CATDOLL : CATDOLL: How should gastroenteritis be treated and prevented?

What is gastroenteritis? Gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the stomach and intestinal mucosa. It is caused by food poisoning.

Symptoms include: severe vomiting and diarrhea, often with abdominal cramps and cramps. Fever and sweating. Dehydration and even shock may occur due to prolonged and large loss of body fluids. There may be a small amount of blood in the vomitus and stool. Symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea stop after about two to four days, but may last longer. Bacterial (Salmonella) infections may last for months or even years, and the patient may have no symptoms but is a carrier and can infect others.

Drug treatment:

Traditional Chinese medicine recommends that you drink Zufang Tea to soothe the liver, regulate qi, harmonize the stomach and relieve pain.

Why does gastroenteritis occur? The causes may be bacteria, viruses, pesticides, toxins in the food itself, chemical reactions between foods, or contamination by other inorganic substances.

Bacterial causes include:

The most common cause is food contaminated with bacteria, and cooked or half-cooked food is particularly susceptible to bacteria, flies and unhygienic cooking utensils.

Storing food at room temperature is likely to be seriously contaminated by bacteria. The refrigerator should be below 4 degrees and the hot cabinet should be above 60 degrees to stop the growth of bacteria. Staphylococcus and Trichoderma usually come from people who handle food.

Especially foods containing dairy products, processed meat, sashimi, etc.

Staphylococcus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella are the most common pathogens.

Campylobacter bacteria are often found in contaminated poultry, meat, and fish and often cause diarrhea and severe abdominal pain.

There are many types of E. coli, most of which are harmless, but some can cause acute gastroenteritis in newborns, an infection that often spreads in nurseries. This is related to the order in which milk bottles are sterilized.

Viral infections can often cause gastroenteritis and enteritis. Rotavirus is the most common pathogen that causes diarrhea in children. In addition, other viruses that can cause gastroenteritis include adenovirus, enterovirus, hand, foot and mouth virus, etc. This infection can develop within two days.

Some plants produce toxins during their growth process that can also cause gastroenteritis. For example, yew, green nightshade, morning glory and horse chestnut plants all contain toxins, and the young shoots produced by potato tubers are also poisonous.

There are green chemicals, such as arsenic, lead and various pesticides. If these chemicals are taken, the disease can occur within a few hours.

Diseases such as amebiasis and giardiasis can also cause symptoms of gastroenteritis.

How to treat gastroenteritis?

For mild gastroenteritis, patients can recover on their own without treatment.

Gastroenteritis is often toxic, but in most cases the toxicity is mild. However, enteritis and certain plant or chemical poisonings can be fatal if not treated early.

If you have abdominal pain, blood in your stool, or other unexpected symptoms; if the symptoms are severe or last for a long time; if you have taken toxic plants or chemicals, you must see a doctor immediately. If you have a high fever, double vision, convulsions or paralysis, you should see a doctor immediately.

How to prevent it?

Any dairy products and processed fish and meat products should not be consumed if left at room temperature for too long.

Be careful when heating food in a microwave oven. The center of the food should be kept hot enough before consumption. Microwaves themselves do not have the ability to kill bacteria.

Do not eat food that is suspected to be unhygienic. Especially seafood, sashimi and sushi that are not properly handled by unlicensed restaurants. It is a good habit to visit the restroom of the restaurant first and wash your hands first. Don't really think that out of sight, out of mind! )

You should be more careful when traveling abroad, because the bacteria are of different species and your intestines’ resistance will be lower.

Refrigerated cooked meats should be fully cooked before eating.

If the container of canned food is damaged or the food inside is different, it should be thrown away.

You must check the expiration date of dairy products.

Do not eat potato sprouts.