Intestinal flu, symptoms and treatment in adults
Intestinal flu is an infectious disease in which the pathogen enters the body and develops in the digestive tract. Other names are gastroenteritis, rotavirus infection. Children and elderly people are more prone to infection.
The danger of the disease is that often people confuse it with an intestinal infection and do not take the necessary first aid measures. In adults with strong immunity, this form of influenza can be asymptomatic, but does not cease to be contagious.
Reasons for
How is intestinal flu transmitted?
There are 3 ways:
- Food .The cause of the disease can be the use of unwashed vegetables and fruits, unboiled tap water, as well as non-compliance with hygiene rules( dirty hands, the use of someone else's dishes, etc.).
- Airborne droplet .Viruses spread in the air when sneezing, coughing, and even the usual conversation of a sick person. When you are near him, infection occurs.
- Contact-household .The virus is transmitted through the use of common objects with a diseased person: pencils, computers, door handles, etc. Such a method of transmission is typical for places of large concentrations of people - schools, offices, shops.
People with reduced immunity are more susceptible to intestinal flu: they have chronic diseases, children, pregnant, elderly. The causative agent of this infection is very high viability, it is not destroyed when exposed to normal soap, can withstand frost and heat up to 60 ° C. It bends when boiled, treated with disinfectants with chlorine.
What happens in the body during infection?
When infected, the virus enters the mucosa of the digestive tract. The incubation period of intestinal flu begins, which lasts up to 5 days. The concentration of the pathogen and the state of immunity depends on how quickly the disease develops and how difficult it will be.
After 30-40 minutes after infection, the virus is already in the mucosa of the small intestine and destroys its structure. As a result, the secretion of digestive enzymes that break down complex carbohydrates is reduced. These compounds accumulate, attract liquid, and diarrhea develops.
After 20 hours, the infected cells die and become sloughing. Then they leave the digestive tract along with the feces, becoming an external source of infection.
Symptoms
Gastrointestinal influenza begins acutely, symptoms appear after the end of the incubation period, on average after 2-3 days. Characterized by a sharp rise in temperature, the development of fever, vomiting and diarrhea. The feces can be of different colors, sometimes with blood veins.
The acute period of the intestinal form of influenza lasts about 7 days, the following symptoms of are observed:
- spastic abdominal pain of varying intensity;
- nasal congestion, runny nose, sneezing;
- pain or sore throat;
- decreased appetite;
- weakness.
Often the intestinal flu precedes the usual, and then gradually the symptoms of the attached disease increase: muscle pain, chills, the second wave of temperature rise.
If the infection was severe, then by the time of recovery there is depletion of the body, sharpening of the facial features, lowering of arterial pressure, mild anemia with dizziness and pallor of the skin.
Diagnostics
Intestinal influenza in adults with stable immunity is shown to be smoothened, in other categories of the population it is often similar to food poisoning, gastritis, dysbacteriosis and other diseases of the digestive tract.
Therefore, the diagnosis of rotavirus infection requires the conduct of laboratory tests:
- a general blood test to determine the level of leukocytes, ESR;
- general urine analysis for erythrocyturia, leukocyturia;
- PCR;
- passive hemagglutination;
- RIF - the reaction of immunofluorescence or the Koons method;
- RSK is a complement fixation reaction.
The list of diagnostic procedures can be less or more, depending on the clinical picture of the disease. The last 4 analyzes are most often performed on a fee basis.
First aid for intestinal flu
If an intestinal flu is suspected in an adult before a doctor visits and treatment begins, measures should be taken to prevent dehydration. Diarrhea and vomiting lead to rapid loss of fluid.
What should I drink with intestinal flu? Tea, compote or simply water will do the best. Food should consist mainly of natural ground foods: cereals, mashed potatoes, soups.
If the child is sick, then you can not leave him alone. It is necessary to ensure that the baby does not choke with vomit. For this, during sleep, you need to lift the upper end of the bed, turn your head to one side. With a sharp increase in temperature, you can give an antipyretic drug( Paracetamol, Nurofen).
Treatment methods
Treatment for intestinal flu is always complex. First of all, it is necessary to eliminate dehydration. With a large loss of fluid, infusion therapy is performed: intravenously drugs are introduced that restore the water-electrolyte balance and normalize metabolic processes( Regidron, Oralite, colloidal solutions).
If dehydration is not strong, then enough soldering. The volume of fluid to be taken is calculated by the doctor, based on the patient's body weight and the severity of the symptoms: vomiting and diarrhea. Drink in small portions every 10-15 minutes.
Specific drugs for intestinal flu do not exist. Treatment is aimed at reducing the toxicity of the body and normalize water-salt metabolism.
For this, is assigned:
- Enterosorbents are drugs that bind toxins in the intestines and help them to withdraw( Activated Carbon, Polysorb, Smecta).More on the use of Smecta in gastritis →
- Antidiarrhoeal, antimicrobial agents( Enterofuril, Stopdiar, etc.);
- Enzyme preparations( Mezim, Furazolidone).
- Probiotics( Bifiform, Bifidumbacterin, Lineks).
Antibiotics for intestinal flu are not prescribed, since their action is aimed at eliminating bacteria, not viruses. In addition, drugs in this group lead to dysbiosis - a violation of the balance of intestinal microflora, which only increases symptoms such as diarrhea, flatulence.
How to treat intestinal flu in an adult, the doctor should decide. Sometimes other people join this disease, and then the list of medicines will be wider.
Intestinal flu during pregnancy
Intestinal flu often develops during pregnancy, as during this time there is a natural decrease in immunity. The difficulty in detecting a disease is that often a woman takes his symptoms for a toxicosis: nausea, vomiting, weakness, diarrhea.
The virus itself does not pose a threat to the fetus, it only develops in the intestine of a woman. But the danger is dehydration, general weakness of the body, anemia, low blood pressure. All this leads to a decrease in the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the future child.
Fetal hypoxia, intrauterine growth retardation, and in severe cases - miscarriage, premature birth. Therefore, it is extremely important for future mothers to monitor their condition and to consult a doctor at the first suspicion of infection.
Complications of intestinal flu
If in time to fight dehydration and pills, powders, suspensions and , the prognosis of intestinal flu favorable. When the disease is severe, it is possible to develop hypotension, anemia, and cardiovascular failure. In the absence of medical assistance, a lethal outcome is not excluded. According to statistics, about 2.5% of cases of rotavirus infection result in death.
Once with intestinal flu, a person becomes less susceptible to the virus. If there is a re-development of the disease, the symptomatology is much less pronounced or completely absent.
Prevention
There is a specific prevention of intestinal flu - vaccination. The vaccine against rotavirus is called Rotarix. It is a drop for injection into the oral cavity. To develop immunity, it is necessary to use the drug in 2 stages, with a break of at least 4 weeks.
Nonspecific prevention of intestinal flu is as follows :
- personal hygiene, frequent and thorough hand washing, the use of individual dishes, towels, brushes;
- use only purified and treated water;
- careful selection of products, washing fruits and vegetables, compliance with shelf life and storage rules;
- when swimming, avoid accidental ingestion of water.
prevention of intestinal flu after contact with patients is to improve the body's resistance to infectious agents. It is recommended to start taking immunostimulants, restore sleep and nutrition, avoid physical and mental overload. But the effectiveness of emergency measures is lower than those carried out in advance.
Feeding habits during and after
diseases Diet for intestinal flu in adults and children suggests a gentle and soft diet. Of the daily diet to exclude all foods that irritate the gut: spicy, sour, flavored, fatty, smoked, as well as hot and cold. Also, we will have to give up milk and food from it, fresh fruits and vegetables, confectionery and sweets.
What can I eat with intestinal flu? Optimum variant - mucous porridges on water, stewed and wiped vegetables, soups-mashed potatoes, rice broth, jelly, dry breads. In order not to overload the digestive system, it is necessary to take food in small portions and often.
The diet after intestinal flu is based on the same principles. Go to the usual diet is gradually over 3-4 weeks.
Intestinal flu is an infectious disease that affects the digestive tract, mainly the small intestine. It manifests as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, spastic pain in the abdomen, a rise in temperature.
Because of the similarity with other diseases of the digestive tract for accurate diagnosis, laboratory diagnosis data are needed: a general analysis of blood and urine, PCR, etc. The treatment is based on the elimination of symptoms, dehydration. Prevention can be specific( vaccine) and nonspecific( prevention of infection).
Author: Olga Khanova, doctor,
specially for Moizhivot.ru
