Rotavirus infection, or intestinal flu, is an infectious disease that affects the gastrointestinal tract. This disease is most affected by children. They and the symptomatology manifests itself much brighter: diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, fever. In some cases, cough and sore throat may occur.
Rotavirus infection is transmitted by airborne droplets. As a rule, adults most often become infected from their sick children. However, the infectious pathology of the infected parents is much calmer and more like mild poisoning. Since drugs for the treatment of this disease have not yet been invented, the main therapeutic method remains the compilation and application of a special nutritional scheme. A diet for rotavirus infection in adults helps to eliminate unpleasant symptoms, reduce the likelihood of dehydration and leads to a complete recovery.
What should be done if rotavirus infection is suspected?
It is important that the same day that the malaise begins, consult a doctor and take the necessary tests to make sure that it is really intestinal flu, and not another, more serious disease. Diet should also be started immediately. Of course, when a person has vomiting and diarrhea, food is of little interest to him, and it is not recommended to eat during such a period in order to avoid deterioration. But there are a number of tips - these are emergency measures that will help alleviate the condition in the future. When health is stabilized, you should adhere to the selected menu, that is, diet. When rotavirus infection in adults is first recommended:
- Drink more fluids. Diarrhea and vomiting can lead to dehydration, which will exacerbate the situation. To avoid this phenomenon, it is recommended to drink more plain water or unsweetened home-made compotes.
- If diarrhea and vomiting are pronounced and occur frequently, more serious measures should be taken to restore the electrolyte-salt balance. In this case, doctors recommend drinking drugs intended for rehydration, for example, "Rehydron". It will help restore electrolyte-salt balance in the body and prevent dehydration.
- Refuse sweet, spicy, salty, fatty, soda, alcohol. Do not eat dry food. You need to eat liquid dishes, for example, chicken soup with vegetables is good. Eat small meals, but often.
Features of the diet for intestinal flu
Since in adults the clinical picture may be blurred, accordingly, the appetite from these symptoms will not worsen, but it is still important to exclude overeating, since it will only aggravate the situation. When there is no desire to eat, do not torment the body. You can drink broths and plain water. Again, it is important not to forget about small portions, so as not to provoke vomiting. Dishes need to be steamed, baked or cooked. Mashed potatoes made from apples or zucchini, tomatoes and so on are best suited. The most important thing is to pay attention to nutrition and drinking regimen in the first day, since during this period the state of the body is especially depressed.
Important diet rules and goals
It is very important not to refuse food completely. Diet therapy is the only "cure" for this disease. It is strictly forbidden to eat raw foods, even fruits and vegetables. All of them should be subjected to heat treatment, and also not be hot, and not cold, namely warm, comfortable for the gastrointestinal tract temperature.
The goal of the diet for rotavirus infection in adults is to help the immune system fight pathology. Meanwhile, it is important to understand that the body with this disease does not have the strength to fully digest food. Therefore, it must be easily digestible. Also, food should have healing properties. For example, some cereals have astringent and bonding properties. Sour-milk products contain lactobacilli, beneficial for the intestines, which stimulate the growth of beneficial microflora. And compotes and herbal teas not only saturate the body with liquid, but also provide it with useful elements.
What can I eat with rotavirus infection?
The basic rules of the treatment table are studied. Now it’s important to find out what an adult can eat with rotavirus infection:
- Broths. Weak vegetables, as well as secondary meat.
- Soups It is allowed to add a small amount of meat and fish of low-fat varieties, as well as some vegetables, including potatoes and cereals.
- Low-fat meats, vegetables, fruits. Steamed or boiled, you can bake in the oven.
- Mucous porridge. Rice, semolina, oatmeal, buckwheat, corn. They must be boiled exclusively in water, with a minimum amount of salt and without oil. By the way, what is the difference between steamed rice and ordinary and which is better to choose, will be written below.
- Beverages. Allowed green and herbal tea, decoctions, compotes. Sugar is not recommended.
- Cutlets and meatballs. Steamed.
- Dairy products. Kefir will be very useful.
- Bread.
- Pasta.
- Steam omelet.
What products are recommended to be excluded?
Nutrition for rotavirus infection in an adult should not include:
- Fatty varieties of fish and meat, as well as broths prepared on their basis.
- Milk products.
- Any sweets, including confectionery.
- Fast Food Dishes.
- Black bread.
- Marinades, pickles.
- Smoked products.
- Spice.
- Alcoholic and carbonated drinks.
- Coffee and Cocoa.
Dietary soup for rotavirus infection
For intestinal flu, broths are best. You can drink them with a slice of white or gray bread, or you can add other ingredients. A great option is chicken soup with vegetables. The broth for it can be cooked from small pieces of meat, preferably breast, in which the least fat. Add some potatoes, as well as carrots, bell peppers and other vegetables. Boil until tender, and you can eat.
Main dishes for patient nutrition
For breakfast, you can cook porridge from the above list. Separately, what is the difference: steamed rice and ordinary? On the quality of the finished dish (in terms of impact on the body) this will not affect. But on the duration of the preparatory measures - yes. If ordinary rice must first be soaked in water to remove starch and prevent the grains from sticking together, then having bought steamed, you can immediately start cooking.
From meat it is best to choose chicken, rabbit, turkey, calf. You can cook and bake it, as well as make chopped cutlets for a couple. So the meat will be better absorbed. It is recommended to buy a talisman and hake from fish, as they are less greasy.
Eggs are eaten boiled or steamed omelettes are cooked. Zucchini, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower can be cooked, made from them mashed potatoes or vegetable sauce with meat. It is important to remember that the amount of potatoes consumed must be reduced to a minimum.
