What are the clinical manifestations of acute enteritis?

Acute gastroenteritis is mainly caused by unclean food, which allows bacteria and viruses to enter the human body, causing patients to suffer from vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain. Acute gastroenteritis usually occurs more frequently in summer and autumn. The weather is hot in summer, food is easily spoiled, or it can be caused by patients overeating. Acute gastroenteritis develops suddenly and requires prompt treatment. So, what are the clinical manifestations of acute gastroenteritis?

The main symptoms are nausea, vomiting, fever, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Vomiting is common among children, while diarrhea is common among adults. The main symptoms are as follows.

(1) A history of overeating or eating unclean, rotten or spoiled food.

(2) Acute onset, frequent nausea and vomiting, severe abdominal pain, and frequent diarrhea, which is mostly watery and may contain undigested food. A small number of patients have blood-streaked or coffee-colored vomit, black stools or positive fecal occult blood test. This indicates bleeding in the gastric mucosa.

(3) Fever, headache, general malaise and other symptoms of poisoning of varying degrees are common.

(4) Vomiting. The vomitus is undigested food. The patient feels better after vomiting. Some patients even vomit yellow bile or stomach acid. Severe diarrhea may cause dehydration, acidosis, and even shock.

(5) Physical signs are not obvious, there is tenderness in the upper abdomen and around the umbilicus, no muscle tension or rebound pain, and bowel sounds are often hyperactive. Upper abdominal pain in the left middle or around the umbilicus, with paroxysmal aggravation or persistent dull pain, accompanied by abdominal fullness and discomfort. A few patients experience severe pain.

In addition, headache, fever, chills and muscle pain are also common symptoms. In a few severe cases, dehydration may occur due to frequent vomiting and diarrhea. Dehydration is caused by repeated vomiting and diarrhea, which leads to excessive water loss. Symptoms include poor skin elasticity, sunken eyeballs, thirst, and oliguria. In severe cases, blood pressure drops and the limbs become cold.

Clinically, the disease that occurs simultaneously with acute gastritis is also called acute gastroenteritis. (1) First, you need to rest in bed, keep warm, and fast for 12 hours. Then gradually take in small amounts of liquid food, such as rice soup, lotus root powder, or porridge, noodle soup, etc., and slowly resume a normal diet. (2) Appropriate analgesics and antidiarrhea measures. Take belladonna tablets orally. If the diarrhea is severe, you can eat some toasted steamed bread slices or rice porridge to astringe and stop diarrhea. (3) Encourage drinking plenty of water. For details, please see “First Aid Measures for Acute Gastritis”. (4) Patients with mild symptoms do not need to take anti-inflammatory drugs. Generally, drugs such as lactase, berberine, and norfloxacin can be used. (5) Patients with severe diarrhea and dehydration should be sent to the hospital promptly for intravenous infusion treatment.

When the symptoms of acute gastroenteritis are mild, you can buy medicine for self-treatment: 1. Take metoclopramide for nausea and vomiting; 2. Take scopolamine, belladonna extract, propantheline bromide, etc. orally for abdominal pain. 3. Berberine can be used for diarrhea. If the effect is not ideal, loperamide capsules can be taken. Patients with acute gastroenteritis should rest in bed and keep warm. Patients in the acute phase often have symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea, and lose a lot of water, so they need to replenish fluids. They can be given liquid foods such as fresh fruit juice, lotus root powder, rice soup, egg soup, etc., and drink more boiled water and light salt water as appropriate. To avoid gastrointestinal fermentation and bloating, gas-producing foods such as beef should be avoided during the acute phase, and sucrose intake should be minimized. Attention should be paid to food hygiene. Avoid high-fat fried, deep-fried, smoked and cured fish, vegetables and fruits high in fiber, strong beverages, food and condiments, etc.

Patients with acute gastroenteritis have watery stools and diarrhea, sometimes several times or even more than ten times a day. This is very harmful to the human body and it is easy to become dehydrated. In addition to paying more attention to rest, patients should also actively seek treatment. They should eat more easily digestible, non-irritating foods at the right temperature and rich in nutrition. Eat small meals frequently and drink plenty of water.