An intestinal infection with damage to the mucous membrane of the distal colon, the causative agents of which are shigella microbes, is called dysentery, or shigellosis. The bacteria are rod-shaped in shape, their other name is dysenteric bacillus. The development of the disease is as follows. Initially, microorganisms develop in the small intestine and then penetrate into the epithelial tissues of the colon, where they multiply actively, capturing the entire surface of the intestine. As a result, epithelial cells die, ulcers form in their place. In addition, bacteria release a toxic substance, which also leads to cell death and provokes an increased secretion of water and electrolytes by the intestines. The poison has a negative effect on the adrenal glands and the nervous system, causing severe poisoning of the body.
The clinical picture of a typical form of dysentery (colitic option)
It begins acutely, symptoms of intoxication are manifested by fever, headache, impaired appetite, and a decrease in blood pressure. From the digestive tract, the following clinical symptoms of dysentery are visible:
- Constant dull pain throughout the abdomen.
- Then she goes into a cramping and sharper. Place of localization is the lower abdomen.
- Before bowel movement, the pain syndrome intensifies.
- In the area of the rectum, pains of the type of pulling with a return to the sacrum are also observed. They form during the bowel movement and last several minutes after it.
- False urges and the appearance of a feeling of incomplete bowel release after defecation.
- Frequency of stool more than 10 times a day.
- In the feces there is blood and mucus.
Forms of dysentery:
- In mild cases, the fever goes away after a few hours or can last up to two days. Stool up to ten times a day, impurities of mucus and blood may not be. Abdominal pain is mild, false desires are rare.
- With moderate - all signs are more pronounced. The temperature rises to 39 degrees and lasts up to four days, the pressure decreases. Defecation up to 20 times per day, feces with mucus and blood.
- In severe dysentery, the symptoms are as follows: hyperthermia or hypothermia. The patient is inhibited, weakened. The dermis becomes pale, the heart rate increases. Severe diarrhea is observed. Feces in the form of bloody mucus.
- In very severe cases, infectious toxic shock or infectious toxic encephalopathy may develop.
The clinical picture with gastroenterocolitic variant of dysentery
In this case, symptoms of acute gastritis appear: vomiting, nausea, epigastric pain. On the first day, signs of colitis are weak or absent. False urge to defecate, as well as mucus and blood in the feces are absent. These symptoms appear a day or two after infection. The severity of the condition depends on the degree of dehydration. If the flow is erased, then all signs are minimal.
Subclinical forms of the disease are diagnosed only by the results of bacteriological studies. The clinic is poorly expressed. Patients do not show any complaints, considering themselves to be completely healthy.
Signs of dysentery in adults
The incubation period lasts from several hours to five days. On the second or third day after infection penetrates the individual's body, the first signs appear. The disease begins acutely, the symptoms of dysentery in adults are as follows:
- The temperature rises to 40 degrees.
- The pressure is reduced.
- No appetite.
- Nausea appears.
- Diarrhea.
- Vomiting
- Cramping and pain in the abdomen.
- Repeated urge to defecate. Feces of liquid consistency changes to mucous mixed with blood. In the acute form of the disease, urges are possible up to 50 times during the day. However, not all of them end with emptying, that is, there are false desires. The patient is exhausted, general fatigue is felt, there is a thirst and loss of appetite. The condition is rapidly deteriorating.
A gastroenteric variant of the disease is also known, which is rare. It is characterized by the simultaneous onset of the main symptoms of dysentery in adults: fever, intoxication, diarrhea. The disease begins with vomiting and liquid watery feces. After two days, colitis may develop. Then dehydration, lethargy appears, blood pressure decreases, the volume of urine separated decreases.
Dysentery in pregnant women
This pathology is dangerous for both the unborn baby and the woman. Preterm birth occurs in 40% of cases of dysentery diagnosis. A negative infectious effect on the uterus provokes contractions, causing early delivery or miscarriage. The risk of bleeding increases. During childbirth, the baby becomes infected from the mother. One of the serious and dangerous consequences is the birth of a dead child or the death of a woman.
Treatment
The effectiveness of treating the symptoms of dysentery in adults and children depends on its timeliness. Untreated infection becomes chronic, which can be cured only in a round-the-clock hospital. The following groups of drugs are prescribed from medications:
- antibacterial;
- sorbents;
- rehydration and detoxification;
- anti-inflammatory;
- antipyretic;
- immunomodulators;
- probiotics;
- enzymatic;
- vitamins.
