What should I do about acute gastroenteritis?

Written by Jiang Guo Ming
Gastroenterology
Updated on September 03, 2024
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Acute gastroenteritis typically presents with symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting, and sometimes accompanied by fever and chills. In such cases, it is important to rest, keep warm, avoid cold, and follow a diet that is light and easy to digest, such as rice porridge, soft noodles, etc. It is advisable to avoid raw, greasy, spicy, and alcoholic foods. Treatment should be based on the specific cause. For viral infections causing gastroenteric flu, antiviral and antidiarrheal astringents are commonly used. For bacterial infections causing infectious diarrhea, antibacterial and antidiarrheal treatments are needed, typically involving cephalosporins or quinolones. Generally, symptoms will gradually ease.

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Written by Jiang Guo Ming
Gastroenterology
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What are the symptoms of acute gastroenteritis?

Acute gastroenteritis is one of the common diseases in gastroenterology, especially prevalent in the summer and autumn seasons. It is usually caused by exposure to cold or contaminated food. The main symptoms include abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. Depending on the cause, symptoms can vary; for instance, a viral infection causing gastroenteric flu often accompanies symptoms such as dizziness, headache, fatigue, body aches, sore throat, or fever. Infections caused by contaminated food often lead to abdominal pain and diarrhea, with stools frequently appearing mucous or containing blood and pus. Lab tests often show an elevated white blood cell count.

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Written by Ren Zheng Xin
Gastroenterology
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Causes of Acute Gastroenteritis

Acute gastroenteritis mostly occurs in summer and autumn, due to unhygienic eating habits and consumption of spoiled food. Additionally, a weak immune system or excessive fatigue can gradually lead to acute gastroenteritis. Therefore, it is important to prevent acute gastroenteritis by adopting a healthy lifestyle. This includes having meals regularly and in proper amounts, avoiding spoiled food, drinking plenty of water (preferably boiled water), ensuring the water is thoroughly boiled, maintaining a reasonable work-rest schedule, avoiding excessive fatigue, and eating less greasy and spicy food.

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Written by Ren Zheng Xin
Gastroenterology
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Acute gastroenteritis causes and symptoms

Acute gastroenteritis is common in summer and autumn, often caused by consuming unclean food. Consuming chilled watermelon or cola straight from the refrigerator can also trigger acute gastroenteritis. The primary symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Frequent diarrhea can lead to signs of dehydration in the body, such as sunken eyeballs and pale lips. For acute gastroenteritis, immediate fluid replacement therapy should be administered, and antibiotics should be used to control the infection along with medications to stop diarrhea and firm up the stools. (Please take medication under the guidance of a doctor)

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Written by Ren Zheng Xin
Gastroenterology
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How to treat acute gastroenteritis?

Acute gastroenteritis is quite urgent and is characterized by significant nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The treatment principle involves bed rest and symptomatic use of antiemetic, antispasmodic, antidiarrheal, and rehydrating medications. For milder cases, oral rehydration solutions can be consumed. If persistent vomiting occurs with obvious dehydration, it is timely to administer intravenous fluids to replenish relevant electrolytes, and, if necessary, inject drugs for antispasmodic and antiemetic purposes; For infectious diarrhea, sensitive antibiotics can be chosen. During treatment, it is important to drink water properly, eat vegetables, stay hydrated, eat smaller and more frequent meals, and avoid spicy and greasy foods.

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Written by Ren Zheng Xin
Gastroenterology
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Why is fasting recommended for acute gastroenteritis?

Acute gastroenteritis is an acute inflammation of the gastric and intestinal mucosa, which can manifest as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. On the first day of the illness, it is necessary to abstain from food and drink, as any stimulation from food or water can aggravate the inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract and increase the burden on the intestines. Therefore, at the onset of the illness, it is crucial to abstain from food and drink and to actively treat with medication, such as anti-diarrheal agents and antibiotics. As the condition progresses and treatment continues, it is appropriate to gradually reintroduce food, starting with easily digestible foods such as rice porridge, millet porridge, vegetable soup, and rice soup. It is still advisable to avoid hard, raw, cold, and spicy foods.