Symptoms For Intestinal Infection And Causes
An intestinal infection can be caused by a number of things such as germs, bacteria, and poor personal hygiene. This can be referred to as a viral gastroenteritis which usually is in the stomach and small intestine.
There are more than one type of bacteria that can cause intestinal infections. Some of the common causes of infection are Salmonella, Shigella, Escherichia coli, Typhoid Mary, Campylobacter, Clostridium difficile infection, Clostridium perfringens food poisoning, Listeria and Staphylococcus. Some of these are more common than others.
How do doctors diagnose intestinal infections? A lot of cases are so mild that they go unnoticed. Others get better on their own without you having to visit a doctor. They just run their course. If you go to a doctor he or she will diagnose this by doing a physical exam, analyzing your medical history and symptoms, and your food intake. Most cases will not need to have laboratory tests done and the cause for the infection will never truly be known. In other cases the doctors will collect bowel samples and test them to determine the cause.
Gastroenteritis symptoms are loss of appetite, cramps, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, weight loss, vomiting, and loose motions. One of the first things you will need to do is to stop eating any foods outside of your home. Permanent damage can occur to your intestine if the infection is persistent.
Staying on a liquid diet for one day and consuming buttermilk and fresh lime juice can help. Be sure to avoid foods that are difficult to digest. Be sure to not become dehydrated. You will need to consume fatty foods to maintain an adequate intake of calories. Fatty foods are thought to help reduce intestinal motility.
Bacterial infections in your intestine can also be the cause for developing stomach ulcers. Bacteria live in the acidic environment of your stomach. The bacteria are there to make a substance neutralize the acids in the stomach.
Home remedies for bacterial stomach infection:
- To help cleanse your intestine, you can chew on ginger or drink ginger tea.
- Try to stay on a liquid diet for the initial phase of your condition.
- To help neutralize the acid in your stomach, eat a banana.
- Peppermint tea cools the stomach and helps to fight the infection.
- Avoid onion, coffee, fried foods, and cauliflower.
- Drink plenty of clear fluids to avoid dehydration.
- Avoid foods that cause indigestion.
- Drink apple cider vinegar.
If you keep getting an intestinal infection you will need to see a doctor as soon as you can.
