How to alleviate acute gastroenteritis

Written by Li Ying
Gastroenterology
Updated on September 04, 2024
00:00
00:00

For acute gastroenteritis, the first step is to provide general treatment, which is to have the patient rest in bed as much as possible. For mild cases, oral rehydration solutions can be used to replenish lost fluids. If the patient has persistent vomiting or noticeable dehydration, they need to replenish with glucose-salt water or other relevant electrolytes. Patients should try to eat a light diet, consisting of semi-liquid foods, to prevent dehydration. Secondly, symptomatic treatment should be administered if necessary, including injections of antiemetic and antispasmodic medications, as well as antidiarrheal drugs. Thirdly, antimicrobial treatment, which is mainly targeted at infectious diarrhea, should involve the appropriate use of targeted antibiotics, but it is important to prevent their misuse.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Li Ying
Gastroenterology
1min 18sec home-news-image

How to thoroughly treat acute gastroenteritis?

The main treatment methods for acute gastroenteritis are as follows. Firstly, the patient should rest in bed. If the patient has persistent vomiting, or shows signs of dehydration caused by vomiting, it is necessary to promptly rehydrate the patient. Regarding the diet, it is advisable for the patient to consume liquid or semi-liquid foods, such as porridge and rice soup, to prevent dehydration. Secondly, it is crucial to treat the symptoms. If the patient has uncontrollable vomiting, we can administer antiemetic medications to alleviate this symptom. Thirdly, in the case of antimicrobial treatment, common gastroenteritis may involve bacterial infections, which require antibiotics for targeted treatment of infectious diarrhea. However, it is important to avoid overuse or misuse of these antimicrobial drugs. Furthermore, attention must be paid to dietary habits. It is essential to wash hands before meals and after using the toilet, and to properly disinfect raw vegetables, fruits, and meats, which should be thoroughly cooked before consumption, to effectively prevent the occurrence of gastroenteritis.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Li Ying
Gastroenterology
52sec home-news-image

Where does acute gastroenteritis come from?

Acute gastroenteritis is primarily an acute inflammation of the gastrointestinal mucosa. It is mainly characterized by symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever, and is commonly seen in the summer and autumn seasons. It is primarily caused by improper diet, overeating, or consumption of raw, spoiled, or unclean food. The condition is mainly due to bacterial or toxin infection, often seen in group outbreaks or family clusters. It can be caused by the consumption of infected fish, meat, poultry, or seafood, or by leftovers contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus, among others. Moreover, accidental ingestion of strong acids, strong alkalis, or certain pesticides can also cause this disease.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Huang Gang
Gastroenterology
55sec home-news-image

Acute gastroenteritis pain level

The level of pain in acute gastroenteritis is generally divided into ten levels clinically: levels one to three are mild, four to six are moderate, and seven to ten are severe. This classification is mainly based on the patient's expression and self-perceived intensity of pain. In cases of acute gastroenteritis, there is often the possibility of experiencing spasms, or pain stimuli might trigger inflammatory infections. Generally, the pain is often above level eight. However, if there is mild pain, or it does not accompany fever, it is usually around level one to three. Therefore, once a patient experiences abdominal pain, an intramuscular injection of scopolamine butylbromide can be used to relieve the pain and help the patient stabilize.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Huang Gang
Gastroenterology
49sec home-news-image

Can you smoke with gastroenteritis?

If suffering from gastroenteritis, the main clinical symptoms usually include abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, or fever. If these symptoms occur, it is best to test the stool and blood to determine whether the infection is bacterial or viral, and then treat accordingly. It is not recommended for patients with gastroenteritis to smoke, as smoking primarily harms the lungs, easily causing chronic bronchitis, asthma, or even allergies. Furthermore, smoking can affect the blood concentration of medications, thus during the treatment of gastroenteritis with oral medications or intravenous infusions, smoking can affect the efficacy of the treatment. Therefore, patients with gastroenteritis should not smoke.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Huang Gang
Gastroenterology
54sec home-news-image

How many days to rest for acute gastroenteritis?

Patients with acute gastroenteritis experience rapid onset of symptoms but can recover quickly with proper and standard treatment after diagnosis. Acute gastroenteritis generally involves simultaneous infection of the intestinal and gastric mucosa by bacteria or viruses. With appropriate treatment, using anti-inflammatory medications or probiotics, the disease can be rapidly resolved without any problems, typically healing within two to three days. Therefore, when suffering from acute gastroenteritis, it is important to rest, preferably by staying in bed without engaging in strenuous activities to avoid exacerbating the condition. Usually, taking two to three days off from work is completely sufficient.