Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, fever, diarrhea, abdominal cramping, and pain. In severe cases, you may become dehydrated and have an electrolyte imbalance. Bacterial gastroenteritis is sometimes treated with antibiotics.
Bacterial gastroenteritis will often clear up on its own without any treatment. However, a person may need to rest and drink plenty of water to replace fluid lost through vomiting or diarrhea.
An ache or burning pain in your stomach (abdomen) Stomach pain that may be worse when your stomach is empty. Nausea. Loss of appetite.
A: The duration of a bout of bacterial gastroenteritis is usually a couple of days to a week, though some types of bacteria cause symptoms that last for just a day, and others cause symptoms that may persist for up to two weeks or longer.
How is bacterial gastroenteritis diagnosed? Your healthcare provider will do an exam and ask about your health history. Your healthcare provider will likely ask for a stool sample to find the source of your illness and whether it's bacterial or viral. You may need blood tests to find out how severe the illness is.
It's the most common cause of peptic ulcer disease. H. pylori can also inflame and irritate the stomach lining (gastritis). Untreated, long-term H. pylori infection can lead to stomach cancer (rarely).
Hydrochloric acid kills harmful bacteria in the stomach.
Besides ulcers, H pylori bacteria can also cause a chronic inflammation in the stomach (gastritis) or the upper part of the small intestine (duodenitis). H pylori can also sometimes lead to stomach cancer or a rare type of stomach lymphoma.
a stool antigen test – a small stool sample is tested for the bacteria. a blood test – a sample of your blood is tested for antibodies to the H. pylori bacteria (antibodies are proteins produced naturally in your blood and help to fight infection); this has now largely been replaced by the stool antigen test.
Gastric juice consists of HCl and pepsin and can kill bacteria within 15 min when the pH is less than 3.0 (8). If the pH is raised above 4.0, bacterial overgrowth may occur.
A rapid stool test can detect rotavirus or norovirus, but there are no quick tests for other viruses that cause gastroenteritis. In some cases, your doctor may have you submit a stool sample to rule out a possible bacterial or parasitic infection.
An anti-inflammatory diet, regular exercise, good quality sleep, and probiotics are all strategies to put in place before trying antimicrobials or antibiotics to get rid of bad bacteria.
If you have a stomach bug that is lasting for weeks (or months), it could be post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome. Here's how it's diagnosed and treated.
Still water. Water keeps things moving along, balances the good bacteria in the gut, and protects the intestines. Consider sipping alkaline water, which supports a healthy colon and encourages the growth of probiotics.
Stay away from raw and undercooked meats and eggs. Don't drink unpasteurized (or raw) milk or any uncooked foods made with raw milk. Avoid most cheese, except for pre-packaged cheese made from pasteurized milk. Undercooked tofu can also be a problem, and avoid miso and tempeh.
If diarrhea is very severe or you have a weak immune system, antibiotics may be needed. You can buy medicines at the drugstore that can help stop or slow diarrhea.
Seek medical attention if: You experience frequent episodes of vomiting and can't keep down liquids, diarrhea for more than three days, extreme pain with abdominal cramping, a temperature higher than 101.5, signs of severe dehydration, or neurological symptoms such as blurry vision or muscle weakness.