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Intestinal (stomach) flu – This is a viral disease that leads to inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The cause of inflammation is most often rotaviruses, although caliciviruses, adenoviruses, noroviruses, and astroviruses can play a pathogenic role. As they multiply in the human body, the symptoms of the disease increase.
Most often, children suffer from the intestinal flu. This disease is also called viral gastroenteritis or rotavirus infection. In childhood, the infection is more severe and longer than in adulthood. Elderly people can also suffer from a severe form of stomach flu.
Most often, the disease manifests itself with vivid symptoms, however, if the person’s immune defense is strong, the infection can proceed invisibly. In this case, the person is a carrier of the virus, but he himself does not know about it. The average duration of the disease is a week and after this time there is a complete recovery. Throughout the entire period of illness, a person is able to infect others.
It is known that under the age of 5 years, almost every child, sometimes even more than once, is ill with rotavirus infection. Moreover, up to 80% of cases are diagnosed before the children reach 2 years of age. This is especially true for babies who do not receive breastfeeding, but are on artificial nutrition.
How can you get the stomach flu?
The virus enters the body, invading the mucous membrane lining the gastrointestinal tract. The minimum incubation period is 16 hours and the maximum is 5 days. This time depends on how much of the virus has entered the human body, as well as on how its immune system functions.
The food way of distribution of a disease is characteristic for a stomach flu. The virus can be on food that has not undergone high-quality processing, there is a possibility of infection with viral gastroenteritis through dairy products. Sometimes intestinal flu viruses are even present in tap water. It is enough to take a sip of unboiled water while bathing and the symptoms of infection will not keep you waiting.
Airborne or aerosol route of infection is another way of transmission. Viruses can spread through the air from a sick person to a healthy person. Most often this occurs when talking, coughing and sneezing.
Contact-household way of spreading the infection. Transmission of a pathogenic virus most often occurs in places where there are many people. These can be work offices, children’s fat groups, classrooms, shops, etc.
A distinctive feature of the virus is that it is extremely resistant to various external influences. It cannot be destroyed with conventional detergents. The virus tolerates both high and low temperatures well. To destroy its structure, it will be necessary to treat the inseminated surface with agents containing a high concentration. Massive outbreaks of intestinal flu often occur in kindergarten groups and classrooms.
What happens in the body when infected?
Already 30 minutes after the virus has entered the body, it can be isolated from the cells of the small intestine, where it rapidly begins to attack healthy tissues. The microvilli lining the intestines are damaged. The production of enzymes that are responsible for the process of breaking down sugars is disrupted.
As a result, disaccharidase deficiency increases, sugars begin to accumulate in the small intestine, provoking watery diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration.
Symptoms of the intestinal flu
In the event that the symptoms of intestinal flu appear in a child, you should immediately call a pediatrician at home. The doctor, after examination, will decide on the possibility of home treatment or the need for hospitalization.
Most often, vomiting with rotavirus infection is not repeated and does not occur more than 5 times. Loose stools are observed on average about 10 times in 24 hours. With this development of the disease, treatment on an outpatient basis is possible. After the end of the incubation period, the phase of acute intestinal influenza begins with violent symptoms.
At the initial stage of the disease, a child has minor catarrhal phenomena with a slight runny nose, sore throat, and cough. After a few hours, all these symptoms disappear. It is these signs that make it possible to differentiate gastric flu from other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, infectious etiology. When the catarrhal phenomena are eliminated, dyspeptic disorders increase.
So, the main symptoms of intestinal flu:
Hyperemia of the back of the throat, pain during swallowing.
Minor catarrhal symptoms with sneezing, coughing, mild coryza. These phenomena pass quickly, although sometimes the respiratory syndrome accompanies the entire process of infection. Perhaps the accession of conjunctivitis.
Development of diarrhea up to 10 times a day. At the same time, the feces are liquid, plentiful, and have a pungent odor. The color of the discharge is grayish-yellow, there are no impurities of blood or mucus in them.
There are pains in the abdomen, overflows and rumbling are heard. The infection is characterized by flatulence.
The patient is nauseous, vomiting may occur.
Body temperature can remain at subfebrile levels, and can reach high values. As a rule, at the peak of clinical manifestations, it reaches 39 ° C.
Against the background of dyspeptic phenomena, there is a possibility of dehydration of the body.
Intoxication syndrome depends on how severe the disease is. In mild and moderate forms of influenza, pallor of the skin, weakness, and headaches are observed. In severe infections, there may be a violation of the coordination of movements, fainting, dizziness, convulsions. Children under the age of one year are able to lose body weight.
