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Intestinal flu (symptoms, signs, treatment)
Virologists joke that the subjects of their research are often interconnected, like the aunts from the Brazilian television series. For example, the causative agent of intestinal flu is norovirus, one of the representatives of a large family of enteroviruses and a distant relative of the polio virus.
Where did the name come from – intestinal flu? In most cases, norovirus is the cause of epidemics of gastrointestinal diseases around the world. Although it is the causative agent of acute intestinal infections, the name “flu” was given to it because outbreaks of the disease often coincide with the flu.
Intestinal flu symptoms
The incubation period for intestinal influenza virus is up to two days. The first intestinal flu symptoms these are nausea, vomiting and diarrhea (diarrhea or bear sickness) several times a day, pain in the abdomen and, in some cases, loss of taste sensitivity. Plus, as a rule, the body temperature rises. All these signs of intestinal flu are complemented by symptoms of general intoxication – weakness and pallor of the skin. After a few days, the patient’s well-being returns to normal, but within a month he is quite capable of infecting others. Therefore with treating intestinal flu you must not linger!
Intestinal flu: easy to get, hard to kill, impossible to forget
Intestinal flu is dangerous for people of any age. But as a rule, the elderly and children are most susceptible to the disease. It is still unclear whether immunity to the virus develops after illness. Some people get intestinal flu only once, while others get it all their lives.
Unfortunately, the intestinal flu virus is very viable. It does not die after wet cleaning with conventional detergents, and is also resistant to freezing and heating up to 60 degrees. The intestinal flu virus is destroyed only with disinfectants with a sufficient concentration of chlorine.
Treatment for intestinal flu usually consists of taking activated charcoal and adhering to a strict diet. Milk and dairy products are categorically excluded from the diet. In rare cases, it is fermented milk products that cause intestinal flu infection. Therefore, despite the fact that some fermented milk products are a source of valuable probiotics (lacto and bifidobacteria), which are extremely necessary for the body’s recovery after intestinal flu, it is better to exclude them from the diet for a while. There is no specific vaccine against norovirus, so intestinal flu is usually treated based on specific symptoms. In any case, a doctor’s consultation is necessary.
Prevention of intestinal flu is simple and effective
In order for the treatment of intestinal flu not to interfere with your plans, you need to know about the basic measures to prevent this disease. They are simple and commonplace, but, oddly enough, effective: following the rules of personal hygiene (washing hands before eating, after using the toilet and before preparing food), eating clean and thermally processed foods, as well as safe water and drinks.