It arrives without warning. And turn the bathroom into your worst nightmare. Gastroenteritis spares no one . What's more, it is one of the most common diseases. To fight it, we all follow those tricks that our mother taught us as children while she took care of us. But are they still effective? Are you forgetting something?
To review everything you need to know to heal before a gastroenteritis (and also prevent it) we have spoken with Dr. Cristina Carretero, specialist of the Spanish Foundation of the Digestive System (FEAD) and member of the Digestive System Service of the University Clinic of Pamplona (Navarre). Take note!
WHAT IS A GASTROENTERITIS?
Gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the lining of the stomach and intestine that is caused, more frequently, by an infection by viruses, bacteria or parasites acquired by eating contaminated food. Apart from infections, it can also be caused by having eaten a poison (such as mushrooms). With food, it is better not to risk it.
SYMPTOMS OF GASTROENTERITIS
The main symptom is diarrhea , which often may be accompanied by vomiting, abdominal pain (like spasms) and fever. As we have said, these annoyances arrive without warning, suddenly, and can be mild or very intense, depending on the type of pathogen that caused it.
HOW LONG DOES A GASTROENTERITIS LAST?
To give you a reference of how long a gastroenteritis lasts, the most common is that vomiting disappears after 1 or 2 days . Diarrhea between 2 and 7 days later. Observing and keeping track of our stools is good to know how our health is.
PREVENTION TO AVOID GASTROENTERITIS SPREAD
The pathogens are eliminated by the stools and vomiting and are distributed throughout the environment. It is common to get infected by touching an infected surface. From the hand it is easy to pass to the mouth.
- Wash your hands. The best form of prevention is extreme hygiene. Wash your hands often, remember that they are one of the main routes for the spread of diseases. Better with warm water. It cleans well, too, kitchen work surfaces.
- Contaminated food. It can also be spread through water and food contaminated by the germs that cause gastroenteritis. This form of contagion usually occurs in tropical and subtropical countries. You, just in case, wash the fruits and vegetables well.
- Vaccine. There is a front against rotavirus, one of the viruses that most frequently causes gastroenteritis. It is only indicated for children under 8 months, who are at higher risk of dehydration.
GASTROENTERITIS: TREATMENT TO FOLLOW
In most cases, the symptoms improve on their own and no specific treatment is necessary . You must compensate, yes, the loss of fluids due to diarrhea and vomiting. Also monitor the evolution of the fever in case it appears.
Hydration for gastroenteritis. Drink 2-3 liters of liquid such as mineral water or infusions without sugar. Hydrate, too, when you're healthy.
- Little sips. It is important to drink fluids in small but frequent sips (every 30 to 60 minutes). If you drink a large amount of liquid at one time, your stomach may not tolerate it and you end up vomiting.
- Solutions. If the vomiting or diarrhea is severe, your body needs to recover from the loss of electrolytes as well. The best way is with an oral rehydration solution (ORS) that can be found in pharmacies and that provides the exact amount of electrolytes that the body needs dissolved in water.
- Best pharmacy. Before, when you had gastroenteritis, you used the so-called "alkaline lemonade" homemade. Today, pharmacy solutions are preferable since, in homemade preparations, the measurements of the ingredients are not as precise.
- Isotonics do not work. Sports drinks do not help replace electrolytes lost with gastroenteritis. Their composition of salts and that of pharmacy solutions are very different. So are the electrolytes that are lost through sweat during exercise and through the intestine in gastroenteritis. The most abundant mineral in sweat is sodium, while intestinal secretions have less sodium and more potassium.
MEDICATIONS FOR GASTROENTERITIS?
Before taking any medication, check with your doctor. And take a good look at the two notes that we give you.
- Don't cut off the diarrhea. Avoid drugs that stop diarrhea. They can prolong the infection by not facilitating the elimination of germs with diarrhea. In some cases, they can cause complications if absorbed into the blood.
- No antibiotics. Its use is not recommended except in specific situations and by medical order since it is necessary to assess the type of causative germ, the severity of the infection and your immune status. Remember that the use of antibiotics when they are not necessary favors the appearance of resistant germs.
GASTROENTERITIS: WHEN TO GO TO THE DOCTOR
Gastroenteritis continues its process and, in most cases, it is not necessary to see your doctor. On the contrary, you should go to your nearest health center in the following cases:
- There is blood in the stool or vomit.
- The diarrhea does not improve after 5 days.
- You vomit continuously and that prevents you from being able to drink liquids.
- Dehydration symptoms appear (sunken eyes, disorientation, etc).
WHAT TO EAT IF I HAVE GASTROENTERITIS
During the first hours it is better that you do not eat anything. Limit yourself to drinking fluids . When the discomfort begins to subside, always start eating in small quantities. If tolerance is good, you can gradually increase the diet.
When gastroenteritis strikes, what is known as a soft diet comes into play . But this "soft" is not literal. If it is recommended to help in cases of digestive problems, the correct term would be "gastric protection diet", since it is about dieting with easily digestible foods. You can learn more about the soft diet with this guide.
The one that has always been related to gastroenteritis has been the astringent diet, which has effects to stop diarrhea or stomach aches. These are the foods allowed in the astringent soft diet:
- Boiled white rice
- Boiled wheat semolina
- Boiled or steamed potatoes
- Bread, better if it is toasted
- Cooked vegetables (preferably carrot, pumpkin or zucchini).
- Omelette
- Boiled, grilled or baked chicken and fish.
- Grated apple and somewhat darkened
- Apple or pear compote (Remember that apple is always good for your body)
- Jelly
Although traditionally it was recommended to follow this astringent diet, nowadays it is beginning to be recommended to return to a normal diet as soon as possible as soon as the appetite recovers. They do, for example, the Nutrition Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics or the Spanish Association of Pediatrics.
