Gastroenteritis in adults

What is gastroenteritis

Gastroenteritis is a disease of the digestive tract, in which the stomach and small intestine become inflamed at the same time. Gastroenteritis is accompanied by digestive problems, vomiting, loose stools, intense abdominal pain, and can also cause dehydration.

Useful information about gastroenteritis

Causes of gastroenteritis in adults

Gastroenteritis in adults (acute form) can be caused by a number of reasons: viruses, bacteria, allergies, or poisoning. Let’s consider each of them.

• Viral gastroenteritis. It is caused by various viruses (most often gastroenterovirus and rotavirus). Another name for viral gastroenteritis in adults is intestinal flu (an explosive mixture of respiratory and intestinal infections, accompanied by high fever, vomiting, upset stool). However, with timely treatment, all symptoms completely disappear within a week.
• Bacterial gastroenteritis. It includes dysentery, cholera, salmonellosis. Bacterial gastroenteritis in adults is very difficult, due to frequent vomiting and repeated watery stools, dehydration of the body quickly occurs, so urgent treatment is required (most often in a hospital, under the supervision of doctors), which, first of all, is aimed at replenishing fluid in the body, and also includes antibiotic therapy.
• Allergic gastroenteritis. Most often occurs as an atypical form of an allergic reaction to certain foods or medicines.
• Toxic gastroenteritis. It occurs as a result of poisoning with toxic chemicals, poisonous fish, berries or mushrooms. It is considered one of the most severe forms of gastroenteritis, as it leads to severe intoxication of the whole organism. Treatment of toxic gastroenteritis is carried out only in hospitals, under the supervision of doctors.
• Alimentary gastroenteritis. It develops as a consequence of malnutrition or alcohol poisoning.

Symptoms of gastroenteritis in adults

Symptoms of gastroenteritis directly depend on the causes of its occurrence, as well as the form of the disease – mild, moderate or severe.

With a mild form of gastroenteritis, symptoms are vomiting and loose stools – they occur no more than three times a day, the temperature does not rise. Sometimes there may be no vomiting at all. But this does not mean at all that it does not carry any danger – on the contrary, the disease can be muffled and become chronic.

With an average degree, the temperature rises to 38,5 ° C, and vomiting and diarrhea become more frequent up to 10 times a day. The patient experiences severe pain and cramps in the abdomen. The vomit may be greenish in color, with pieces of undigested food, and the stools are frothy, thin, with a fetid odor.

With the most dangerous – severe form of gastroenteritis, the temperature jumps sharply to 40 ° C, vomiting and diarrhea practically do not stop (more than 15 times a day), convulsions, loss of consciousness, dehydration are also added to severe pain. Of course, in this case, you need to urgently call an ambulance.

Treatment of gastroenteritis in adults

Very often, people confuse gastroenteritis with ordinary food poisoning or indigestion and do not go to the doctor, but in vain. Firstly, the acute form (even if the symptoms are not very pronounced) can turn into a chronic one, and secondly, dehydration of the body can quickly develop, which is deadly. Therefore, always consult a doctor.

Diagnostics

For the diagnosis of gastroenteritis, it is important to find out what the patient ate or drank the day before, whether he had any contacts with an infectious patient, whether he used alcohol or any medications, whether he could accidentally swallow a poisonous chemical or an inedible mushroom, etc.

After examination and history taking, the doctor will prescribe: a blood test (the level of electrolytes, creatinine is determined, in the general blood test, an increase in the number of leukocytes indicates an infectious or inflammatory process, and an increase in the number of eosinophils indicates the presence of parasites). An immunological study of feces is also prescribed (determines a possible infectious cause), a bacteriological study of feces (determines the microorganism that caused gastroenteritis, reveals sensitivity to antibiotics), as well as a coprogram to assess the efficiency of food digestion. With gastroenteritis, impurities of mucus, undigested food, and sometimes blood are often observed in the feces.

Modern treatments

– When treating an acute form of gastroenteritis, the doctor usually prescribes the following drugs: antispasmodics (to relieve pain), antibiotics (for bacterial gastroenteritis), enzymes (to improve digestion), enterosorbents (remove toxins from the body), probiotics, as well as antiemetic and antidiarrheal drugs. In severe cases, massive infusion therapy is additionally carried out, – says infectious disease specialist, head of the epidemiology department Regina Basharova.

In addition to drugs for the treatment of gastroenteritis, a diet and plenty of fluids are required to replenish fluid in the body and restore water and electrolyte balance. During treatment, it is necessary to follow a diet – exclude all hard-to-digest foods, dairy products, meat, coarse fiber. It is better to give preference to liquid cereals, boiled in water, vegetable soups. Products need to be boiled or stewed, but not fried. Salted, smoked, spicy delicacies, as well as salt and spices are excluded.

Prevention of gastroenteritis in adults at home

Gastroenteritis in adults is a very unpleasant and dangerous disease that can be easily prevented if you follow a few simple rules:

• be sure to follow the rules of personal hygiene – wash your hands thoroughly with soap before eating, after using the toilet, and also when you come home from the street;
• for cooking, use only clean utensils, and either thoroughly wash or heat-treat all foods (this is especially true for raw fish, meat, poultry and mushrooms);
• products must be fresh and stored in the refrigerator, when warm, pathogenic microorganisms begin to multiply in them (therefore, it is not recommended to buy pastries from hand or dine in roadside cafes);
• drink only clean fresh water, do not draw it from reservoirs or suspicious wells – in extreme cases, such water must be thoroughly boiled or disinfected with special tablets;
• also remember the dangers of alcohol on the digestive system, be careful when working with chemicals, carefully monitor which mushrooms and berries you pick.

Popular questions and answers

We asked about gastroenteritis Regina Basharo, an infectious disease doctorwow.