Stomach flu is usually described as a condition where a person complains of stomach discomfort with nausea or vomiting and diarrhea, sometimes accompanied with bloating and gas. It ranks among the commonest reasons for absence from work or school, and almost everybody would have experienced it before. Despite the name, stomach flu is not caused by flu infection of the stomach.
Acute Gastroenteritis (AGE) noun, pathology.
An acute (sudden onset between 1-48 hours) inflammation (-itis) of the stomach (gastro-) and intestinal (entero-) wall.
There are different reasons for diarrhea and vomiting, although the symptoms are usually brought about by an inflammation of the stomach and intestinal wall, known as gastroenteritis. This inflammation causes the digestive system and the absorption process of your food to become deranged, resulting in soft or watery stool. Improper digestion of food also causes excessive gas production causing bloatedness, belching and discomfort from the stretching of your gastrointestinal wall. The upper digestive system will sometimes work backwards through a process called anti-peristalsis to forcefully push out the contents of the stomach causing vomiting.
In a society that prides itself with its variety and abundance, and love for food, it is not surprising to find that the commonest reason for AGE might be food poisoning. Food poisoning occurs when food or water contaminated with harmful microorganism, bacterial / fungal toxins or other harmful chemicals is eaten or drunk.
The bad news about AGE is that it may cause dehydration through excessive water loss from diarrhea and vomiting. During the acute purging stage it disturbs daily activities and leaving one fatigued from dehydration and inability to tolerate food. However, the good news about most AGE (caused by viral infection of food contamination) is that it is self-limiting, meaning it will eventually go away within a few days even without medication. You should, however, get medical attention if the diarrhea is increasingly worsening or does not show any improvement after 5 to 7 days, if there's noticeable blood in the stool of if it's accompanied by high fever.
The main treatment for AGE both for adults and children is management of hydration. For adults, during the active vomiting and diarrhea, it is advisable to take only clear fluids or nutritional fluids such as tea or Milo. Stop eating solids especially spicy or oily foods, until the diarrhea or vomiting subsides. There is a common advice to avoid dairy products when having active diarrhea. This is true for people who has lactose intolerance (in which case the diarrhea may be caused by consuming milk in the first place), but for people who are not usually intolerant to lactose, diluted warm milk may be beneficial to provide energy and hydration. Just make sure the milk is pasteurized.
A trip to the doctor's clinic may bag you a regime of medication, other than the necessary medical leave certificate. Generally, antibiotics are not prescribed for diarrhea, unless the symptom is unusually prolonged, and there's a suspicion for nasty bacterial infection in the gut.
- Charcoal tablets may be prescribed at early stage of food poisoning to absorb the toxin and contaminants from ingested food. It may also reduce bloating and gassiness.
- Antimotility medication (antidiarrheal) such as Diphenoxylate/Atropine or Loperamide may be prescribed to passify the over-active intestinal movement and reduce diarrhea drastically, especially if you need to be mobile and there's an important meeting you cannot miss.
- Antiemetics (anti-vomiting) such as metoclopramide or dimenhydrinate can be given to reduce vomiting and the sensation of nausea.
- Hyocine tablet is a relaxant prescribed to reduce the cramps and churning sensation of your stomach and guts.
- Oral rehydration solution is prescribed to replace the lost salts or electrolytes from your system through excessive vomiting / diarrhea and to encourage more fluid intake.
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