Can antibiotics be used for enteritis

Enteritis is a common gastrointestinal disease. Symptoms such as abdominal pain and diarrhea will occur when you have enteritis, and it is difficult to cure. Now when we talk about inflammation, we naturally think of taking antibiotics to reduce inflammation. Antibiotics are commonly used anti-inflammatory drugs, and there are many types of antibiotics that we come into contact with in daily life. Antibiotics can be used to treat inflammation caused by various bacterial infections, and the effect is very significant. So can I take antibiotics for enteritis?

In fact, not all cases of enteritis require antibiotics. On the contrary, in many cases of enteritis, not only do antibiotics not need to be taken, but if antibiotics are used indiscriminately, it will cause adverse gastrointestinal reactions and cause intestinal flora disorders, causing further damage to intestinal function.

So what kind of enteritis is suitable for taking antibiotics?

Enteritis can be roughly divided into infectious and non-infectious enteritis. Infectious enteritis can be divided into bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic enteritis according to the different pathogenic microorganisms. Non-infectious enteritis is mostly autoimmune disease, and a few are caused by drugs, chemical corrosion, physical damage, etc.

Among so many types of enteritis, only bacterial and a few parasitic enteritis are effectively treated with antibiotics, and not all bacterial enteritis require the use of antibiotics. When using antibiotics, the type and dosage used vary depending on the infected bacteria. As people pay more attention to food hygiene, parasitic diseases have become less and less common, and the vast majority of enteritis that requires antibiotic treatment is caused by bacterial infection.

What are the common symptoms of bacterial enteritis?

Bacterial enteritis usually develops rapidly, often suddenly in summer and autumn, and is often caused by improper diet, overeating, or eating raw, cold, rotten, dirty, and unclean food. It has the characteristics of an explosive epidemic. Patients often show nausea and vomiting first, followed by diarrhea, 3 to 5 times a day, or even dozens of times a day. The stool is watery, dark yellow or green, and foul-smelling, and may be accompanied by abdominal cramps, fever, body aches and other symptoms. Routine stool examination and stool culture may show normal or abnormal white blood cell count. Patients with symptoms of nausea and vomiting are called acute gastritis; those with symptoms of abdominal pain and diarrhea are often called acute enteritis. Clinically, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea are often seen at the same time, so it is also called acute gastroenteritis.

How should acute enteritis be treated?

First of all, dehydration should be prevented. Moderate to severe patients may lose a large amount of fluid in the gastrointestinal tract due to severe vomiting and diarrhea, resulting in water and electrolyte imbalance, such as isotonic or hyperosmotic dehydration, metabolic acidosis and hypokalemia, and symptoms of systemic poisoning. Therefore, water and electrolytes should be properly supplemented. When drinking water, pay attention to drinking a moderate amount of light salt water to prevent the occurrence of hyponatremia. If symptoms are severe, seek medical attention immediately.

Secondly, if the vomiting is severe, you should go to a nearby hospital for treatment in time. You can use antiemetics such as metoclopramide to prevent severe vomiting from causing acute gastric mucosal lesions.

Third, when the abdominal pain is severe and unbearable, atropine can be used temporarily to relieve pain, but it will inhibit intestinal peristalsis, increase the absorption of toxins and the excretion of pathogenic bacteria, so its use should be avoided as much as possible within the tolerance range.

Fourth, use antidiarrheal drugs with caution. While diarrhea excretes a large amount of water, it also excretes many pathogenic bacteria and the toxins they produce. Blindly using antidiarrheal drugs will delay the elimination of pathogenic bacteria from the body. Safer antidiarrheal drugs are adsorbent antidiarrheal drugs such as montmorillonite powder, which can absorb pathogenic bacteria and toxins in the intestines and relieve diarrhea symptoms.

Fifth, use probiotic preparations appropriately. The fundamental mechanism of infectious enteritis is the invasion of foreign bacteria or the disruption of the original balance of intestinal flora. The reasonable application of probiotic preparations such as live bifidobacterium preparations and live Bacillus subtilis can regulate intestinal microecology and promote the restoration of intestinal balance.

Sixth, use antibiotics rationally. Patients with mild symptoms do not necessarily need drug treatment. After timely replenishment of water and electrolytes, the symptoms will gradually disappear as the body's immune system response gradually increases. However, when severe vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration symptoms and signs, severe abdominal pain, and persistent high fever occur, antibiotics should be used for treatment in a timely manner. First, broad-spectrum antibiotics such as cephalosporins and quinolone antibiotics should be used. If conditions permit, stool culture can be performed. After the pathogenic bacteria are identified, the appropriate antibiotics should be used for treatment.