American Medical Association Family Medical Guide - American Medical Association [511]
If you have diarrhea, drink the rehydration fluid at half-hour intervals until your urine becomes pale yellow again, a sign that you are no longer dehydrated. An adult with severe diarrhea may need to drink a few quarts of the solution per day before his or her urine returns to its normal color. Once the diarrhea begins to ease, start drinking other kinds of fluids such as tea and clear broth or bouillon; gradually add flavored gelatin, cooked cereal, and other bland, soft foods. After about 2 or 3 days, you should be able to resume your normal diet.
Over-the-counter antidiarrhea medications may help relieve symptoms, but they are not an alternative to the fluid replacement that is essential for treating diarrhea. However, you should not take antidiarrhea medication if there is blood in your stool. Also, do not take antibiotics without talking to your doctor. Antibiotics can make it more difficult to identify the cause of diarrhea, and some antibiotics can upset the bacterial balance in the intestine and cause an inflammatory form of diarrhea called Clostridium difficile colitis.
There is no specific treatment for viral gastroenteritis. If the diagnosis is definite and your nausea and diarrhea are relatively mild, your doctor will probably recommend continuing the self-help measures described above. If your vomiting is severe, your doctor may prescribe an antiemetic drug in suppository form or by injection. Diarrhea caused by a virus is sometimes treated with medications such as narcotic-type drugs or antispasmodic drugs that slow intestinal activity and may help relieve cramping. Treatment is usually stopped as soon as the intestines begin to function normally again.
If your vomiting and diarrhea are so severe that you become dehydrated, or if you have a chronic disease such as diabetes (see page 889) or kidney problems, your doctor may admit you to the hospital to give you fluids intravenously (through a vein) and restore the balance of your body chemistry.
Gastrointestinal Anthrax
Anthrax is a very rare, noncontagious disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Gastrointestinal anthrax (also called intestinal or ingestion anthrax) results from eating the meat of contaminated animals, usually beef. The disorder is rare in humans in the United States because livestock is vaccinated routinely for anthrax in areas where the anthrax bacterium can be found in the soil. (Other forms of anthrax have been used in bioterrorism; see page 30.)
Anthrax bacteria settle in the lining of the intestines, where they multiply and produce a toxin. The symptoms of gastrointestinal anthrax occur 1 to 7 days after a person eats raw or undercooked meat containing the bacteria. Symptoms initially resemble those of gastroenteritis (see previous page), including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever with chills, and abdominal pain. Later symptoms include headaches, back pain, pain in the arms and legs, bloody diarrhea, and bleeding of the mucous membranes. Gastrointestinal anthrax can be treated easily with antibiotics. If untreated, it can be fatal.
Food Poisoning
Food poisoning, also known as foodborne illness, refers to a group of disorders caused by the ingestion of food or beverages contaminated with infectious microorganisms such as viruses or bacteria. Food, such as some mushrooms, also can contain toxins that produce illness, and some microorganisms produce toxins as they grow inside food. Infants, children, older people, pregnant women, and people with a compromised immune system from illness or cancer treatment are most vulnerable to the more serious effects of food poisoning.
More than 250 different foodborne illnesses are known to exist, and up to 80 million cases of food