It should be borne in mind that similar symptoms are characteristic of diseases such as salmonellosis, it is possible to develop diarrhea vomiting with food poisoning. In this regard, it is not necessary to delay the visit to the doctor, since only a specialist is able to make the correct diagnosis.
The flu has three levels of severity: mild, moderate, and severe. It is not excluded an atypical course of the infection or simply the carriage of the virus.
Treatment of gastrointestinal flu
Treatment of gastrointestinal flu has the primary goal of removing intoxication from the patient’s body, normalizing the water-salt balance, which is significantly disturbed with frequent diarrhea and vomiting. There is no specific therapy.
The patient is provided with symptomatic assistance, which is designed to reduce the negative consequences that the virus that has entered the body causes. In addition, it is important not only to restore the functioning of all systems, but also to prevent the attachment of a secondary bacterial infection.
Rehydration therapy is the first step. This will require a drug such as Regidron. It is available in sachets. To prepare the solution, the contents of one package should be dissolved in 1 liter of boiled cool water. The patient should drink this volume throughout the day, taking small sips every 30 minutes. The solution for rehydration can be prepared independently. This will require from 4 to 8 tablespoons of sugar, a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of soda, a decoction of dried apricots or raisins (300 ml) and boiled water (700 ml). If an adult patient is ill, then, regardless of the severity of his condition, after each vomiting and diarrhea attack, you should drink at least 200 ml of the solution, since it is necessary to replenish fluid loss during the first 6 hours. If the child vomits strongly and has frequent loose stools, then inpatient treatment is necessary.
From the moment when eating becomes possible, it will be necessary to adhere to the strictest diet with the complete exclusion of dairy and sour-milk products in order to prevent the growth and reproduction of pathogenic bacteria.
The intake of sorbent preparations is shown. It can be Smecta, Enterosgel, Filtrum STI, Activated carbon.
If the patient suffers from severe diarrhea with elevated body temperature, then Enterofuril, Furazolidone, or Enterol is recommended. These medications help stop diarrhea.
It is possible to restore the impaired function of digestion thanks to preparations with enzymes that are part of them. These are medicines such as Mezim, Pancreatin, Creon. It is possible to prescribe a short three-day course of the drug Ftalazol, but it is recommended to take it very rarely.
When the acute stage of the disease has passed, it is necessary to begin to restore the intestinal microflora. For this, there are probiotic preparations, for example, Linex, Hilak Forte, Rioflora-Immuno, Bifidumbacterin, etc.
About other flu remedies:
Flu pills and medicines:
Immunomodulators and antivirals
Antiviral drugs
Interferon preparations
Drug List
Prevention of influenza and SARS
Some facts about the stomach flu
Does the flu shot help with stomach flu? Influenza and intestinal flu are completely different diseases that are provoked by different viruses. There are some similarities between them in terms of clinical manifestations (catarrhal phenomena, intoxication of the body), however, the common flu does not provoke such serious intestinal disorders as the stomach flu. The seasonal flu vaccine does not protect against rotavirus infection.
The intestinal flu is highly contagious. It is necessary to be especially careful in the warm season, when the infection is widespread. The main route of transmission of the intestinal influenza virus is fecal-oral. The danger is represented by both vomit and feces that a sick person excretes, as well as sewage that enters water bodies. Food should be handled carefully before being eaten. Those dishes that a sick person prepares also pose a threat in terms of infection. You can protect yourself from viral gastroenteritis with good hand hygiene.
The virus is characterized by increased viability, retaining its functions in the environment for a long time, outside the human body. The virus lives without a host for several hours. It can remain on the surfaces of objects, even after cleaning. In order for a child to become infected, a very small amount of the virus is enough. To wash it off the surface of the hands, it is necessary to wash them with soap. This is a more reliable method of disinfection than hand washing with wipes or antibacterial sprays.
Symptoms of stomach flu do not develop immediately after infection. They will appear approximately 24-48 hours after the virus has entered the body. This time it needs in order to reach the digestive tract and multiply in the intestines. While other pathogens of intestinal infections, such as salmonella, cause symptoms of the disease after 3-4 hours.
Dehydration is the most formidable complication of intestinal flu. Dehydration is especially dangerous for children, as during vomiting and diarrhea they lose significant amounts of fluid. Its losses must be immediately replenished, since minerals, potassium, sodium and other elements necessary for its normal functioning are washed out of the body along with the fluid. In this regard, the patient’s body needs adequate rehydration. Herbal teas, green tea, still mineral water can be used as drinks. Refuse should be only from milk and dairy products. From the menu it is necessary to remove bread and sugar-containing products. Rice groats and bananas will replenish potassium reserves in the body.
Antibacterial therapy is not effective in treating intestinal flu. The infection is provoked by viruses, which means that antibiotics cannot have any effect on the course of the disease.