Gastroenteritis Flu: Causes, Symptoms and Prevention

It is best if you prevent gastrointestinal flu and wash and disinfect your hands regularly, do not sit on someone else’s toilet seat and avoid contact with people with gastrointestinal diseases.

He is tall. He is smart. And strong on top of that: 70 percent of the body’s own defense cells are located in the intestinal tract, the center of our immune system. The largest organ in the body reacts independently, perceives and learns. This normally protects the intestine from pathogens. He also has quite a lot of friends: 500 different types of bacteria, all in all trillions of bacteria, cavort there and support digestion. Nevertheless, especially in summer, heat-affine, mostly alien bacteria and viruses in food and from the tap in southern holiday countries can upset the intestinal structure.

What is known in technical jargon as gastroenteritis and colloquially as gastrointestinal flu or gastrointestinal is an inflammation of the gastrointestinal mucous membranes caused by the pathogen. It mostly affects the small intestine. Depending on which mucosal layers the pathogens penetrate, the diarrhea is watery or even bloody.

Read more about quick help with diarrhea here >>

The top 5 pathogens causing gastrointestinal infection are campylobacter (the “barbecue and picnic poisoners”), rotavirus (the “water poisoners”), shigella (the “daycare pathogens”), salmonella (the “meat poisoners”), and coliform bacteria (the ” two-faced bacteria”). The latter are so called because they occur naturally in the human intestinal flora and are involved in the production of vitamin K, among other things. However, they can cause severe gastrointestinal poisoning through contaminated food (animal excrement) and contaminated drinking water. The also very unpleasant salmonella infection often occurs after eating infected eggs, dairy products and especially poultry.

Read more about preventing gastrointestinal flu here >>

If we treat our vacation with caution, we will be spared “Montezuma’s Revenge”.

Cook it, peel it or forget it” – the old camper wisdom saves us on all trips to distant countries. In order to arm yourself against a gastrointestinal infection in summer, the be-all and end- all: only eat peeled fruit and preferably only boiled or cooked vegetables, in southern climes as well as in high temperatures in this country. If you feel like eating salad and raw vegetables, you should wash the ingredients thoroughly and then dry them. We prefer not to eat dishes with mayonnaise (be careful especially with ready-to-buy sandwiches) if it has been mixed with raw eggs. It’s also a shame about tiramisu and ice cream: we have to refrain from eating them for the same reason. And raw fish (sushi) and raw meat (carpaccio) should only be enjoyed with extreme caution at a shimmering 35 degrees.

When it’s hot, we long for a cool lemonade or a refreshing cocktail. But the drinking water from which the ice cubes are made is rarely bacteria-free in southern countries. So get rid of it and drink something from chilled bottles. Only use water from purchased, closed bottles for brushing your teeth. A herbal remedy for all nausea attacks, not only when traveling, is for example “Iberogast”. If you take all of this to heart and then make sure to wash your hands more than usual, you’ll actually be immune to “Montezuma’s Revenge”.

If you are affected by a stomach or intestinal flu on holiday, we can recommend a stomach massage >>

If we get caught, the body switches to self-healing: everything has to go.

Now we’re getting one after the other. Depending on the pathogen, sudden diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps occur within an hour to a day. Dizziness, headaches, flu-like symptoms and fever can also occur. The rapid, large loss of fluid puts an enormous strain on the circulatory system. This is particularly dangerous for children and seniors: the loss of fluids and electrolytes (potassium, sodium, magnesium and calcium) can trigger cardiac arrhythmia, cramps and shock states, even coma.

Nevertheless, vomiting and diarrhea are self-healing measures of the body. He tries to get rid of the disturbing pathogen quickly in a natural way. As miserable as we feel, these gastrointestinal symptoms are important for our body and the healing process. It’s the only way to do it and it’ll get better soon. A drug like “Perenterol” can relieve diarrhea and help the body regain its natural rhythm.

If digestive problems occur again, our tips against stomach flu will help >>