The climatic changes and the high temperatures registered during the last weeks in the country, bring with them not only the already known respiratory infections, they can also generate an increase in viruses and bacteria, which cause diarrheal diseases.
And it is essential to pay attention to the symptoms that a person may present, be it a child or an adult, since a diarrheal infection added to high temperatures can trigger severe dehydration, even death, and that is that according to the World Health Organization Health (WHO), diarrheal diseases are the second leading cause of death in children under five years of age.
For this reason, from Nueva EPS we consulted Dr. Oscar Ricardo Angarita Santos from the Hospital Universitario Mayor – Méderi, so as not to lower our guard and treat a diarrheal infection on time, in order to avoid complications.
How are gastrointestinal infections or diarrheal diseases transmitted?
“The first thing to understand is that acute gastroenteritis is initially infectious and the most frequent cause is still viral diseases, however, it can also be bacterial or parasitic.
Viral gastroenteritis is generally transmitted from person to person, and the main reason for this transmission is contact with the hands. Once the infected person goes to the bathroom and does not clean their hands correctly, a chain of infections begins when they come into contact with other people or even with some elements or objects.
It is also important to understand that water contamination is a major source of transmission, hence the importance of treating it beforehand.”
At what point should the most attention be paid to these infections?
“Infectious gastroenteritis can cause serious complications and even lead to mortality in children under 5 years of age and in adults over 65 or 70 years of age, so it is extremely important to pay more attention to these age groups.
However, the most important complication of diarrheal disease is dehydration, and this leads to disturbances in the balance of electrolytes, which are fundamental salts in the blood, in addition, the loss of liquids confers loss of renal function, conditioning a dysfunction of the other organs of the body.
It must be taken into account that, when acute diarrhea is accompanied by persistent fever, vomiting, respiratory symptoms or bleeding, it is important that the alarms go off, and that they force themselves to seek medical attention, to receive intravenous hydration”.
What does the treatment of diarrheal diseases consist of?
“It is worth clarifying that acute gastroenteritis of infectious origin is a condition that generally lasts more or less between 5 and 7 days, which is the normal time in which the intestinal cells responsible for absorbing water recover, and that is the time that the disease can last.
However, the main recommendation is permanent hydration, accompanied by a soft diet”.
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