Symptoms of gastroenteritis | Gastroenteritis

Symptoms of gastroenteritis

Sudden abdominal pain, stomach ache and abdominal cramps – these are the most common harbingers of gastroenteritis. Soon after they occur, vomiting followed by diarrhoea is added. This sequence is mainly due to infectious causes, i.e. viruses or bacteria, due to the order in which the pathogen passes through the intestine.

The initial loss of appetite and vomiting originate in the stomach, while diarrhoea from the rest of the intestine only develops later when the pathogen is transported further along the stomach. The above-mentioned symptoms can turn the affected person from a perfectly healthy person into a sick person lying in bed suffering from massive discomfort within a few hours. If the inflammation spreads beyond the innermost layer of the mucous membrane to deeper layers of the intestinal wall, the diarrhea can also be accompanied by blood in the stool.

The biggest problem resulting from diarrhoea is the loss of fluid and salt from the body. Too great a loss can lead to circulatory weakness with dizziness and tiredness. Vomiting is a very common symptom of gastro-enteritis.

Accompanied by nausea, vomiting usually occurs at the beginning of the illness. It can be seen as a reaction of the body to the irritation of the stomach by pathogens. This reaction, serves to protect against the disease.

The body tries to get the pathogens out of the body through the mouth before they can cause further damage. If the vomiting is very strong, the body loses a lot of water and stomach acid. Since this can be very dangerous, sufficient water should be drunk first and a doctor should be consulted if the symptoms persist.

Nausea is usually the first sign of gastroenteritis and is often accompanied by vomiting. The nausea is caused by the fact that the pathogens, which are absorbed through the mouth, arrive in the stomach and attack the stomach lining there. The damage can continue even after the illness and it can take several days until the stomach lining has completely regenerated.

For this reason, the nausea often persists for a while at the end of the illness and is particularly noticeable when the stomach is stressed, such as after eating. Abdominal pain is also a symptom that occurs in many cases of gastro-enteritis. On the one hand, they are caused by the damage that the pathogens cause in the gastrointestinal tract.

On the other hand, the body’s defense mechanisms against the disease, such as vomiting of the stomach contents, can further irritate the mucous membrane and lead to abdominal pain. In addition, the abdominal pain can be intensified during bowel movements. Flatulence is generally caused by bacteria that occur naturally in the intestines using food components for their own metabolism.

This produces gases that spread like air in the intestine and inflate the abdomen. In the case of gastro-enteritis, there are usually additional bacteria in the intestine that do not belong there and therefore cause the symptoms. They can also produce gases that can lead to increased flatulence.

To fight off the gastro-enteritis, the body activates the immune system.This sets various mechanisms in motion that should lead to the death of the pathogens. One of these mechanisms is the increase in body temperature, i.e. fever. In order to achieve the rise in temperature, the body increases the tension in the muscles, for example, or tightens the vessels in the arms and legs so that they lose less heat.

Pain in the limbs is also a sign of the immune system‘s reaction to the pathogens. In order to set the various defense mechanisms in motion, messenger substances are released throughout the body. These activate, for example, other cells of the immune system which are supposed to kill the pathogens.

Since these messenger substances also activate signaling pathways that are responsible for pain conduction, among other things, pain in the limbs occurs. In addition, the body’s defensive reactions require a lot of energy, which is why one generally feels weak and limp. A stomach flu can also occur without vomiting.

Especially some bacteria like some E. Coli bacteria cause increased problems in the intestinal area. This is why diarrhoea is more common with these infections than vomiting. In addition, the nausea is different for each person, which is why a mild gastro-enteritis occurs in some people with vomiting and in others without.