Germ Profile: Gastroenteritis

Vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps are common. Some people also have headache, fever or body aches.

If a child or adult has diarrhea and vomiting, they can lose too much fluid and become dehydrated.

Most children will get better in 2-7 days.

People can catch gastroenteritis from someone with the infection who didn’t wash their hands or from foods or liquids that have been contaminated with the bacteria or virus.

The most important thing is to treat or prevent dehydration. Begin with frequent small amounts of clear fluids. These can include rehydration fluids such as Pedialyte or sports drinks, clear broth, breast milk or flat soda.

Solid food can be gradually re-started as symptoms improve. Many people find that a bland diet can help. Bananas, rice, toast, bread, noodles, or cereals are often soothing. Don’t worry if your child is not very hungry – it is much more important to get enough fluids than solid food.

Practice prevention and stop the spread:

• Wash hands often, and always after going to the bathroom, changing a diaper or cleaning up vomit or diarrhea, or before eating
• Make sure children wash their hands
• Alcohol-based disinfectants (such as Purell) can be useful when soap and water are not available, but for some viruses like Norovirus, soap and water work better than alcohol based disinfectants
• Clean contaminated surfaces with disinfectant or bleach solution (5-25 tablespoons of household bleach per gallon of water)
• People who are sick should not prepare food

Call your child's doctor if you notice:

• Your child does not urinate (pee) for 12 hours or if they have fewer than 3 wet diapers in a 24-hour period.
• Your child is very sleepy and won’t respond or your child is very irritable
• If your child cannot take fluids and shows signs of dehydration
• If your child has severe belly pain or swelling
• If your child has blood in their diarrhea or vomit.
• If your child has a fever higher than 104°F (40°C) or for children younger than 3 months, higher than 100.4°C (38.0°C).