Among the variety of gastrointestinal infections, intestinal flu is most commonly known, which is caused by rotavirus. At the same time, there is less talk about stomach flu, and sometimes it is confused with intestinal flu. Let's try to figure out the difference between these diseases.
Signs of gastric flu
Called the gastric flu by norovirus - its microbiologists are classified into several species: the South Hampton virus, Mexico, Norfolk, Snowy Mountains, Hawaii, Lordsdale, Desert Shield.
Despite the original names, all these noroviruses lead to acute gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach and small intestine), which is accompanied by symptoms similar to those of rotavirus infection.
Initially, norovirus lets you know about yourself with vomiting, and there may not be too much fever. The peculiarity of gastric flu is that its symptoms develop slowly. After the first attack of vomiting (which is almost always mistakenly associated not with infection, but with poisoning) there may come a lull, and only after 3-7 days the temperature will rise and again become sick. All these days the patient complains of diarrhea, headache and weakness, pains in the upper abdomen.
If norovirus is masked for GI disorder, slowly worsening the patient's condition for a week, then the rotavirus infection (intestinal flu) develops quickly and immediately acute, and manifests itself with diarrhea and high fever.
Other features of norovirus
They suffer from gastric flu only in winter (and rotavirus - at any time of the year), and the infection is more threatening for adolescents and preschool children than for young children (and intestinal flu more often for up to a year).
It is worth noting that adults also suffer from norovirus, it's easier to tolerate it in this case. Immunity to infection persists for six months or several years, after which the body becomes again vulnerable to gastric flu.
How is the norovirus transmitted?
Like most infections of the digestive tract, norovirus is considered a disease of dirty hands. Infecting them can be airborne and oral-fecal route, and especially risky direct contact with patients with gastric flu people.
The incubation period averages 36 hours, but the first vomiting can begin already in 4 hours after infection enters the body. The virus is highly contagious.
You can get sick with gastric flu after eating contaminated food, especially in this respect seafood.
Than to treat a gastric flu?
The danger of norovirus infection lies in dehydration (the effect of diarrhea and vomiting) and intoxication, microorganisms actively release substances that poison the body.
Treatment of gastric flu in adults and children is aimed at restoring water-electrolyte balance, therefore it is necessary to drink:
- little by little, but often water (mineral without gas or boiled with the addition of salt and sugar);
- green tea, infusion of chamomile;
- Regidron or Glukosalan.
To combat intoxication use:
- Activated carbon;
- Smectu;
- Atoxyl.
From losers take Loperamide and its analogs, and with vomiting are struggling with Metoprolamid (more appropriate than injections, because tablets with frequent vomiting do not have time to act).
Specific drug against gastric flu does not exist, because therapy is to combat symptoms. After 24 - 60 hours the disease recedes.
If the child is sick, you need to see a doctor. Dehydration in infants occurs much faster, and this is very dangerous.
Diet and prevention
During the treatment of norovirus, you must abandon the sweet, lactic, fatty and spicy food. It is useful to drink herbal tea or a decoction of dried fruits with rusks, there are porridges on the water. Fruits and vegetables, too, should be excluded from the menu (bananas are an exception).
Diet with gastric flu should continue for several days after the disappearance of symptoms.
Vaccines against norovirus does not exist yet, and therefore mainly the prevention of gastric flu consists in frequent washing of hands, minimization of contacts with patients, disinfection of objects with which the infected person contacted.