Incubation period of a gastrointestinal infection
The incubation period is the time that elapses from the time the pathogen enters the body until the first symptoms of the disease appear.Only when the pathogen has multiplied sufficiently and not previously eliminated by the immune system, the disease breaks out and symptoms appear. The incubation period is different for each pathogen individually and also varies from person to person. In most cases, it takes between four and 48 hours for the first symptoms to appear for a gastrointestinal pathogen.
The norovirus has a particularly short incubation period. It is between six and 50 hours. With the Rotavirus, the incubation period is on average three days.
Gastrointestinal infection without diarrhoea
In addition to vomiting, diarrhea is also part of a real gastrointestinal infection. Since the pathogen makes its way through the mouth and stomach, ultimately into the intestines, where it causes damage and consequently diarrhoea. However, in some people, the immune system is able to keep the symptoms of the disease or the pathogen in check, so that it can only come to weakened symptoms, so that the diarrhea can sometimes be absent.
Complications
Complications are very rare in a gastrointestinal infection, as it is usually a harmless disease that the body can fight on its own. However, if there is too much loss of fluid and electrolytes, the lack of volume can lead to a so-called hypovolemic shock, because the lack of fluid means that there is too little blood in the body and consequently the blood pressure is too low. If care is taken to ensure that sufficient fluid is consumed during the illness, this complication can usually be easily averted.
Hypovolemic shock occurs mainly in countries with poor medical care. In these countries, diarrhea often leads to death. Furthermore, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can occur. In very rare cases, the disease can lead to intestinal rupture or blood poisoning.
