This can lead to dehydration, which may need medical treatment. Your symptoms may include:. In adults, gastroenteritis symptoms can last for up to a week. If your child has diarrhoea, this usually lasts for up to a week or, occasionally, two weeks.
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This is because you may spread it to other people. You may have a telephone consultation instead. Occasionally, your GP will send a sample of your poo to a laboratory for testing. If you have gastroenteritis, you can pass the infection on to other people. If your child has the infection, they should stay off nursery or school for this length of time too. If you take medicines regularly, you should keep taking them as usual if you have diarrhoea or sickness.
But check the patient information leaflet that comes with your medicines. Gastroenteritis can affect how well some medicines work, especially the contraceptive pill. If you need any advice, speak to a pharmacist. How quickly you get better will depend on which infection you have. Some viral gastroenteritis infections last only a day or two, but other infections can last for a week or even longer.
If you have diarrhoea and sickness your body will be losing more fluid than usual. You need to make sure you replace this by keeping hydrated , drinking plenty of fluids, such as water or squash.
If your baby has gastroenteritis, keep breastfeeding them or give their other milk feeds. When you feel hungry again, eat small, light meals, but don't have anything fatty or spicy. Some research shows that eating cereals, banana, rice and toast at first may help. They may help to reduce how long you have diarrhoea. See our FAQ on Can probiotics help gastroenteritis.
Oral rehydration solutions come as a powder that you add to water to make a drink. Oral rehydration solutions have the right mix of sugars, minerals and salts to help you replace lost water and salt. Most people with gastroenteritis get better without needing one of these solutions. But these products may be helpful for:. You can buy loperamide from pharmacies, but this should only be taken by adults and children over 12 years, unless prescribed by a doctor.
If this shows you have bacterial gastroenteritis, they may then prescribe antibiotics. The main complication of gastroenteritis is dehydration, but this can be prevented if the fluid lost in vomit and diarrhoea is replaced. Some of the causes of gastroenteritis include viruses, bacteria, bacterial toxins, parasites, particular chemicals and some drugs.
Infectious gastroenteritis is caused by viruses, bacteria or parasites. In each case, infection occurs when the agent is ingested, usually by eating or drinking. Some of the common types of infectious gastroenteritis include:.
It is important to establish the cause, as different types of gastroenteritis respond to different treatments. Diagnostic methods may include:. Gastroenteritis is highly contagious, general suggestions on how to reduce the risk of infection include:. Note: Wash hands with soap and water as this is the best way to prevent infection. Alcohol-based hand sanitisers while effective against some viruses such as coronavirus , are not effective against gastroenteritis.
Learn more about gastroenteritis in children and how to be a Soapy Hero! This page has been produced in consultation with and approved by:. The type of pain felt in the abdomen can vary greatly. Children may feel stomach pain for a range of reasons and may need treatment.
Around half of cases of anal fissures heal by themselves with proper self-care and avoidance of constipation. Anthrax is a rare but potentially fatal bacterial disease that occasionally infects humans. The Western obsession with cleanliness may be partly responsible for the increase in allergic asthma and conditions such as rhinitis. Because the vomit or diarrhoea can be very infectious, it is most important that any spills are cleaned up quickly and appropriately in the following manner.
For further information please contact your local doctor, community health centre, nearest population health unit or contact Queensland Health information phone number 13HEALTH. Diarrhoea in young children fact sheet. Norovirus fact sheet. Rotavirus fact sheet. Clean Up for Gastroenteritis Outbreak Prevention. Heymann, DL, ed. Control of Communicable Diseases Manual , 20th edition.
The main symptoms are diarrhoea and vomiting. Control Adults should not return to work until diarrhoea has ceased for 24 hours and up to 48 hours for some conditions. First protect yourself Wear gloves if possible. Rehydration drinks provide a good balance of water, salts and sugar. The small amount of sugar and salt helps the water to be absorbed better from the gut intestines into the body. They do not stop or reduce diarrhoea. Rehydration drinks are cheap and readily available in the UK and are the best treatment.
Antisecretory medicines are designed to be used with rehydration treatment. They reduce the amount of water that is released into the gut during an episode of diarrhoea.
It used to be advised to not eat for a while if you had gastroenteritis. However, now it is advised to eat small, light meals if you can. Be guided by your appetite. You may not feel like food and most adults can do without food for a few days. Eat as soon as you are able - but don't stop drinking. If you do feel like eating, avoid fatty, spicy or heavy food at first. Plain foods such as wholemeal bread and rice are good foods to try eating first. Antidiarrhoeal medicines are not usually necessary.
However, you may wish to reduce the number of trips that you need to make to the toilet. You can buy antidiarrhoeal medicines from pharmacies. The safest and most effective is loperamide. The adult dose of this is two capsules at first. This is followed by one capsule after each time you pass some diarrhoea up to a maximum of eight capsules in 24 hours.
It works by slowing down your gut's activity. You should not take loperamide for longer than five days. Note : do not give antidiarrhoeal medicines to children aged less than 12 years.
Also, do not use antidiarrhoeal medicines if you pass blood or mucus with the diarrhoea or if you have a high temperature fever. People with certain conditions should not take loperamide.
Therefore, read the leaflet that comes with the medicine to be safe. For example, pregnant women should not take loperamide. Paracetamol or ibuprofen is useful to ease a high temperature or headache. As explained, if symptoms are severe, or continue for more than several days, your doctor may ask for a sample of the diarrhoea.
This is sent to the laboratory to look for infecting microbes bacteria, parasites, etc. Sometimes an antibiotic or other treatments are needed if certain bacteria or other infections are found to be the cause. Antibiotics are not needed for gastroenteritis caused by viruses and may even make things worse. They are also more likely if you have an ongoing chronic condition such as diabetes or if your immune system may not be working fully.
For example, if you are taking long-term steroid medication or you are having chemotherapy treatment for cancer. Gastroenteritis can be easily passed on from person to person.
If you have gastroenteritis, the following are recommended to prevent the spread of infection to others:.
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