Stomach Flu - Basic Info and Symptoms

Stomach flu is caused by a viral infection that may affect the stomach and intestines. It damages the internal stomach lining and the intestine. This condition is also caused by some bacterial infection, too much intake of some antibiotics, non steroidalanti-inflammatory medications and certain food-borne illnesses.

This infection is mostly caused by five different types of viruses; adenovirus, norovirus, rotavirus, calicivirus and astrovirus.

Calcivirus affects people of all age groups, while rotavirus causes stomach flu in children below 15 months; generally children under 5 years can be affected. Adenovirus affects children under 2 years. Adults are mostly affected by norovirus, while astovirus mostly affects the old people and kids.

Symptoms

Symptoms are within 1 to 3 days after infection; they can sometimes be mild or even severe and can last up to 10 days. The symptoms include: low-grade fever, vomiting, water diarrhea, bloating, abdominal pain, fatigue, lethargy and headaches.

If this health matter is not treated , severe symptoms like abdominal swelling, persistent vomiting and high grade fever may be experienced.

In children poor loss of appetite, pale skin, sunken fontanels and sunken eyeballs may be seen.

Stomach flu is contagious and spread very fast depending on the type of virus. It’s mostly transmitted through unclean hands and close contact with an infected person. Sharing foods and drinks contaminated with the virus also causes this infection.

Treatment

• Rest is the best way to treat this condition. As soon as you see signs of this flue lie down in bed.
• Try not to eat anything for the first few hours, this is inclusive of water. When the symptoms becomes less severe, slowly drink water or juice. Avoid solid foods for the first 24 hours. Take green tea, fruit gelatin, chicken broth and clear vegetable soup; this will help you a lot during the first 24 hours.
• When diarrhea and vomiting has completely stopped, you can now take solid foods but make sure they are light and fat free. A good example is green bananas, white bread and boiled rice.
• Avoid dairy products and raw foods for at least 10 days.

The above remedies can help a lot in mild cases of this condition; however for a more severe condition consult your doctor for more professional advice.

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