Health Blog » GIT Problems

Treatment, Prognosis and Prevention of Rotavirus Diarrhea

admin — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 11:23:38 +0000

Rotavirus diarrhea/infection is a common problem among infants and young children. The disease also can not be prevented by improving sanitation,which can only be prevented by vaccination.

Treatment of rotavirus diarrhea:

The treatment of rotavirus infection/diarrhea is mainly symptomatic and nonspecific, as there are no effective antiviral antibiotics available against rota virus. Treatment with antiviral antibiotics is not required. The most important symptomatic treatment of rota virus diarrhea is treatment of dehydration. If dehydration is not corrected appropriately patient may die from severe dehydration.

Treat and Prevent Rotavirus Diarrhea at home

admin — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 11:19:46 +0000

Rotavirus infection is the most common case of severe diarrhea (severe enough to cause death if left untreated or inadequately treated) among infants and young children below two years of age. A recent survey in the United States involving more than 500 mothers with young children (between 0-3 years of age) revealed that more than two third of mothers know very little or nothing about rotavirus diarrhea in young children and infants. From the survey it is clear that even in advanced country such as United States, mothers and common people are not aware of the rotavirus diarrhea and the seriousness of the disease and the problem is much more serious in developing and underdeveloped countries. Rotavirus diarrhea is common throughout the world and improved sanitary condition does not reduce the incidence of rotavirus diarrhea.

But good news is that the disease can be easily managed (as well as prevented) at home with the resources available at home. The most important factor in rotavirus diarrhea is dehydration and the aim of treatment is to replace lost fluid. Related posts:

Transmission and Prevention of Rotavirus Infection

admin — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 11:21:42 +0000

How rotavirus infection is transmitted?

The route of transmission of rotavirus is feco-oral. Contact with contaminated hands, surfaces and objects can transmit the virus and initiate infection and diarrhea. Respiratory route is also considered to transmit the virus from one person to another. The number of rotavirus particle in infected personâ€™s feces is estimated to be more than 10 trillions and the infective dose is only 10-100 virus particles. Presence of such huge numbers of virus and the small size of infective dose required makes it ideal for mass transmission of rotavirus. Another important aspect in high incidence and infectivity of rotavirus is the less effectiveness (may be ineffectiveness) of standard sanitary measures used for elimination of bacteria, virus and parasites. This can be easily understood by the fact that the incidence of rotavirus infection is similar in countries with high as well as low health standards, unless there is mass and routine vaccination program against rotavirus infection. The stability of rotavirus in normal environment also makes the transmission of the virus easy. Related posts:

Diet Plan for Constipation

admin — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 11:16:44 +0000

[caption id="attachment_2124" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Fresh salad for constipation"][/caption]

Constipation if you are suffering from, you should have a proper diet plan to reduce problem of constipation. Try to make it your habit for benefit to be longer lasting. Constipation is a common health problem in most people living in developed countries due to intake of low fibers, which is mostly due to eating less fresh vegetables and fruits. The following diet plan is very helpful for constipation:

Early morning:

In the morning after getting up, you should make it a habit to take a glass of lukewarm water with lemon approximately 300 - 400 ml of water is recommended.

Breakfast:

Your breakfast should consist of a cup of tea or a glass of milk, bread (preferably brown bread) with butter or cheese, vegetable sandwich and some fruits like apple, orange, strawberry etc. (try to avoid banana, which contain high iron and may lead to constipation).

Some Dietary Advises on Constipation

admin — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 11:19:13 +0000

Constipation is a common and chronic problem. It is very difficult to clearly define (because of the wide range of normal bowel habits) and differentiate normal bowel habit with that of constipation. Constipation usually refers to persistent, difficult, infrequent, or seemingly incomplete defecation. Most persons have at least three bowel movements per week in Western countries and more than 5 bowel movements per week in the developing countries. But, low stool frequency alone is not the sole criterion for the diagnosis of constipation as many constipated patients have a normal frequency of defecation but complain of excessive straining, hard stools, lower abdominal fullness, or a sense of incomplete evacuation.

