become, it is not rare to find people who have serious stomach pain constantly, but some we know are more severe than other. Extra care needs to be placed on what we ingest as that plays a significant role in the situation of stomach pain, but in today's topic, we will be considering a type of stomach pain that could become so severe that it gets us dehydrated and what the possible causes are.

Gastroenteritis describes stomach inflammation, alongside small and large intestines, it can be caused by different bacteria, toxins, parasites as well as some other diseases. It is a common condition that causes diarrhea and vomiting, although it is common amongst young children and older adults, it can affect any age group.

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Different types of viruses can cause gastroenteritis, the most common ones are; Norovirus, Rotavirus, Astrovirus, Enteric adenovirus, and rarely, covid-19.
Rotavirus is the main cause of gastroenteritis in children, it can affect adults too who are exposed to children who already have the virus, particularly those working in nursing homes.
Norovirus is very common amongst school-age children, it also causes for those on cruise ships and hospitals. Covid-19 may cause stomach flu symptoms as well, even when there is no breathing issue.

Viral gastroenteritis is the irritation as well as the inflammation of the intestine, the virus can be gotten through its spread from others or through contaminated drinks, foods, or surfaces. It is also commonly known as stomach flu. It is easier for the infection to spread within close regions like; nursing homes, schools, daycare facilities, and cruise ships.

Normally, the associated symptoms of gastroenteritis would begin usually after an infection, depending on the type of virus contracted, the symptoms could last for as long as 1-14 days, and it can start suddenly within the space of 1-2 hours too. The usual main symptoms are often vomiting and watery diarrhea, there could also be experiences of fever, nausea, headache, cramping, and fever.

Stomach flu is not as less common as it may appear, over 20 million people get sick from the infection every year in the United States based on statistical reports, viruses are the most common of stomach flu. When any of the agents are ingested either in the form of bacteria, parasites, or viruses, it creates some common types of infection which can be gotten either through drinking or eating.

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Giardiasis: Bowel parasitic infection, through the consumption of contaminated water, handling of an infected animal, changing the napkin of an infected baby, and then refusing to appropriately wash your hands afterward.
Escherichia coli infection: This is a common problem amongst travelers, especially when the movement is directed towards a region that has poor sanitation. The consumption of raw vegetables, raw fruits, and contaminated water is also a problem.
Cryptosporidium Infection: These parasites are found in human and animal bowels, swimming in a contaminated pool and swallowing water accidentally, and contact with infected animals also. A person who is infected may also spread the parasites to surfaces or food if they do not wash their hands properly after using the toilet.
Salmonellosis: This bacteria is usually found in the feces of animals, when a person gets infected through contact, then he can spread the bacteria to other food or bacteria surfaces if hands are not appropriately washed after using the toilet.
Viral gastroenteritis: This is a person-to-person contact type of infection, caused by contact with contaminated hands, feces, contaminated water, vomit, or food.
Campylobacter Infection: Found in animal feces and raw meat, particularly poultry. Washing of hands after the handling of an infected animal is one of the main causes of this issue.

On a general note, so many people recover fast from stomach flu, but the symptoms could be worse in babies, young children, and even older adults, not forgetting to mention those whose immune systems may have been compromised. Diarrhea and vomiting could lead to dehydration, which means there is no longer sufficient water in the body, this could happen very speedily depending on the circumstances. Some of the signs of dehydration are;

Dark urine.
Excessive thirst.
Reduced urine output.
Sunkeen eyes or cheeks.
General body weakness.
Dizziness while trying to stand, and lightheadedness.

Some people also experience increased symptoms of stomach flu at night, and this could be linked to circadian rhythm. At night time, there is usually an increased activity with the immune system, where there is a release of infection-fighting chemicals. The activity could result in inflammation that would make you feel worse while you battle with the flu.

Some precautions should be followed to prevent the spread of intestinal infections;
Make it a compulsory rule that everyone in your household wash their hands regularly, supervise the little ones and encourage the older ones to do the same especially after they have just used the toilet.

As an adult also, always wash your hands after there is a change of diapers, or before food is prepared to eat. Experts even advise the use of soap, and warm water, and rubbing the hands well for about 20 seconds. Wash around the cuticles, below the fingernails, and then move around with sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizers for periods when soap and water are not available.

There is also vaccination against gastroenteritis, but unfortunately, it is not available in all countries, but if available in your country, it is usually administered to children in their first year of life, and the vaccine appears to be effective in the prevention of some symptoms of the illness.

Making sure that your vegetables and fruits are appropriately cleaned before consuming them is also important, if possible, allow someone else to prepare your food if you are sick. If possible, avoid close contact with anyone with the virus.

If there is someone in your home who has viral gastroenteritis, ensure that gloves are worn while laundry is being touched. Proceed to wash bedding and cloth with hot water and dry them out appropriately, also make sure that your hands are properly washed even after touching the laundry.

If your baby is in daycare, ensure that there is a separate room created for the change of diapers and preparation of food.
A lot of contamination also happens during traveling, one could become sick through food or water contamination, so you have to be careful and protect your health all through; make sure you take only bottled or contaminated water, for your safety you should even use the bottled water to brush your teeth, make sure not to eat raw food, stay away completely from undercooked fish or meat.

As I mentioned earlier, the stomach flu virus could go on its own without the need for a health care provider, but certain cases will require you to instantly contact your health care provider, in a case of high fever, when the pain is severe, bloody diarrhea, symptoms that fail to resolve on time, lightheadedness, dizziness and other signs of dehydration as listed above.

While healthcare providers can easily diagnose flu from the symptoms described to them, they may still have to rule out the existence of other illnesses with illnesses, and that can only be done with the help of an appropriate test. Sigmoidoscopy and stool samples are usually the test option used. Treating gastroenteritis is greatly dependent on the cause, but it includes; consuming lots of fluid, antibiotics, drugs to kill the parasite in a case where it is a parasite-borne infection, oral rehydration drinks that could be gotten from the pharmacy, anti-vomiting and anti-diarrhea drugs are supposed to be avoided unless they are prescribed by a doctor.