Gastroenteritis: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment
Gastroenteritis is a gut infection that causes abdominal pain, diarrhoea and nausea or vomiting. You might also feel feverish and will almost certainly be off your food.
Any number of bugs can cause it, but viruses are the most common cause in the UK – rotavirus is a common culprit and outbreaks can occur in schools and workplaces. Bacteria may cause gastroenteritis from contaminated food or water, such as meat that hasn’t been cooked through, for example at barbecues, or rice or salad that has sat out, such as a buffet on a warm day, or drinking from a stream or pond.
Travel to exotic locations or ones without good sanitation may bring you into contact with parasites or bacteria, and these may be responsible for your gastroenteritis.
Most cases will resolve without treatment and by drinking plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration. The majority of gastroenteritis improve significantly within 72 hours, however sometimes may continue for up to 5 days.
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Is it contagious?
Gastroenteritis is very contagious and you should keep yourself to yourself if you are experiencing vomiting and diarrhoea.
Surfaces can get contaminated with virus particles that can be passed on. You should not be going to work or public places, and should keep to your own bathroom if your home set-up allows it. Avoiding preparing food or serving food to others, and make sure you maintain thorough and regular hand washing.
Anti-sickness or anti-diarrhoeal tablets are not usually required, unless the symptoms are severe. Antibiotics are not usually prescribed unless there is a bacterial cause identified that will respond to antibiotics, which usually means waiting for a stool sample result to come back.
If you need to take anti-diarrhoea medication to stop the diarrhoea for a short amount of time it is best to first discuss it with your pharmacist first, or with your doctor via a telephone appointment.
Keep drinking but don’t worry if you don’t feel like eating for a few days – listen to your gut. When hungry, eat plain and easily digestible foods until you feel better to give your gut a rest and gently add bulk to the stool, such as rice, mashed potato, or soft bread dipped in a well-cooked soup.
Bananas add soft bulk and fibre, as well as providing some energy and a good source of potassium. Avoid dairy for a few weeks, as this can exacerbate your gut lining while it tries to repair.
Healthwords pharmacists' top tips
The use of anti-diarrhoea capsules is usually best avoided unless you are travelling or unable to access a toilet nearby, or if you are going to the toilet every 30 minutes or so and are at risk of severe dehydration due to more loss of fluid than can be topped up by drinking water. This is because reducing gut motion may only delay the body's natural process to flush the toxins out of the body quickly.
Drinking water is the best thing to top up fluid levels, but you also need to top up electrolytes (salts) lost through vomiting and diarrhoea. The use of oral rehydration drinks can help to replenish electrolyte and fluid levels and help prevent dehydration, helping you to a quicker recovery.
Other products that may help with symptoms include Enterosgel sachets, which bind to and expel toxins in the gut and also help settle the stomach. Pepto-Bismol can help calm the gut by neutralising acidity in the gut, calming nausea, diarrhoea and belching.
For fever, you can take paracetamol if necessary.
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Am I fit for work?
You are not fit for work if you have gastroenteritis and should not return to a work setting until 48 hours after your symptoms stop (unless you work from home)- this is to minimise the risk of passing it onto anyone else.
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