How to Get Rid of the Gastrointestinal Virus

2024 Author: Samantha Chapman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 09:13

A gastrointestinal virus is rarely something serious, but it can knock you out for a couple of days. Your body can get rid of it on its own, but there are some things you can do to help it fight the virus and make you feel better in the process. Read on to learn more.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Part One: Essential Care

Step 1. Hydrate yourself with ice cubes and pure liquids

The biggest risk associated with any stomach virus is dehydration. Therefore, staying hydrated as much as possible is the most important thing you need to do.

• You should aim to drink 250ml of fluids every hour if you are an adult. Babies need 30ml of fluid every 30-60 minutes.

• Drink slowly, in small sips. Liquids work more effectively if you introduce them into the body gradually, rather than all at once.

  

• Drinking too much water when trying to recover can dilute the few electrolytes left in your body, so try to include supplements that contain them in your drinks. When you become dehydrated, you also lose sodium, potassium and other minerals. Therefore an electrolyte solution can replace some of these lost minerals.

• Other great drinks to consider are diluted fruit juices, diluted sports drinks, broth, and decaffeinated tea.

  

• Avoid sugary drinks. Adding sugar without supplementing the salts can make diarrhea worse. You should also avoid carbonated drinks, caffeine, and alcohol.

  

• If you can't tolerate the drinks, suck on ice cubes or a popsicle.

Step 2. Start with a light diet

As soon as your stomach feels ready to ingest solid foods again, you should start eating again to restore lost nutrients. While there is no scientific evidence to show that light foods are inherently easier to digest than heavier ones, most people seem to tolerate them better when nausea is still quite strong.

• A traditionally moderate diet is the BRAT diet, which includes bananas, rice, apples and toast. Baked potatoes without butter, donuts, pretzels, and crackers are great alternatives.
• You should only follow this diet for a day or two. Light foods are certainly better than nothing, but if you fully rely on these foods during recovery, you deprive your body of the nutrients it needs to fight the virus.

Step 3. Go back to your normal diet as soon as possible

After surviving a minimal diet for a day or so, you should go back to your usual diet. Light foods don't cause stomach problems, but if you eat only those, you don't provide your body with all the nutrients it needs to fight the virus.

• Resume your normal diet gradually to avoid further stomach upset.
• Low-sugar carbs are an excellent choice at this point, including plain grains and granola. Other good options are peeled fruit, lean proteins like eggs, chicken and fish, plain cooked vegetables like green beans and carrots.

• Try eating some low-sugar yogurt. Fermented dairy products appear to reduce the duration of intestinal discomfort. Furthermore, the bacteria in yogurt are considered "good" and can help regulate the environment inside the stomach, and therefore the entire organism that fights the virus.

  

Step 4. Pay attention to hygiene

Stomach viruses are strong and can survive outside the human body for a long time. Even worse, you can catch the same virus from someone else after already being cured once. To avoid contagion over and over again, take care of your hygiene and keep the environment in which you live clean.

• Even if a stomach virus is different from food poisoning, it can still be spread through food. Try not to handle other people's food when you are sick, and always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before eating.

  

Step 5. Rest

As with any disease, rest is a precious remedy. It allows the body to devote more energy to fighting the virus.

• Basically, you need to avoid all your normal daily activities when fighting the gastrointestinal virus. Your body needs 6-8 hours of sleep to function well under normal circumstances, and when you get sick you should try to get at least twice as much rest.

• As difficult as it may seem, you should also avoid worrying about the things you can't do. Worries bring stress, which only makes it more difficult to regain strength to fight the virus.

  

Step 6. Let the disease take its course

Ultimately, the only thing you can really do to get rid of it is to wait. Unless you have a medical condition that could compromise your immune system, your body should be able to fight the virus naturally.

• That said, following essential care is still essential. The tips below are all aimed at giving your body what it needs to fight the virus. If you don't take care of your body, it alone will have a hard time healing.
• If your immune system is deficient in any form, you should see your doctor at the first symptoms.

Part 2 of 3: Part Two: Alternative Home Remedies

Step 1. Get the ginger

It is traditionally used as a treatment for nausea and stomach cramps. Ginger ale and ginger tea are the most used treatments when fighting a stomach virus.

