Intestinal infections - causes, symptoms and treatments
Infection diarrhea, also known as intestinal infection, is a common disease that almost everyone suffers several times in their lives.
The disease usually manifests as intermittent or viscous watery diarrhea in a few days, sometimes when the disease manifests as symptoms of dysentery. This disease is spread mainly through eating and drinking, when eating food or water sources containing pathogenic microorganisms.
What is intestinal infection?
Many microorganisms including yeast, parasites or bacteria can cause intestinal infections. These organisms are present in food due to poor hygiene, so you will be susceptible to disease when exposed to organisms. The severity of the infection will depend on the type of pathogen that causes the infection. Diagnosing infections based on symptoms will help your doctor narrow down your ability to predict the types of pathogens you may be getting to be fully treated.
This disease is spread mainly through eating and drinking.
The cause to the illness
The most common cause of intestinal infection is the pathogen that enters through the mouth . Other causes, such as exposure to contaminated water and poor hygiene, can also cause intestinal infections.
- Children or older people are the most vulnerable subjects, because their immune systems are often weaker than adults.
- A part of the stomach is cut off, the group of immunocompromised people because they have diseases such as liver cancer, cirrhosis .
- Because food does not guarantee the hygiene of food or uncooked food containing salmonella that can cause gastrointestinal infections when we eat.
- Meat and fish contain toxins of staph. According to studies, staphylococcus is destroyed in a high temperature environment but their toxins are easily absorbed into food, causing diarrhea.
- Gastrointestinal infections caused by clostridium bacteria. They live in an oxygen-free environment, often found in ready-to-cook cans. This bacterial toxin not only causes diarrhea but also leads to many complications such as paralysis.
- Raw vegetables are easy to get infected with E. coli and helminths. The world also noted that listeria disease is relatively rare. They often cause illness in people with weak resistance such as pregnant women (especially in the last 3 months of pregnancy), newborns. The disease does not occur very often, but it can flare up if you eat contaminated foods, especially non-pasteurized cow's milk.
- Do not clean your hands before eating, insect-infested foods, unsafe water supplies.
- Contaminated water - Exposure to contaminated water can also lead to intestinal infections. So you should drink boiled or thoroughly sterilized water.
- Poor hygiene - This can also spread bacteria that cause intestinal infections. You need to wash your hands after going to the toilet to prevent bacteria from entering your body.
Symptoms of intestinal infection
Common symptoms of intestinal infection are:
- Respiratory virus infections - viral pathogens that cause intestinal infections can affect other parts of the body. You may have a sinus infection, runny nose or cough when an infection occurs.
- Anorexia - Reducing appetite is a common sign of intestinal infection as well as other types of gastrointestinal infections.
- Nausea - Eating poorly often with nausea.
- Abdominal pain - When the infection becomes more serious, the patient often experiences abdominal pain or discomfort. The severity of this pain will depend on the location and the cause of the infection.
- Spasms - Bacterial infections often cause abdominal cramps. Each attack will usually last 3-4 minutes, and may become more serious.
- Irritable bowel syndrome - If your intestinal parasites reside in the intestinal wall, it can cause irritable bowel syndrome.
- Diarrhea - When pathogens move further in the gastrointestinal tract, they can cause diarrhea. You may also start having diarrhea when you lose lots of water.
- Depression - People with yeast infections may be at high risk of depression.
Sleep Disorders - Discomfort related to intestinal infections will make it difficult to sleep. This is also possible - is a sign that the liver is working too hard because it is trying to eliminate infectious agents.
- Grinding teeth - In a few cases, infected people will grit their teeth while sleeping.
- Headache - Dehydration or the development of stimulants such as yeast in the digestive system will increase the risk of constant headache.
- Skin burns - Some patients may feel itchy or hot on the skin.
Depending on the type of bacteria, we will be prescribed the right medicine by the doctor.
Treatment of intestinal infections
Most infections that cause diarrhea, especially viral infections, are able to disappear on their own, without treatment. At the moment, the most important thing is that the patient must ensure adequate water supply to the body. In case the patient is dehydrated too much, we need to go to the hospital right away to carry out the infusion of water lost during the diarrhea period, when the body is vomiting and fever.
Depending on the type of bacteria, we will be prescribed the right medicine by the doctor. In case of infection caused by parasites, the disease may be treated with anti-parasitic drugs.
Most diarrhea due to virus attacks do not require treatment. For people with a weak immune system, we can use antibiotics to prevent infection spread throughout the body.
The most important treatment is to drink plenty of water, add nutrients through diets such as eating soup, porridge and using sugar-free juice to help strengthen the immune system to function strongly, resist attack of pathogenic factors.
How effective prevention?
- Always eat cooked, boiled, food must ensure hygiene and safety, not exceeding the expiry date.
- For food origin from poultry, we need to clean and cook well.
- In case of infected poultry, animals need to be treated with antibiotics, when contacting infected poultry, animals, we must use protective tools, clothes and shoes when entering the barn. camp. Avoid cuddling or being close to pets when they are sick.
- Waste of cattle and poultry . should be treated and isolated safely from the place where we live, avoiding virus from outside environment to attack people.
- Clean the body, always wash your hands before eating.
If you have an intestinal infection, we need to see a doctor to treat it early and avoid spreading it to others. Do not arbitrarily use drugs without the doctor's permission, always actively prevent disease for the whole family to avoid bad effects of the disease.
- The risk of intestinal infection is caused by stomach acid inhibitors
- What is salmonellosis?
- 6 signs of kidney infection: Recognize with the naked eye, just need to look carefully
- Enteric bacteria can affect the body's response to cancer treatments
- 'Hack' intestinal bacteria of cows can bring more meat and reduce pollution
- How to prevent it from getting new infections when entering the hospital
- Testicular cancer: Causes, symptoms and treatment
- Successfully cultivate human intestinal tissue on mice
- Fatty liver: Causes, symptoms and treatments
- Understand disease to use antibiotics correctly
- E.coli infection: The culprit is the bean sprouts?
- When do you need to say 'no' to antibiotics?