The following dietary modifications are recommended in constipation:

Fibers: If you are suffering from constipation you should consume liberal amount of fibers. Fibers help the stool to be formed properly and make it easier to pass. The foods rich in fiber contents are green leafy vegetables, fruits, all types of vegetables, whole grain cereals etc. You should consume large quantities of these foods.

Treatment of Chronic Diarrhea

admin — Sat, 08 May 2010 15:56:32 +0000

Treatment of chronic diarrhea depends on the cause of the chronic diarrhea. Depending on the cause of chronic diarrhea, the treatment may be curative (for example if chronic diarrhea is due to a drug, withdrawal of the drug will cure the chronic diarrhea), suppressive, or empirical treatment. Chronic diarrhea due to infectious agent can be cured by administration of appropriate antibiotics.

Chronic diarrhea can be suppressed by suppressing the underlying mechanism of chronic diarrhea. Examples of suppression of mechanism of chronic diarrhea include removing lactose (milk disaccharide) from diet in lactase deficiency, provision of gluten free diet in celiac sprue etc. Use of proton pump inhibitor drugs such as omeprazole in gastric hyper-secretion of gastrinomas, prostaglandin inhibitors such as NSAIDS (like indomethacin, diclofenac etc.) for medullary carcinoma of the thyroid gland, and pancreatic enzyme replacement for pancreatic insufficiency which cause chronic diarrhea are also examples of suppression of mechanism of chronic diarrhea. Related posts:

What are the Causes of Chronic Diarrhea?

admin — Wed, 05 May 2010 00:05:45 +0000

Diarrhea lasting more then 4 weeks can be termed as chronic diarrhea. Chronic diarrhea may be indication of some potentially serious underlying pathology and need thorough investigation. Most commonly chronic diarrhea is due to non infectious cause, unlike acute diarrhea, which are commonly due to infectious cause.

The causes of chronic diarrhea can be grouped in seven groups and they are (1) secretory causes, (2) inflammatory causes, (3) osmotic causes, (4) dysmitility causes, (5) due to steatorea, (6) factitial causes and (7) iatrogenic causes or caused due to hospital/medical intervention. Related posts:

Principles of Management of Acute Diarrhea

admin — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 06:27:01 +0000

The important principle of management of diarrhea is to determine the severity of dehydration and treat diarrhea according to the severity of dehydration. Severity of dehydration can be assessed clinically. The severity of dehydration is actually due to loss of fluid and electrolytes and the more the loss of fluid and electrolytes the severe is dehydration. Whenever there is loss of fluid by gastrointestinal route (vomiting or diarrhea or loose motion) there is always accompanying loss of electrolytes.

Dehydration is divided into mild, moderate and severe dehydration. The treatment of diarrhea generally depends on the severity of diarrhea. The severe the dehydration, the vigorous is the treatment. Related posts:

Treat Acute Diarrhea Promptly

admin — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 02:12:09 +0000

Acute diarrhea is fairly common problem, especially in the developing countries and among children of less than 5 years of age. Diarrhea is one of the leading cause of death among infants and children below 5 years of age in developing countries and acute diarrhea causes an economic loss or economic burden at the tune of more than $20 billions per annum worldwide. This staggering figure of financial burden can be reduced to a great extent by treating diarrhea promptly and adequately at home. Most of the cases of diarrhea can be treated at home with ingredients available at home.

Diarrhea is in most cases mild to moderate severity, but if left untreated it may be fatal in extreme cases. Prompt treatment and correct treatment of acute diarrhea is the answer to reduce mortality and morbidity from diarrhea. Related posts:

Who are at High Risk of Acute Diarrhea?

admin — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 16:13:26 +0000

If you are living in the United States or in other developed industrial countries you may be at high risk of contacting acute diarrhea, especially due to pathogenic microorganisms. The are five different groups of people who are at high risk of acute diarrhea in compare to normal population.

These five high risk groups include (1) travelers, especially international travelers to developing countries, (2) immunocompromized persons (e.g. AIDS patients), (3) consumers of certain foods, (4) hospitalized persons, especially long term hospital stay, and (5) attendants of day care centers and their family members. Related posts: