Acute intestinal infection

2023 Author: Alfred Shackley | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 13:14

An intestinal infection is not a specific disease, as many are used to thinking. This is a whole list of ailments affecting the intestines. Each of the diseases is of a different nature, that is, it is caused by a specific bacterium. Sometimes the gut can be viral. To understand what exactly caused AEI, you need to consult a doctor and take tests to a laboratory. Only then can one decide how to carry out the treatment.

About causative agents of intestinal infection

Acute intestinal infection (ACI) with timely treatment is safe in most cases, and doctors give favorable prognosis for recovery. However, there is always a percentage of the likelihood when an illness can have dire consequences.

No one is immune from gastrointestinal infection. Everyone, young and old, can pick it up. OCI is especially dangerous for children under three years old and the older generation - people over 50. "Intestine" is transmitted by contact-household way, through unwashed / low-quality products, unboiled water, as a result of communication with animals.

Even if a person is scrupulous about personal hygiene, but shook the hand of a sick comrade or stroked an unhealthy cat, and then had the imprudence to touch his face, there is a possibility of infection. Therefore, we will figure out how to recognize the "intestines" and how not to end up in the hospital.

There are many causative agents of gastrointestinal infections. Only a study of a person's biological material can show what caused the disease.

The main culprits of AEI in adults are:

• cholera;
• salmonellosis;
• dysentery;
• rotavirus;
• enterovirus.

Unfortunately, our body does not develop immunity from these viruses and bacteria, so if a person has been ill with something like that once, he can get sick again.

The risk group includes:

• adults with various immunodeficiencies;
• pregnant expectant mothers;
• little children;
• old people;
• patients suffering from alcoholism.

Signs and symptoms

Every adult has probably heard about such a nuisance as OKI, some even felt it on themselves.

The main symptoms of the disease are known to everyone:

• nausea and vomiting;
• diarrhea (simply diarrhea);
• high temperature, accompanied by intoxication of the body;
• chills and inhuman weakness;
• cutting pain in the abdomen (this is already a bad sign).

Getting through the mouth together, for example, with food, a bacterium or virus makes its way into the gastrointestinal tract, where it begins to irritate the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines, then it enters the bloodstream with useful substances and attacks the whole body with toxins, causing all of the above symptoms.

Treatment of acute intestinal infection

As a rule, an adult organism can cope with the "intestines" in 6-8 hours, it is enough to get rid of what has been eaten. If unpleasant symptoms persist for more than 10 hours, and diarrhea and vomiting do not bring relief, then the disease has strongly attacked the body and it is not able to cope with it on its own.

The first days can be treated at home (with the permission of the doctor, of course). If there is no improvement within three days, and the situation gets out of control, it is better to call an ambulance and agree to hospitalization.

For all types of infection, medical treatment and a strict diet will be mandatory. While the patient's feces or smear is examined by the laboratory to identify the true cause of the disease, doctors begin general therapy against a wide range of pathogens that could presumably cause this condition in the patient. The disease does not tolerate delay, and test results can be obtained only after five days. It is impractical to start antibacterial treatment immediately, since viral intestinal infection cannot be treated with antibiotics.

Diet

In the acute period of the disease, it is recommended to adjust the diet, including a strictly limited set of products in the menu:

• rice / buckwheat porridge in water without oil and with a small amount of salt
• boiled lean meat / fish
• weak chicken broth
• white bread crackers
• baked apples
• biscuit biscuit
• decoction of blueberries and dried fruit compote (without prunes)
• weak sweet black / chamomile tea.

Rehydration therapy

It is very important to prevent dehydration of the body and replenish the loss of fluid that came out with diarrhea, vomiting and fever. For an adult, this is one and a half to two liters per day. You can drink water without gas, a weak broth of wild rose, sweet tea and dried fruit compote (without prunes).

Rehydration ready-made powders will be mandatory, which must be diluted with water according to the instructions on the package and taken a little during the day: Rehydron, Humana Eliktrolity, Oralit and others. You need to drink 5 ml every 10 minutes to replenish the body with fluid, but not to induce repeated vomiting. If the symptoms persist or the person cannot drink so much water per day, then it is imperative to seek help from the hospital, where the fluid will be injected intravenously in the hospital.

Sorbents

The next mandatory medication to eliminate the symptoms that accompany an intestinal infection is the intake of a sorbent to get rid of intoxication and fix the stool. It can be Activated charcoal (1 tablet per 1 kg of body weight 3 times a day), Smecta or Atoxil (1 pack three times a day half an hour before meals), Polysorb, Enterosgel or something similar.

Antiemetic and pain relievers

To stop vomiting, Cerucal or Motilium will help (1 tab. 3-4 times a day). Cerucal can be drunk (in tablets) or injected intramuscularly, if possible. No-Shpa or Riobal (1 tab. 3 times a day) will help relieve pain symptoms and eliminate stomach cramps.

Beneficial bacteria for the normalization of microflora

Preparations of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, which are also required, will help to replenish the beneficial intestinal microflora. For example, Linex or Bifiform. These complex foreign probiotics are taken orally 2 capsules 3 times a day.

Enzymes

To maintain the functions of the gastrointestinal tract, you need to take enzymatic drugs, for example Mezim or Creon (2 tablets or capsules 3-4 times a day, regardless of food intake).

Antibiotics

If the doctor suspects or laboratory confirmed a bacterial infection, it is advisable to start antibacterial treatment of the "intestines". The choice of the drug is behind the infectious disease doctor, since one ailment can be cured with ordinary Norfloxacin tablets, and in another case, a more serious antibiotic may be needed, which must be administered to the patient intravenously or intramuscularly.

Herbs for the treatment of OCI

To avoid irritation or secondary infections, doctors recommend rinsing your mouth with soda solution or herbal decoction, and lubricating the anus with sea buckthorn oil.

Traditional medicine is an excellent aid in the treatment of AEI. Natural medicines given by nature itself should not be neglected. For example, decoctions from oak bark or calamus root (half a glass 4-5 times a day). Herbal preparations are good in this matter. One of the simplest, but very effective, is a collection of young alder cones, cinquefoil roots and nettle roots. It is necessary to take 2 tbsp. l. ingredients, brew them in a water bath (10 minutes), then stand for another couple of hours in a warm place. Drinking such a drug is necessary for half a glass up to 4 times a day. It is best to take the medicine 20 minutes before meals.

How to prevent infection: prevention measures

To begin with, it is worth saying how to protect those people who are near the patient or caring for him. The disease can "twist" any family member and easily spread to others.

If a patient with symptoms of an acute intestinal infection appears in the family, it is necessary:

• if possible, isolate him from the rest of the family;
• wash hands thoroughly after contact with a sick person;
• wash the bath and toilet after the patient with bleach;
• provide the patient with personal dishes and a towel;
• wash clothes and clothes of a person with AEI symptoms separately from the belongings of other family members.

Preventive measures:

• observance of individual hygiene;
• maintaining sanitary conditions in the house;
• obligatory hand washing after using the toilet and before eating;
• boiling water and milk;
• storing ready-made meals in the refrigerator;
• thermal processing of products;
• thorough washing of fruits, berries, vegetables before use;
• scrupulous viewing of the expiration dates of products in the supermarket.

Any disease disrupts the usual rhythm of a person's life. Therefore, it is better to knowingly prevent it than to carry out long and expensive treatment.