Inflammatory disease of the small intestine and stomach, which occupies almost the 2nd place in the world among diseases of the digestive system in children, is gastroenteritis. It can flow in both acute and chronic form, and the 2nd is considered to be the most dangerous. The most common cause of this disease in patients of any age is rotavirus infection, which can be transmitted not only by oral-fecal means, but also by food, domestic and water. The inflammatory process is always accompanied by unpleasant and severe symptoms.
Acute gastroenteritis in people is also called gastric flu. For the first time he gained mass fame at the end of the XIX century. Even today, this disease is on the second place in the spread in dysfunctional states. Back in the 80s of the last century acute gastroenteritis caused the death of almost 5 million people, but today there are effective methods of its treatment, which allowed to reduce the number of deaths( especially in children) by more than three times.
Specialists recognized that the infectious agent of gastroenteritis is rotavirus. This microorganism differs in several varieties. Some of them affect animals and are completely harmless to humans, while others, on the contrary, cause severe illness in humans. The development of the acute form of this disease in children is most likely if one does not teach them the rules of hygiene.
The virus that causes this intestinal pathology can be perfectly preserved for a long time in tap water, in vegetables, the causative agent that provokes the development of acute forms of gastroenteritis in both children and adults, lives for one month, and in feces this period reaches seven. A person is one of the main sources of infection, so the disease can manifest even through contact with each other, if the necessary standards of hygiene are not observed.
Symptoms of acute gastroenteritis in children
If gastroenteritis develops in acute form in children, it has more pronounced symptoms than chronic gastroenteritis. The incubation period of the disease is from 1 to 5 days. During this period, you can see the very first manifestations of the disease, such as diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. If the disease in children is present in an easy form, then it can only be pulled out once, with a more serious situation more, but in any case, vomiting will stop during the first day. However, loose stools can persist even for a week, and a child suffering from a disease may have a diarrhea of up to 6 times a day.
Symptoms of acute gastroenteritis in children include weakness, pain in the navel, and a feeling of heaviness in the stomach. Usually a child who has this disease, loses his appetite, and also feels a pain and a buzz in his head. With a severe form of the disease, the stool is distinguished by increased fluid, frothiness and stench, which is especially noticeable in children. In addition, mucus and food particles can initially be present in the bowel movement, and the need to visit the toilet can occur up to 15 times a day. One of the most serious consequences, which is often observed in people carrying acute gastroenteritis, is dehydration. Similar symptoms can occur not only in small patients, but also in adults.
Methods of treatment of acute gastroenteritis in children
Modern medicine still does not know how to influence the causes that cause acute gastroenteritis, and, therefore, there are no the most effective methods of its treatment. Nevertheless, assistance is still possible:
- If signs of a beginning illness occur in children on the first day - two are forbidden to eat, and the amount of water consumed must be increased;
- Also, small patients need to comply with bed rest;
- An easy diet after a relapse of the disease will also allow quickly to overcome an acute attack of gastroenteritis in children.
Treatment of acute gastroenteritis in children is always more effective if a special strict diet is used. It should be very gentle and soft, as it is aimed at normalizing the functioning of the digestive system. Such therapy allows you to quickly overcome acute gastroenteritis in children, but the use of this method of rational therapeutic nutrition involves the rejection of any food during the first hours, and in some cases, the day after the onset of the disease.
Liquids, on the contrary, need to drink very much, in the most accessible quantities. Return to the usual diet can only be on the fifth day, and before that you need to eat vegetables or fruit purees, low-fat soup or chicken, bread without butter, as well as dry biscuits and biscuits with vegetable broths and water diluted juices.