• You can make ginger tea by boiling 3 to 5 cm pieces of fresh ginger in 250ml of water for 5 to 7 minutes. Let it cool to an acceptable temperature and sip it.
• You can easily find ginger ale and ginger tea in sachets in stores.
• In addition to ginger drinks, you can also use ginger capsules and oils, which are usually found in health food stores or the supplement department in pharmacies.

Step 2. Relieve symptoms with peppermint

It has anesthetizing properties that are commonly used to calm stomach nausea and spasms. You can use peppermint as a topical treatment, or ingest it.

• You can get peppermint by sipping tea, chewing on a leaf, or taking it in capsule form as a supplement. You can find mint-based teas in stores, or you can make it by boiling a few leaves in 250ml of water for 5-7 minutes.
• For a topical peppermint treatment, soak the washcloth in iced peppermint tea or put 2-3 drops of peppermint oil on a washcloth soaked in cold water.

Step 3. Try activated charcoal capsules

Some health food stores sell it in the supplement department. Activated charcoal is believed to eliminate toxins and can help inhibit them in the stomach.

Follow the instructions on the package to avoid accidental overdose. However, you can usually take several capsules at once and several doses on the same day

Step 4. Soak in a mustard bath

Strange as it may sound, a lukewarm bath with a little mustard powder could bring some relief. According to popular custom, mustard has the ability to attract impurities from the body, improving blood circulation.

• You can use hot water if you don't have a fever, but if you do, keep the water lukewarm to avoid increasing your temperature further.
• Add 30ml of mustard powder and 60ml of baking soda to a tub of water. Stir gently with your hands until the mustard and baking soda have dissolved completely before entering the water and soak for 10 to 20 minutes.

Step 5. Place a warm towel on your stomach

If your stomach muscles have worked so hard that you are suffering from cramps, a warm towel or pillow could relieve the pain.

• If you have a high fever, however, this treatment can further raise the temperature, so you need to avoid it.
• Relaxing the stomach muscles can ease the symptoms of the virus, but to feel less pain your body should relax more overall. Doing so allows your immune system to focus more on fighting the virus and heal faster.

Step 6. Practice acupressure to reduce nausea

According to the theories concerning acupressure and acupuncture, certain points in the hands and feet can be manipulated to relieve pain and discomfort in the stomach and intestines.

• One technique you can try is foot massage which can help relieve nausea and limit your desperate rushes to the bathroom.
• If the stomach virus caused you a headache, practice acupressure on your hand. Take the index finger and thumb of one hand and pinch the area between the two fingers with the other hand. This technique can very effectively reduce headaches.

Part 3 of 3: Part Three: Professional Medical Care

Step 1. Don't waste time asking for an antibiotic

Antibiotics are effective against bacteria, but unfortunately they are not effective against viruses. A stomach virus caused by a viral infection cannot be effectively treated with an antibiotic.

The same principle also applies to antifungal drugs

Step 2. Consider taking an anti-emetic drug

If severe nausea lasts 12 to 24 hours, your doctor may recommend a nausea medication to try to keep fluids and a small amount of food in your stomach.

Note, however, that the antiemetic drug only relieves symptoms. It does not rid you of the virus. Since this drug helps you retain fluids and foods, however, you can at least provide your body with the nutrients it needs to fight off the malaise

Step 3. Avoid taking over-the-counter anti-diarrheal medications

Unless, of course, you have a doctor's approval. These drugs are very effective, but they could become part of the problem. In the first 24 hours or so, you need to allow your body to do whatever it can to expel the virus. Unfortunately, diarrhea and vomiting are natural parts of the process.

When the virus has been expelled from the body, your doctor may instruct you to take an anti-diarrhea drug to treat residual symptoms

Advice

• When you know there is a gastrointestinal virus epidemic, take the necessary precautions to avoid being infected. Wash your hands regularly and thoroughly, use hand sanitizer whenever you don't have hot soapy water available. Clean surfaces in your home frequently, especially the bathroom, if someone in your family has already caught the virus.
• If there are any children in your family, talk to your doctor about vaccines that can protect them against some forms of stomach viruses.

Warnings

• If vomiting and diarrhea do not subside after 48 hours, consult a doctor.
• You should also see your doctor if you have a high fever or see blood or pus in your stool.
• Talk to a pediatrician if a baby under 3 months of age suffers from stomach viruses or if a baby over 3 months does not stop vomiting after 12 hours or suffers from diarrhea for more than two days.
• The most common complication is dehydration. If it becomes quite severe, you may need to go to the hospital, where fluids will be given intravenously.