Symptoms of intestinal flu and its treatment. Does the flu shot help with stomach flu? Home treatment and prevention

Stomach flu- This infection viral etiology, which affects the gastrointestinal tract. The causative agents are mainly rotaviruses. The name “intestinal flu” is a misnomer, although common, since rotaviruses are not related to the viruses that cause influenza. Correct name– rotavirus infection.

Some similarity with the clinical picture of a respiratory disease, apparently, was the reason for the name rotavirus infection"stomach flu"

The disease is widespread and occurs in all groups of the population, but children, people with weakened immune systems and the elderly are more susceptible to it. Stomach flu in children is one of the most common causes of diarrhea, accounting for 20% of all cases of severe diarrhea in infants and about 5% of all cases fatal outcome in children under five years of age. According to some reports, almost all children under the age of five suffer from this disease. The incidence increases in winter.

Causes and risk factors

Rotaviruses are a genus of viruses of the reovirus family (Reoviridae), which have double-stranded fragmented RNA. Out of nine known species rotaviruses, humans can be infected by types A, B and C. Up to 90% of all cases of intestinal influenza are caused by rotavirus A. The diameter of the virion is 65–75 nm. The genome of the virus contains 11 fragments surrounded by a three-layer protein shell (capsid), which makes the virus resistant to the acidic contents of the stomach and intestinal enzymes. The infectious agent is quite stable in the external environment (freely transfers low temperatures and heating to 60 °C).

Replication of rotaviruses in the body occurs mainly in the enterocytes of the villi. small intestine, which leads to the death of the latter and subsequent structural and functional changes epithelium. The virus enters the cell by direct penetration through the cell membrane or by endocytosis. Due to disruption of the digestive process and the accumulation of disaccharides, a large amount of water and electrolytes enters the intestinal lumen, which leads to the development severe diarrhea and dehydration.

The infectious agent enters the human body through the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract. The most common route of transmission of the intestinal influenza virus is nutritional (consumption of unwashed vegetables and fruits, meat and dairy products of dubious quality, etc.). Infection by airborne droplets and contact is also possible.

The first signs of intestinal flu are severe nausea, repeated vomiting, rumbling in the stomach, and diarrhea.

Differential diagnosis is carried out with gastritis, gastroenteritis, enterocolitis of other etiologies, food poisoning. Intestinal flu in pregnant women is differentiated from early toxicosis.

Treatment of intestinal flu

Etiotropic treatment for intestinal flu has not been developed, so symptomatic therapy is used. Patients with company viral infection are isolated, depending on the severity of the disease and the age of the patient, treatment is carried out in a hospital or at home.

The main goals of therapy are to normalize the disorders caused by vomiting and diarrhea. water-salt balance, elimination of intoxication and the disorders caused by it. Dehydration is especially dangerous in childhood, therefore, children with severe diarrhea and repeated vomiting are subject to hospitalization, rehydration and correction electrolyte balance they are carried out by intravenous drip administration of rehydrating solutions.

In adults, indications for hospitalization are the presence of fever in the patient for more than five days, pronounced signs of intoxication, uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhea, detection of blood in the stool and vomit, impaired consciousness, pregnancy. In other cases, treatment is carried out at home.

Specific prevention of intestinal influenza is vaccination; two vaccines have been developed against rotavirus A, both containing a live attenuated virus.

Appointed drinking plenty of fluids(still mineral water, saline solutions, weak black tea) in small portions, since a large amount of drink at once can provoke an attack of vomiting in acute period diseases; taking enterosorbents. When body temperature rises above 38 °C, antipyretic drugs are used. At the end acute stage diseases, drugs that restore normal microflora intestines (the need is determined by the attending physician).

Diet for intestinal flu

A diet is recommended for patients with intestinal flu. In the acute period of the disease, there is no appetite, any food and even its smell causes increased nausea and vomiting, so a water-tea break is prescribed until the end. acute manifestations(1-2 days). Then they give sweet tea with toasted white bread, boiled rice. Then the diet is gradually expanded, introducing vegetable purees and porridge with water, biscuits, baked apples, bananas, boiled lean meat and fish, low-fat and weak broth. Meals should be fractional - 6-8 times a day in small portions. Before full recovery milk, dairy and dairy products are excluded from the menu dairy products, fatty, hot, spicy, fried foods, sausages, concentrated juices, fresh vegetables and fruits, sweet carbonated drinks, fast food, coffee, alcohol.

Possible complications and consequences

Intestinal flu can be complicated by dehydration and the complications caused by it - heart and kidney failure.

Forecast

The prognosis is favorable in most cases. Long term consequences past illness not visible. The prognosis worsens with the development of a severe form of rotavirus infection in young children and people with severe immunodeficiency.

