Viral gastroenteritis is an intestinal infection marked by watery diarrhea, muscle aches, headache, abdominal cramps, nausea or vomiting, and sometimes fever. It’s generally called a stomach flu or a stomach bug, but it’s not actually the flu or influenza, which is a respiratory illness. This infection often develops though contact with an infected person or by consuming contaminated food or water.
For a stomach bug, an upset stomach is a common symptom which can make eating sound unappealing, even though you are hungry. Knowing what to consume is difficult because you don’t know what will agree with your stomach.
It is very important to follow these tips for fueling your body when you have viral gastroenteritis:
Let your stomach settle. For a few hours avoid eating solid foods. Instead, drink liquids like sodas, teas, broths or non caffeinated sports drinks. Frequently to stay hydrated, focus on drinking in small amounts of liquid.
Ease back into eating. After you can tolerate drinking clear fluids, start consuming smaller meals of bland, low-residual foods, such as mashed potatoes, toast, crackers, plain noodles, gelatin, bananas, rice and chicken.
Be careful with medications. Discuss your medications with your doctor, to avoid any potential side effects. If your symptoms are getting worse, then you may need to use an over-the-counter medication to help reduce diarrhea symptoms or an anti-nausea medicine to help you keep food and fluids down with vomiting.
The main cause for stomach bug is dehydration, where there is a severe loss of water and essential salts and minerals. You can reduce the risk of dehydration by drinking plenty of fluids to replace those lost from vomiting or diarrhea.
Depending on the cause, generally viral gastroenteritis symptoms appear about one to three days after exposure. Symptoms can be severe or mild and may last for a few days.
Although viral gastroenteritis is extremely common, it can be usually managed at home. Red flags or worrisome symptoms that would prompt a visit to your health care team are severe dehydration, not being able to keep fluids down, bloody stools, severe abdominal pain or when symptoms last longer than one week. Young children, older adults and individuals with compromised immune systems are more likely to have complications related to viral gastroenteritis.
Good hand hygiene and proper food handling are very important to prevent you from getting sick and to limit the spread of viral gastroenteritis within a school, workplace, household and the community. Make sure you wash your hands with soap and water, especially after using the bathroom, before preparing food and eating. Stomach bugs are commonly seen during winter and spring, so it’s important to be diligent, especially during this time of the year.
