Symptoms of viral gastroenteritis are nausea, vomiting, and watery diarrhea. Dehydration is the most serious complication of this illness. This illness should run its course in a few days but may need medical attention of diarrhea or vomiting persists or if there are signs of dehydration.
How is bacterial gastroenteritis diagnosed? Your healthcare provider will do an exam and ask about your health history. Your healthcare provider will likely ask for a stool sample to find the source of your illness and whether it's bacterial or viral. You may need blood tests to find out how severe the illness is.
Gastroenteritis can be very unpleasant, but it usually clears up by itself within a week. You can normally look after yourself or your child at home until you're feeling better.
However, the key distinction is time: The symptoms of a stomach bug will take 12 to 48 hours to develop, while the symptoms of food poisoning typically develop much faster, usually with 6 hours of consuming an infected dish. Another common difference between the two is the length of illness.
Rotavirus, adenovirus, and astrovirus most often infect infants and young children, but they can also infect adults. Viruses may cause viral gastroenteritis any time of the year. In the United States, norovirus, rotavirus, and astrovirus are more likely to cause infections in the winter.
Stomach bugs, also called gastroenteritis, are very common in young children and can cause vomiting, diarrhea and sometimes a fever. Gastroenteritis typically lasts in the neighborhood of three to seven days, but sometimes it can be shorter and, unfortunately, sometimes it lasts longer.
Diarrhea is a common problem. It may last 1 or 2 days and goes away on its own. If diarrhea lasts more than 2 days it may mean you have a more serious problem.
The main symptom is diarrhoea, often with being sick (vomiting) as well. Diarrhoea is defined as "loose or watery stools (faeces), usually at least three times in 24 hours". Blood or mucus can appear in the stools with some infections. Crampy pains in your tummy (abdomen) are common.
The CDC recommends bleach to kill the stomach bug-causing norovirus on surfaces. But if that will damage your counter or you'd rather not use it, look for “phenolic solution” on the label of a concentrated disinfectant. To kill the germs, the EPA suggests you use 2 to 4 times the recommended amount.
There's not much difference when it comes to norovirus, rotavirus and astrovirus. Clinically, their symptoms are the same and you can't tell the difference between them unless you run a test. However, rotavirus and astrovirus are more common in children and norovirus is more common in adults.
Bacterial Infections
Symptoms persist longer than the expected 10-14 days a virus tends to last. Fever is higher than one might typically expect from a virus. Fever gets worse a few days into the illness rather than improving.
During gastroenteritis, it is important to eat as normally as possible. In fact, eating helps the lining of the intestine to heal quickly and allows the body to regain strength. On the contrary, not eating prolongs diarrhea.
Stomach viruses are often mild and go away on their own in 1 to 3 days. Babies, older adults, or people who have low immune systems should see the doctor right away. This can help prevent their infection from getting worse.
How is viral gastroenteritis treated? Specific treatment is usually not needed. In most cases, you simply need to drink plenty of fluids and rest at home until the virus leaves your system. In rare cases, you may need treatment for severe dehydration with IV (intravenous) fluids.
Infectious diarrhea presents with nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever and diarrhea that may be watery, malabsorptive, or bloody. Inflammatory diarrhea presents with fever, abdominal pain, blood and/or leukocytes in stool. Osmotic diarrhea presents with fasting, bulky, greasy, foul smelling stools, and weight loss.
Millions of friendly bacteria live in your intestines, and they're important for your digestion. But diarrhea can throw the microbes in your gut off balance. Probiotics may help get things back on track. You can find probiotics in certain foods, like yogurt, and they also come in the form of supplements.
In most cases, people with viral gastroenteritis get better on their own without medical treatment. You can treat viral gastroenteritis by replacing lost fluids and electrolytes to prevent dehydration. In some cases, over-the-counter medicines may help relieve your symptoms.
Drink plenty of clear liquids
Start with small frequent sips. Water, clear soda (stir it well to release more carbonation), herbal decaffeinated tea, broth or over-the-counter electrolyte replacements are great ways to avoid dehydration when you have a stomach flu with frequent diarrhea or vomiting.
A norovirus infection provokes a robust immune response that eliminates the virus in a few days. However, the response appears to be short-lived. Most studies have found that immunity guarding against reinfection with the same norovirus strain lasts less than six months.
One tried-and-true diet for diarrhea is the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. Low in fiber, bland, and starchy, these foods can help replace lost nutrients and firm up your stools.
Unlike viral gastroenteritis, food poisoning is strictly based on what you eat. It can be caused by bacteria, parasites and viruses. And just like with the stomach flu, you may experience the same symptoms of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever.
Since diarrhea is your body's way of getting rid of toxins, it is best to let it run its course. However, you may use over-the-counter antidiarrheal remedies for convenience, including: Attapulgite (Kaopectate) Loperamide (Imodium)
Causes of diarrhea that are not due to acute illness include eating certain foods, food allergies and intolerances, some medications, caffeine intake, laxative use, alcohol use, digestive problems and diseases (celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome [IBS], Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, small intestinal ...
In general, these illnesses should be allowed to run their course for a day or more. Diarrhea that lasts more than 48 hours or is accompanied by signs of dehydration should be treated. If you have diarrhea that persists for weeks or recurs frequently, see your doctor.