What to eat for acute gastroenteritis

Written by Zhu Dan Hua
Gastroenterology
Updated on September 12, 2024
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Acute gastroenteritis is particularly common in clinical practice, and its treatment in gastroenterology and emergency departments generally involves two steps. The first step is general treatment, where patients are advised to rest, eat easily digestible, liquid foods such as thin porridge and rice soup, and avoid spicy and irritating foods, such as chili peppers. The second step, if dietary treatment is not effective, involves the use of specific medications. For abdominal pain, pain relievers can be used, and for diarrhea, medications to stop diarrhea and regulate the intestinal flora can be used. Of course, the symptoms of acute gastroenteritis are varied, including abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and even fever. Therefore, if there is fever, it is generally recommended to take some antibiotics orally. If there is only diarrhea, it is only necessary to take medications to stop the bleeding and regulate the intestinal flora, and there is no need for anti-inflammatory drugs. Thus, the treatment plans vary depending on the different diseases and symptoms, but all medications should be used under the guidance of a doctor.

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Written by Zhu Dan Hua
Gastroenterology
1min 11sec home-news-image

How many days does acute gastroenteritis last?

The course of acute gastroenteritis generally lasts about 7 to 10 days. Patients typically have an acute onset, presenting with abdominal discomfort, nausea, vomiting, and abnormal stools. The abdominal discomfort is usually centered around the navel or the lower abdomen, predominantly characterized by intermittent cramping pain. Vomiting usually occurs more severely after eating and generally involves expelling stomach contents, without accompanying hematemesis or bile, and recurs frequently. Abnormal stools commonly involve more frequent bowel movements, colloquially known as diarrhea. Along with an increase in stool frequency, the stool tends to be looser in texture, and some patients may have watery stools, thus typically it presents as an acute episode. General treatment involves diet adjustment and, when necessary, the addition of some oral medications. Generally, conditions gradually improve over about 7 to 10 days. (Please take medication under the guidance of a professional physician.)

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Written by Jiang Guo Ming
Gastroenterology
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acute gastroenteritis symptoms

Acute gastroenteritis caused by catching cold is due to viral infection. This condition often accompanies symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection and acute gastroenteritis, such as fever, chills, dizziness and weakness, generalized body ache, sore throat, and other symptoms of viral infection, along with abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and other gastrointestinal symptoms. The abdominal pain is usually not very pronounced, and the stool is mainly watery. Laboratory tests generally do not show significant abnormalities. Acute gastroenteritis caused by bacterial infection can also present with fever, chills, chills, abdominal pain, diarrhea, etc. The abdominal pain is often more pronounced and typically presents as episodic periumbilical pain. The stool characteristics are often mucous or jelly-like, and may even include pus and blood. Laboratory tests often show clear abnormalities, such as elevated white blood cells, pus cells in stool, white blood cells, or occult blood, etc.

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Written by Jiang Guo Ming
Gastroenterology
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How long does acute gastroenteritis take to get better?

Acute gastroenteritis is one of the common diseases of the digestive system, and occurs more frequently in the summer and autumn seasons. During these seasons, the hot weather can lead to food spoilage. Additionally, people often like to eat cold drinks and use air conditioning, which can easily trigger acute gastroenteritis. It usually presents with symptoms such as intermittent abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and bloating, and sometimes symptoms like fever and chills may also appear. In such cases, examinations like routine blood tests, stool tests, and C-reactive protein tests can be conducted to determine whether it is infectious diarrhea or a gastrointestinal type of cold, and then targeted treatment can be applied. How long it will take to recover depends on specific symptoms and the patient's medical history among other factors. Generally, for a gastrointestinal cold, symptoms typically alleviate in about 2-3 days; for bacterial gastroenteritis, recovery might take a bit longer, generally about 3-5 days. If the patient is elderly, frail, or has underlying conditions such as chronic bronchitis, heart failure, or diabetes, the recovery might take slightly longer, but generally it can still be cured.

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Written by Jiang Guo Ming
Gastroenterology
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Can acute gastroenteritis cause shock?

Acute gastroenteritis often manifests as symptoms such as vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, sometimes accompanied by fever, dizziness, fatigue, etc., often caused by factors such as exposure to cold or improper diet. These include what we refer to as viral enteritis and bacterial enteritis. In most cases, symptoms gradually alleviate after symptomatic treatment, and some may improve without treatment. However, a few patients, such as those with uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhea, coupled with an inability to eat, may experience worsening dizziness, significant fatigue, dry mouth, poor skin elasticity, and reduced urine output. These symptoms indicate the development of hypovolemic shock, which requires attention.

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Written by Feng Ying Shuai
Traditional Chinese Medicine
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Where to massage for acute gastroenteritis?

Acute gastroenteritis is a common clinical symptom, and we can usually alleviate this clinical symptom through massage. For the massage, we can choose some acupoints on the abdomen, such as Zhongwan, Xiawan, Liangqiu, and the Tianshu points beside the navel for massage. The massage technique should go from light to heavy. If it’s difficult to massage on the stomach, we can choose some acupoints on the distal limbs, including Zusanli, Liangqiu, Shang Juxu, and Xia Juxu, which are very good for relieving acute gastroenteritis. The duration for the massage at each acupoint is about 2-3 minutes. After the massage, we can further choose other acupoints based on differentiation; for example, if the person has excessive liver heat, the Taichong acupoint can be selected for massage to relieve some of the clinical symptoms of acute gastroenteritis.