Complications and preventive measures
The ineffectiveness of therapy, as well as the lack of treatment for the symptoms of dysentery in adults and children, provokes dangerous consequences:
- expansion of the colon, leading to death;
- sepsis;
- ulcerative lesions of the intestinal mucosa, which provoke bleeding;
- hemolytic-uremic syndrome.
Preventive measures are personal hygiene. Washing hands after using the toilet, public places, walking, before eating. Thorough processing of products before using them. If someone in the family has dysentery, then disinfection of the premises is required.
Dysentery in children
In another way, it is called the disease of unwashed or dirty hands. The causative agent of this infectious disease is shigella, a toxic microorganism that enters the digestive tract from the external environment. The intestines are exposed to the main striking blow . Dysentery is in first place among other intestinal infections. The age category of two to seven years is most susceptible to this disease.
The reason for this phenomenon is a weakened immunity and non-observance of the usual rules of personal hygiene. Immunity after the disease is unstable, the child can become infected repeatedly. In children up to a year, it proceeds very hard due to severe intoxication and dehydration of the body. There are several forms of the disease:
- Easy. Symptoms of dysentery in children up to a year are as follows: diarrhea, fever. Intoxication lasts about three days. Two weeks later, a full recovery begins.
- Moderate This form in infants begins rapidly. Manifested by chills, fever, poisoning of the body. On the fifth day, intoxication subsides. Recovery occurs in a month.
- Heavy. Against the background of severe intoxication of the body, a violation of the cardiovascular system is observed. Therapy is long, up to three months.
Causes of Dysentery
Symptoms of the disease provoke pathogenic enterobacteria. In shape, these are small sticks, ranging in size from 1 to 3 microns, with mobility. They secrete endo- and exotoxins in the course of their life. They are afraid of high temperatures and ultraviolet. A humid environment and low temperature are favorable factors for their development. The increase in the incidence is mainly observed in the summer. Infection occurs by oral-fecal or contact-household route.
The baby’s bad habit of pulling dirty hands and objects into the oral cavity contributes to the rapid spread of infection. Its peddlers are also insects. There are cases when the infection does not develop, the clinic is absent, and pathogenic microorganisms, once in the body, die or are excreted in the feces. This pattern is observed in babies with a strong immune system.
Signs of the disease
The disease manifests itself in the first hours after infection, however, the incubation period can last up to seven days. The severity of intoxication depends on the number of bacteria that enter the colon. Symptoms of dysentery in children are manifested in the following:
- hyperthermia;
- vomiting several times a day;
- diarrhea 20 or more times a day, greenish discharge contains blood mixed with mucus;
- dehydration;
- false urge to defecate is observed on the fourth day of the disease;
- pain in the left side of the abdomen;
- impaired consciousness;
- anemia;
- cramps (rarely).
Features of dysentery in children
In 90% of cases, babies under one year of age develop colitis of varying severity, proceeding along with an upset digestive system. There may be no loose stools, but there are residues of unprocessed food, greenish and bloody inclusions, and mucus in the secretions. In contrast to the symptoms of dysentery in children 2 years of age and older, infants have a swollen abdomen, discomfort appears during the act of defecation. A feature of the disease at this age is the undulating course of dysentery, i.e., with relapses and exacerbations. Re-infection reinforces clinical manifestations. Undermined immunity is considered a prerequisite for the development of other intestinal infections caused by rotovirus, staphylococcus, amoeba. Pathology for a long time provokes pneumonia.
Symptoms of dysentery in children 2 years of age lead to rapid dehydration of the body, the result of which is:
- heart rhythm disturbance;
- clouding of the mind;
- renal failure;
- weight loss;
- fatal outcome.
It is important to seek qualified medical help at the first symptoms of the disease.
Treatment
The treatment of the symptoms of dysentery in children will also depend on the form of the disease, as well as age. Therapy can be carried out both in outpatient and inpatient settings. At home, children over two years of age and having a mild form of the disease receive treatment. Children under one year of age undergo therapy in a hospital setting. The course of treatment is up to three weeks and includes:
- bed rest;
- diet food;
- infusion therapy, antibacterial, antispasmodic drugs, as well as probiotics and vitamin complexes.
Nutrition for children with dysentery
A therapeutic diet is very important in this disease. In the acute phase, food hunger is recommended. In the early days of infection, the child is allowed to drink tea or water for 12 hours. If the baby has normal weight, then fasting is extended to a day. Then gradually begin to give permitted foods:
- steamed fish and meat;
- vegetable and fruit puree;
- cereals cooked without adding milk;
- vegetable soups;
- dairy products to enter very carefully, observing the condition of the child.