Prevention

A specific prevention of intestinal influenza is vaccination; two vaccines have been developed against rotavirus A, both contain a live, attenuated virus and have proven themselves to be an effective preventive measure.

Nonspecific prevention of intestinal flu consists of the following measures:

isolation of patients with intestinal flu;
avoiding contact with sick people, especially during pregnancy;
regular hand washing after returning from the street, visiting the toilet, before eating;
use of proven food quality products, refusal to eat expired products, thoroughly washing vegetables and fruits;
use of high-quality drinking water;
strengthening immunity;
rejection of bad habits.

If a child has such unpleasant signs, such as abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, parents most often diagnose it in their baby food poisoning.

However, these symptoms may indicate the presence of another pathology - intestinal flu, a disease caused by a virus.

The virus enters the body through dirty hands and food, therefore, to prevent the development of symptoms, it is necessary to early childhood teach the baby to be clean. We will talk about the symptoms and treatment of intestinal flu in children in the article.

Diet therapy

An important place in the treatment of intestinal flu is compliance with special diet .

It is important to follow the rules of eating:

You need to eat food in small portions (portion size is half the normal size).
Dairy and fermented milk products are necessary exclude.
Carbohydrate foods, as well as fruits and freshly squeezed juices, promote the development of fermentation processes in the intestines. Therefore, these products are also must be removed from the diet.
In the first days it is not recommended to give your child meat (even low-fat varieties must be excluded), because this product hard to digest. After 5 days, meat can be carefully introduced into the diet. It is best to give preference to poultry meat boiled without skin.
The child’s diet should include porridge cooked in water.
You can drink liquid only 30-40 minutes after eating, in otherwise Vomiting may occur.

Prevention measures

The main preventive measure to protect a child from infection with the intestinal influenza virus is compliance with the rules of hygiene.

It is important to teach your child from childhood to wash hands before meals, after going outside and using the toilet.

Vegetables and fruits to be eaten must be thoroughly washed. meat products must undergo mandatory heat treatment. Monitor the quality of the water your child drinks.

Stomach flu– a viral infection with symptoms similar to those food poisoning.

However, intestinal flu has a more severe and dangerous form for the child.

The reason for the development of pathology is rotavirus, penetrating the body through contaminated foods and household items. Treatment consists of taking numerous medications, dieting. The main preventive measure is hygiene.

Dr. Komarovsky about rotavirus infection in this video:

We kindly ask you not to self-medicate. Make an appointment with a doctor!

Stomach flu is a collective term for symptoms viral infection stomach and intestines. Called by a whole series viral organisms: rotaviruses, adenoviruses, noroviruses, etc.

Moreover, even the same strain of the pathogen in some people gives a predominant clinical picture of a respiratory viral disease, accompanied, for example, by diarrhea, while in others only “intestinal” symptoms appear, without a runny nose and cough. Actually, any respiratory infection affects the intestines, since toxins released into the lumen of the gastrointestinal tract are absorbed back, which causes symptoms of intestinal flu.

Intestinal flu, based on the above, occurs simultaneously with respiratory epidemics in winter period. This makes it possible to distinguish intestinal flu from, say, an outbreak of dysentery, since bacterial intestinal infections prefer the hot season.

Most often intestinal forms respiratory diseases children suffer as a result of contacts in school time. The route of transmission of infection is airborne droplets.

Symptoms of intestinal flu

After penetration into tissues, the virus affects, among other things, the cells of the esophagus, stomach and intestines. Some viruses prefer these tissues (rotaviruses, noroviruses), for this reason they are called “stomach flu”.

Viruses may not manifest themselves for up to two days after infection - this is the so-called incubation period. The acute phase of the disease develops on the third day and lasts 3 or 6 days.

3 days – virus reproduction cycle. Sometimes the body does not have time to cope with the pathogen in one cycle. In this case, the acute phase is extended by another 3 days until the virus is suppressed.

Stomach flu

The virus, as usual, causes local inflammatory process. As a result, small mucosal structures (intestinal villi) lose their ability to adequately break down and absorb the food substrate. The body reacts to this increased secretion water into the intestinal lumen, which causes diarrhea. During this period, a typical symptom is lactase deficiency in children (dairy intolerance).

Stool with intestinal flu is liquid (the more loose stool– those more inflammation), foamy, yellow or greenish color. The more often the urge occurs, the more aggressive the process.

