Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
- Images
Infectious diarrhea - bacterial gastroenteritis; Acute gastroenteritis; Gastroenteritis - bacterial
Treatment
You will usually recover from the most common types of bacterial gastroenteritis within a couple of days. The goal is to make you feel better and avoid
These things may help you feel better if you have diarrhea:
- Drink 8 to 10 glasses of clear fluids every day. Water is best.
- Drink at least 1 cup of liquid every time you have a loose bowel movement.
- Eat small meals throughout the day, instead of 3 big meals.
- Eat some salty foods, such as pretzels, soup, and sports drinks.
- Eat some high potassium foods, such as bananas, potatoes without the skin, and watered-down fruit juices.
Give your child fluids for the first 4 to 6 hours. At first, try 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) of fluid every 30 to 60 minutes.
Try an over-the-counter drink, such as Pedialyte or Infalyte. Do not water down these drinks. Pedialyte is also available as a popsicle.
Watered-down fruit juice, or broth, may also help.
See also:
If you have diarrhea and are unable to drink fluids because of nausea or vomiting, you may need to go to the hospital to receive fluids through a vein (IV). This is especially true for young children.
If you take diuretics, talk to your health care provider. You may need to stop taking the diuretic while you are sick. Never stop or change medications without talking to your health care provider and getting specific instructions.
Antibiotics are usually not prescribed for most common types of bacterial gastroenteritis, unless the diarrhea is extremely severe.
Do not use over-the-counter medicines to treat diarrhea without talking to your doctor first. They should not be given to children.
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Review Date: 01/10/2011
Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of
Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington, School of
Medicine; George F. Longstreth, MD, Department of Gastroenterology,
Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, San Diego, California. Also
reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