If the baby is breastfed, then the mother must follow the diet. The volume of fluid used for the entire treatment period is almost doubled. It is recommended to abandon legumes, raw vegetables and fruits, fresh milk, wheat and rye bread.
Complications and preventive measures
The consequences of the disease occur with untimely and improper treatment. The most common are:
- pneumonia;
- anemia;
- peritonitis;
- pericolitis;
- prolapse of the rectum;
- intestinal bleeding;
- malnutrition.
The most effective method of prevention is to teach the baby:
- observe the rules of personal hygiene;
- do not put your hands to your mouth;
- do not suck your fingers;
- wash hands before eating.
These simple rules will protect your child from dysentery.
Acute and chronic dysentery
The development of the disease in the acute stage goes through the following stages:
- Small intestine. During this period, a fever, pain in the upper abdomen, and abundant stools appear.
- Colonic stage of dysentery. Symptoms: mucus, blood, pus is present in the stool. The stool is liquid. Possible false urge to defecate. Stool up to fifty times a day. The pain becomes cramping in nature and moves to the lower abdomen. The patient dramatically loses weight, the dermis becomes thinner, the limbs become cold to the touch, the facial features are sharpened, and there is a strong thirst.
Timely started therapy allows you to stop the disease at the first stage. Symptoms of dysentery depend on the individual’s age and state of health. In one case, the disease can occur in a mild form and be limited to diarrhea. In another, a severe course, severe dehydration, and even dystrophy are observed. The second option is found in children, elderly citizens and weakened individuals.
The chronic form is diagnosed with a disease duration of more than three months. It proceeds in the form of a relapse or continuous course.
Intoxication in this case is absent, but the following symptoms of chronic dysentery occur:
- a daily stool of a liquid consistency of a greenish tint mixed with mucus and blood;
- stomach ache;
- false urge to defecate;
- weight loss.
These symptoms appear a few months after recovery. It provokes the development of the chronic form of the disease, exhaustion, vitamin deficiency, overwork, general weakness. Exacerbations caused by a violation of the diet, stress. Patients with a chronic form of dysentery are a source of infection.
Treatment of symptoms of dysentery at any stage is the replenishment of fluids, salts and vitamins in the body, as well as a therapeutic diet. From drugs, preparations are shown that have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, astringent, antispasmodic effects, probiotics and enzymes.
Amoebic dysentery
Amoebiasis is an intestinal infection that develops as a result of the entry of a simple single-celled organism (amoeba) into the digestive system. This parasite causes deep damage to the walls of the large intestine and provokes the so-called amoebic dysentery, which is quite widespread in the southern regions.
Symptoms of amoebic dysentery
The incubation period lasts from seven days to three months. The disease begins acutely. Characteristic symptoms:
- painful urge to defecate;
- diarrhea;
- liquid stool with an admixture of blood and mucus, the first is a large amount, the color of the stool is raspberry;
- weight decreases rapidly, the stomach falls;
- haggard look;
- lack of appetite;
- headache;
- pain in the left side of the abdomen;
- the dermis is dry;
- intestinal bleeding is observed with deep damage to the walls of the intestine.
This condition is very dangerous and can be fatal.
The acute period lasts up to one and a half months, and then goes into the chronic stage. Periods of exacerbation are replaced by prolonged remission. Symptoms of dysentery in this case are as follows: constipation and diarrhea alternate, sometimes blood appears in the feces again. The disease exhausts the child, hypotrophy is observed, against the background of a large loss of fluid and blood, anemia develops.
Complications and treatment
The consequences of amoebic dysentery:
- narrowing of the intestinal lumen as a result of scarring of ulcerative lesions;
- single or multiple abscesses of internal organs;
- appendicitis;
- paraproctitis;
- peritonitis;
- swelling in the lumen of the intestine.
Therapy is carried out in an infectious ward in a 24-hour hospital. Prescribe antiprotozoal, antimicrobial agents, as well as blood substitutes and preparations containing iron. Conducted infusion therapy. Therapeutic nutrition, enhanced with proteins and vitamins. Surgical treatment is indicated for liver abscess. After the disease has been transmitted for a year, the children are under observation at the infectious disease doctor in the clinic at the place of residence.
Preventive action
Prevention of symptoms of dysentery is compliance with the rules of sanitation and hygiene. In endemic areas, it is recommended to use only boiled or filtered water, including for washing dishes, brushing teeth and washing. Protect food from flies. Wash vegetables and fruits thoroughly.
Observe personal hygiene. Dysentery is a dangerous disease. You can prevent infection by following simple rules.