What It Is:

What you may have heard referred to as “stomach flu” is actually not a flu at all, but a gastrointestinal infection, also called gastroenteritis. Gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the linings of the intestines caused by a virus, bacteria, or parasites. This is a very common type of infection, especially in children.

Gastroenteritis can be caused by consuming contaminated food or water, or by contact with an infected person or contaminated object. Viruses are the most common cause of gastroenteritis in the United States. Symptoms may include some of the following:

• Diarrhea
• Abdominal pain and cramping
• Vomiting
• Headache
• Fever
• Chills

Because of the symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, people who have gastroenteritis have to be careful not to become dehydrated.

Who is At Risk:

Gastroenteritis is the most common type of infection in children, but anyone can get it. People with weakened immune systems due to illness or medication will tend to be affected most severely, which is why hospital-acquired gastroenteritis can be more of a problem.

What You Can Do

The body can often fight off gastroenteritis on its own, with the help of bed rest and drinking plenty of fluids. Like any infection, the best thing is to try to prevent it in the first place. The following are ways to avoid getting a gastrointestinal infection:

• Wash your hands frequently, especially after going to the bathroom.
• Make sure eating utensils are cleaned thoroughly.
• Try to avoid coming into contact with someone else who is infected.
• In choosing a hospital, Review Hospital Care to find information about infection rates
at different hospitals in Pennsylvania. [Link to 5.0, Review Hospital Care]

Treatment:

If you do get a gastrointestinal infection your doctor or nurse may treat you by ensuring you get the fluids and electrolytes that have been lost through diarrhea or vomiting. This may be done through an IV. Antibiotics will not be effective if the cause of gastroenteritis is a viral infection. Doctors usually do not recommend antidiarrheal medications because they tend to prolong infection, especially in children.

C. difficile

C. difficile (sometimes referred to as C. diff) is a bacteria that can cause a particularly severe and dangerous type of gastroenteritis. C. difficile bacteria are found everywhere, but only become dangerous when they accumulate in large numbers in the intestinal tract of someone who is taking antibiotics or other antimicrobial drugs. When this happens, C. difficile can cause a number of symptoms:

• Profuse, watery diarrhea
• High fever
• Severe abdominal pain
• Blood or pus in the stool
• Dehydration
• Nausea
• Weight loss

Although most people develop C. difficile during or shortly after a course of antibiotics, signs and symptoms may not appear until weeks, or sometimes even months, after stopping antibiotics treatments.

Risk Factors for C. difficile

You may be at higher risk for a C. difficile infection if you:

• Are currently taking or have recently taken antibiotics.
• Are 65 years of age or older.
• Have recently been hospitalized for an extended period.
• Have a weakened immune system.
• Live in a nursing home or long-term care facility.
• Have had abdominal surgery.
• Have previously had a C. difficile infection.

Prevention and Treatment of C. difficile

The best way to avoid getting a C. difficile infection is to only take antibiotics when absolutely necessary. If you do need to take an antibiotic, ask your healthcare provider about prescribing one with a narrow range (targets only specific types of bacteria) that you can take for the shortest time possible. In a hospital setting, the following are minimum recommended guidelines to prevent the spread of C. difficile:

• Hospital staff should wear disposable gloves when treating people with C. difficile infections, and should wash their hands thoroughly with soap and warm water before and after treating each patient.
• Visitors should wash their hands with soap and warm water before entering and after leaving the room of a patient with a C. difficile infection.
• People who have a C. difficile infection should have a private room or share a room with someone who has the same illness.
• All room surfaces are carefully disinfected with a product that contains chlorine bleach.

If you do get a C difficile infection, the first step in treatment is to stop taking the antibiotic that triggered the infection (if you have not already done so). This is usually followed with a treatment using a different type of antibiotic that will eliminate the C. difficile bacteria. Other treatments for this type of infection may include probiotics (dietary supplements that help restore a healthy balance to the intestinal tract) and, in some cases, surgery, if removal of the infected portion of the bowel is the only option.