Gastro is very common in winter, when it is cold. In the majority of cases, it is of viral origin, but sometimes it can be due to a bacterium. How to know ?
Stomach ache, want to vomit, diarrhea… Winter is conducive to gastro. But knowing if this disease is due to bacteria or virus is crucial for setting up an appropriate treatment. How to make the difference ? What are the symptoms in either case?
What is a viral gastro?
Gastroenteritis, too called “gastro”, is a inflammation of the lining of the digestive tract which causes diarrhea and frequently abdominal pain and vomiting. According to Public Health France, acute winter gastroenteritis (AGE) is mainlyviral origin (66% of cases), with a dominant circulation of noroviruses and rotaviruses. Noroviruses are responsible for AGE in people of all ages, while rotaviruses mainly affect children under 5 years of age.
What is a bacterial gastro?
Sometimes gastroenteritis can be bacterial. She is then linked to bacteria (E.coli, Salmonella, Shigella). This category of gastroenteritis is more common during a stay in a country where the level of hygiene is lower: it is the diarrhea of the traveler or “tourista” or “turista”usually due to bacteria Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica or Shigella dysenteriae. Diarrhea affects up to 50% of travelers during a three-week stay.
What are the differences between a viral or bacterial gastro?
Clinically, there is no difference between viral gastroenteritis and bacterial gastroenteritis. “High fever and haemorrhagic or fecal stools (“rice water” stools) direct us more towards a bacterial origin“, specifies Dr. Hamza Boudjema, gastroenterologist.
What are the symptoms of gastro, viral or bacterial?
Gastroenteritis causes sudden acute diarrhea. This diarrhea is characterized by:
- an increase in stool frequency with more than three bowel movements in 24 hours,
- a change in their consistency, the stools becoming soft or watery.
Gastro can be accompanied by:
- nausea and/or vomiting,
- abdominal pain (cramps),
- fever moderate and sometimes high,
- and, sometimes, presence of red blood in the stools (hematochezia).
Symptoms usually disappear after a few days.
Is gastroviral contagious? Bacterial too?
“The incubation period varies between 24 and 72 hours, confirms the specialist. Gastroenteritis, whether viral or bacterial, is very contagious and can affect certain more fragile people such as young children, the elderly or tourists traveling to countries such as Africa, Latin America or Asia”.
What is the mode of transmission of viral or bacterial gastro?
Whether viral, bacterial or parasitic, gastroenteritis is transmitted by several vectors:
- direct contact with someone who is already sick.
- of the contaminated food by a sick person or contaminated water: this is called food poisoning.
- contact with objects on which fine particles of stool from sick people have been deposited (hand-carried transmission).
- Living in a community and collective catering promotes gastroenteritis, which explains the occurrence of major epidemics.
How long does a viral or bacterial gastrointestinal tract last?
Viral gastroenteritis usually disappears in less than 3 days, heals without treatment and does not reappear in the short term.
What treatment to cure a viral gastro?
In children, as in adults, the management of gastroenteritis aims toavoid dehydration and contamination of those around you.
Gastroviral can be treated with the following drugs:
- Anti-vomiting medications and/or probiotics.
- Anti-diarrheal drugs: Loperamide (avoid if fever), Tiorfan.
- Intestinal protective drugs: Smecta.
- Antispasmodics and analgesics to relieve abdominal pain: Spasfon, trimebutine, Paracetamol.
Homeopathic and natural treatments:
- Homeopathic treatment: Arsenicum album, Veratrum album, Nux vomica…
- Vegetable coal.
- Calming infusions will also relieve abdominal pain.
What treatment to cure bacterial gastro?
“In the case of bacterial gastroenteritis, antibiotics and analgesics will be prescribed, says the doctor. In children, rehydration solutions based on sodium chloride and potassium such as Adiaril® are recommended.
What to eat in case of viral or bacterial gastro?
Although acute gastroenteritis usually disappears in less than 3 days, a few simple gestures can accelerate fitness. Recommended foods: rice, cooked carrots, apple compote, bananas, quince jelly. It should also be drink rice cooking watervegetable broth or even “red” coke (classic coke) degassed.
Thanks to Dr Hamza Boudjema, gastroenterologist at Clinique La Montagne (Ramsay Health group) in Courbevoie (92).