From childhood, parents accustom their kids to cleanliness. And it is right. After all, elementary non-compliance with personal hygiene can cause many diseases. In this article I want to talk about what is intestinal flu. Symptoms and treatment of the disease will be considered in detail.
About the disease
So, at the very beginning you need to decide on the concepts and understand what this disease is. Intestinal flu is a rotavirus infection. It can be attributed to diseases caused by the so-called "dirty hands." Also, the infection enters the human body with water or food.
It is worth saying that most often this virus infects children aged 6 months to 3 years. After this period, the child's body already develops a stable immunity to the disease. Among children of primary school and adolescence, this infection practically does not occur (children with weakened immunity may be an exception). The disease itself lasts about a week. Mortality in this disease is very low and is approximately 2.4-3.6%.
About the virus
Insidious disease - intestinal flu. Symptoms and treatment in children are what interest many of us. It must be noted that rotavirus has a very high degree of resistance to various kinds of factors.
- In the feces of a child, he can maintain his viral nature for 6-7 months.
- In household items and indoor air, the virus remains active for 5-8 days.
Doctors say that about 40% of the entire adult population of the planet are carriers of this virus. And at the same time, there are absolutely no symptoms in a person. Therefore, if the house has a small child, adults should be extremely careful. Indeed, in this case, the probability of infection of the baby is very high.
Causes
Studying the topic "Intestinal flu: symptoms and treatment in children", you must also talk about what are the causes of this disease in babies. This virus affects precisely the mucous tissues of the intestines of the baby. The mechanism of its distribution is fecal-oral. And this happens, as already mentioned above, through contaminated food or water.
If this is food, it is enough to touch an infected person to transmit the infection. If a baby takes contaminated food from an adult, he definitely cannot avoid a rotavirus infection. The same applies to water. It is important to remember that young children should be given exclusively boiled water (in this case, infection with rotavirus infection is minimized).
Symptomatology
What else is important to say when considering the topic "Intestinal flu: symptoms and treatment in children"? About the symptoms that accompany this disease. However, first of all, it is necessary to clarify that all the signs of the disease will appear only a day after infection with the crumbs virus.
- The very first and most important symptom is a rise in temperature in a child to the limits of 38-39 ° C.
- The child has a very frequent loose stool (up to 15 times a day).
- The feces of a child are most often light in color, watery. An admixture of mucus is also possible.
- The baby will have a stomachache.
- In the course of the small intestine, the child may growl in the tummy (right side).
Symptoms of complications
Studying the topic "Intestinal flu: symptoms and treatment in children", it is also worth saying that it is very important to start timely and proper treatment. Otherwise, serious complications may arise, which are not so easy to cope with. So, it can be dehydration of the body of crumbs. The following symptoms may occur:
- Dry mucous membranes.
- Lethargy.
- The appearance of bluish spots on the skin.
- Eyes may sag in the eye sockets.
- The child may not urinate for 8 hours.
- In infants, with dehydration, the fontanel sinks.
Another complication that can occur with improper treatment or its absence is intoxication of the body. Symptoms
- Chills.
- Lethargy.
- Apathy.
Intestinal flu: treatment
In children, only a doctor can accurately diagnose this infection. So if the first symptoms occur, you should definitely go to the doctor. Only in this case can competent and timely treatment be obtained. What is important to consider for determining rotavirus?
- The age of the baby.
- Fecal matter: color, character.
- Time: the infection most often occurs in the cold season - from November to March.
- The nature of the onset of the disease.
How to accurately determine that a child has an intestinal infection? To do this, it is enough to conduct a bacterial study of the stool of the baby. Important: for prevention purposes, the doctor may advise all family members to undergo the same study. Refuse from this is not worth it, since by identifying the carrier of the virus, you can avoid re-infection.
About treatment
Is there a single cure for intestinal flu? No. If the baby is sick, all the doctor’s actions will be aimed at preventing intoxication of the body and dehydration. For this, the drug "Rehydron" is often infused. You also need to ensure that the baby does not overheat (decrease in hyperthermia). This will help drugs "Nurofen", "Panadol-baby." Well, of course, it is necessary to increase the resistance (i.e. resistance) of the body. In this case, you can prescribe a drug such as Aflubin (helps increase immunity).
Procedure
If the baby is diagnosed with intestinal flu, the doctor should tell how to treat it. After all, self-medication in this case can be a very dangerous action. In addition to the use of various kinds of medicines, the parents of the child should remember that certain rules of the daily routine must be observed:
- The baby needs bed rest.
- The child should be given as much as possible to drink.
- If necessary, crumbs can be given antispasmodics (half a tablet of No-shpa, powdered).
- Vitamin therapy is very important.
- And, of course, a sparing diet is needed.
Food
Diet for intestinal flu is very important. What foods can a baby have, and what is still better to completely avoid? First of all, I want to say about the smallest. If the baby is about 6 months old, and while he is breast-feeding, he should be breast-fed as often as possible, excluding other foods. If the baby is completely on adult nutrition, then you need to abandon the sharp, fried foods. The following foods are also not recommended:
- Legumes
- Meat.
- Cabbage.
- Spice.
- Carbonated drinks.
- Sweets.
What should be the nutrition for intestinal flu? It is useful for the baby to give mucous porridge, mashed potatoes from grated boiled vegetables, crackers, jelly, biscuit cookies. It must be remembered that fresh and fruit juices must be excluded for the duration of diarrhea (although they are a source of vitamins). It is also important to give your child a lot to drink. It is good if it is mineral water (without gas), vegetable decoctions, compote from bird cherry.
If surrounded by crumbs a bad epidemic situation, as a preventive measure, you must pre-process food. Before giving the baby fruit, they need to be soaked for 10 minutes in a 3% solution of acetic acid.
Prevention
What else is important to say when considering the topic "Intestinal flu: symptoms and treatment"? It is important to pay attention to preventive measures. Indeed, thanks to certain actions, you can protect your baby from becoming infected with an infection. The only and very important rule is the observance of hygiene rules by all family members. You also need to monitor the purity and quality of those food and water that the baby consumes. To avoid infection, it is important to keep the house clean. Clothing and all things crumbs should not only be washed, but also ironed on both sides.
ethnoscience
Not a single cure for intestinal flu will work instantly. But in any case, it will help to fight the symptoms of the disease. However, if parents do not want to resort to the use of medicines, they can turn to traditional medicine.
- St. John's wort It is necessary to prepare a decoction from this plant. So, you can pour 2.5 tablespoons of dry raw materials into a glass of boiling water and simmer all this in a water bath for about 20 minutes. The medicine cools and is taken in a third of a glass three times a day before meals. If the child is small, the dose can be reduced. The product is stored in the refrigerator for no more than two days.
- Swamp marsh. Intestinal flu in children will also help to cure this herb. To prepare the medicine you need a tablespoon of the dried plant, pour a glass of boiling water, insist for several hours. Then strain. You need to take the drug 100 ml before meals three times a day.
- And as a prophylactic, a child can be given compote from bird cherry. It helps the body resist viral infections.
That's all there is to know about intestinal flu. Treatment in children of this disease will not be difficult and will not make you wait long for positive changes if the diagnosis is made in a timely manner. If you notice something is amiss in the state of health of your baby - do not hesitate, immediately consult a doctor. And be healthy!