By the way, the rate of salt per day should also be noted. Add it to the dishes is undesirable, but if the products seem completely tasteless, then you can add, but quite a bit, literally as much as fits on the tip of the knife, no more.
Delicious recipes:
- Chicken breast with vegetables. One large carrot, potato and a couple of tomatoes are cut into small pieces. Cover the baking sheet with foil, put vegetables and chicken on it (whole or sliced). Cover with another layer of foil. Put in the oven, heated to 220 ° C for about 20-25 minutes, until the dish is ready.
- Vegetable stew. Boil cauliflower for 7 minutes. Eggplant, 3 tomatoes and 2 small carrots cut into cubes. Boil the beans separately (10 minutes). Put all the vegetables in a pan, add water and simmer a little until they become soft.
- Stuffed peppers. With a few large bell peppers cut off the top. In the resulting “baskets” put a mixture of finely chopped vegetables: zucchini, eggplant and carrots. Put peppers in a double boiler and cook for half an hour.
You can also cook delicious rice porridge on the water. To do this, take the amount of ingredients in a ratio of 1: 2. That is, one serving of rice and two water. It boils for about 20 minutes. At the end, you can add quite a bit of sugar or salt, but you need to completely abandon the oil. In order to somehow diversify the taste of a simple dish, it is recommended to eat it with steam vegetables and boiled meat.
Intestinal Recommended Snacks
When you want to have a bite to eat with something light, and it is already impossible to look at kefir, you can prepare a healthy nutritious treat that will satisfy your hunger and saturate the body with the substances necessary for its proper functioning. The dish is quite simple to prepare. It's about mashed apples and carrots. Boil the vegetable to a soft state, and bake the fruit in the oven. Then grind them in a blender to make mashed potatoes. In the finished dish, you can add a little honey and cinnamon to decorate its taste.
Drinks for rotavirus infection
In addition to plain water, you can also drink weak green and black tea, herbal infusions, various fruit drinks, compotes and decoctions. Rosehip has a good effect on the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, during the day you can drink in small portions a decoction of these berries. Berry jelly will also be useful . You can cook it with black currant. For this, both fresh and frozen berries are suitable. Rinse currants and put in a pan, then pour water. When the compote boils, turn it off, strain, to remove the cake. It is important to add starch while it is still hot. You can also sweeten it with a little sugar. Stir the jelly, put it on the fire again and wait for the thickening. Then let it cool - and you can drink it.
A properly composed menu for rotavirus infection in adults - what is it?
Selected nutrition is not only a set of acceptable products. You should also pay attention to what, in what quantity and when you need to eat. For example, in the early days, when the body is greatly weakened, and the digestion of food cannot be fully carried out, preference should be given exclusively to broths and light soups. Since the acute stage lasts about 5 days, at this time you need to introduce “new” dishes gradually. On the second day you can give cereal. On the third - to introduce meat and more vegetables. After it, you can try the eggs. In this case, it is important to monitor the body's reaction to each dish introduced and, if an undesirable reaction occurs, return to the broths again.
Food should be fractional. You need to eat 5-6 times a day, but in small portions. So the body will be easier to digest food.
Menu example
| Breakfast | Snack | Dinner | Snack | Dinner |
First day | Semolina porridge on the water, a glass of unsweetened weak tea. | Steam souffle from cottage cheese (0%). | Low-fat chicken broth, steamed calf meatballs, currant jelly. | Crackers from a white loaf and a glass of rosehip broth. | Low-fat steam fish and unsweetened tea. Before going to bed - low-fat kefir. |
Second day | Oatmeal on water, tea without sugar. | Carrot and applesauce. | Beef broth, steamed chicken minced in a blender, blueberry broth. | Cocoa on the water with dry cookies. | Steam fish cakes, tea. Before going to bed - low-fat kefir. |
The third day | Rice porridge on water, applesauce, unsweetened tea. | Berry broth with crackers of white bread. | Meat broth rice soup, steam chicken dumplings, blueberry jelly. | Decoction of apple peel, dry cookies. | Steam pudding from low-fat cottage cheese, cocoa on the water. Before going to bed - low-fat kefir. |
How long do you need to diet with rotavirus infection in adults?
The disease lasts at least 2 weeks, so even if the symptoms have disappeared and your health has already improved by 2-3 days, this does not mean that you can immediately return to the usual food for a person. Throughout all 14 days, you need to follow a diet to enable the body to recover. And this time should be devoted to the gradual introduction of previously banned foods into the diet. By the way, this also applies to the rate of salt per day, as well as sugar, butter and vegetable oil, honey, spices and so on.
The disease is characterized by damage to the intestinal mucosa. This leads to digestion and the destruction of beneficial microflora. In order to enable epithelial cells and beneficial microorganisms to recover, you need to eat sparing food for at least two weeks. Otherwise, the situation can be significantly aggravated. A weak digestive system will fail, which is fraught with the re-occurrence of symptoms of rotavirus infection.
When the condition improves significantly, you should still avoid overeating and introduce dishes gradually. It is better to refuse oil and eggs as long as possible, although they are already allowed in the first week. The creamy product is very difficult to process due to the lack of enzymes. Therefore, you need to try to eat porridge and mashed potatoes more often without oil.
Prevention of rotavirus infection: rules that adults and children must follow
- Wash hands after coming home from the street and every time before eating.
- Swim only in water bodies specially designed for this purpose.
- Wash all food thoroughly.
- Do not eat meat and fish raw.
- Observe storage rules.