In addition, there are signs general intoxication: , weakness (up to fainting states, stupor), irritability, increased fatigue, loss of appetite, rumbling in the stomach. If you try to palpate the abdomen, you will notice pain in the peri-umbilical area when pressed (the intensity of the pain depends on the severity of the inflammatory process). Heat not typical for intestinal flu. As a rule, it is within 37-39 0 C. V severe cases The disease manifests itself with nausea and vomiting.

Intestinal flu is often accompanied by ARVI symptoms

All this is quite often accompanied by the usual symptoms of ARVI - cough, sore throat, runny nose. Redness of the palatine arches, tongue, and pharynx may be observed.

The recovery stage lasts 3-4 days. The clinic gradually subsides: stool returns to normal, intoxication decreases, respiratory symptoms also disappear.

The main complication of intestinal flu is considered to be exacerbation chronic diseases digestive system, as well as, which is the main cause of death in elderly people who have had intestinal flu (children's mortality due to this pathology practically does not occur).

After an episode of intestinal flu, partial immunity is formed, which prevents you from getting sick again. It is necessary to understand that there are dozens of intestinal flu pathogens (only known ones), and immunity is developed to only one of them.

Diagnosis of intestinal flu

Quite a difficult task that doesn’t make much sense. Greater value It has differential diagnosis with dangerous intestinal infections. If the symptoms of the disease become too intense, fluid loss increases, and the temperature rises (above 39 0 C), contact an infectious disease specialist.

Polymerase chain reaction allows you to diagnose rotavirus, adenovirus or norovirus infection. If you are worried about whether it is a bacterial infection, you can resort to this method. The mere discovery of, say, rotavirus in the human body will not affect anything, since the main methods of treating intestinal flu are symptomatic, i.e. not affecting the pathogen itself.

A general blood test will show the presence of an inflammatory process: an increase in the number of leukocytes (moderate leukocytosis), an increase in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate.

Signs of protein and single red blood cells may be observed in the urine. Stomach flu (especially severe forms) can provoke exacerbations of pyelonephritis and glomerulonephritis. In this case, urine readings will reflect the onset of exacerbation.

If on the inflamed mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract a pathogenic bacterium has settled, then clinical course The disease can be complicated by sore throat and pneumonia.

Prevention of intestinal flu

Complication in the elderly – cardiovascular failure

Doesn't make sense given the existing technical base. As you know, there is a long tradition of vaccinating children against influenza. The idea itself is quite controversial, since vaccination against one strain does not provide protection against another, and the number pathogenic viruses respiratory group has long been in the hundreds (if not thousands).

As for intestinal forms of viruses, there are simply no commercially available vaccines for them (impractical).

It is important to follow standard anti-epidemic measures indicated for the prevention of standard forms of influenza and ARVI, since the route of transmission and the nature of the pathogen are almost the same.

Features of intestinal flu in children

Most often, the disease affects children under 4 years of age. This is due to a certain imperfection (immaturity) digestive tract and the characteristics of children's immunity characteristic of this age group. Lactose intolerance is reversible and goes away within a few days after the acute phase of intestinal flu resolves.

Intestinal flu got its name due to the characteristics of its symptoms. The disease is caused by rotavirus infection and initial stage resembles a cold: the patient develops catarrhal symptoms on the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx and oropharynx, painful sensations in the larynx, nasal discharge, body temperature rises. On days 2-3, inflammation of the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract occurs, and the signs of the disease resemble clinical picture digestive disorders. One of the manifestations of intestinal flu is viral gastroenteritis– a pathological inflammatory process that occurs in the lining of the small intestine and stomach.

Complication stomach flu may become severely dehydrated. If this condition is not eliminated in a timely manner, the patient’s death may occur, so treatment of rotavirus infection must begin when the first symptoms appear. typical symptoms. There is no special therapy to destroy the causative agent of the disease, and treatment in adults is aimed at eliminating intoxication, rehydrating the body and getting rid of unpleasant symptoms. After suffering from intestinal flu, the patient will have to follow therapeutic diet and gentle mode physical activity within another 7-10 days.

Adults get stomach flu quite rarely compared to children preschool age. This is due to the fact that adults pay more attention to personal hygiene, follow cooking standards and heat treatment food, more often monitor expiration dates food products. While children become infected primarily through dirty hands or toys touched by a sick person, in adults the main source of rotavirus is usually poor-quality food.

This could be food that has been stored incorrectly or is past its expiration date, or undercooked meat. Fans of rare steaks need to be especially careful when choosing meat, since poorly processed meat and fish are considered the leaders among products that lead to poisoning. To especially dangerous products This also includes dairy products (including fermented milk drinks). Under no circumstances should you consume dairy products with a suitable expiration date, even if they look quite edible in appearance.

Tap water can also become a source of contamination, so it must be boiled, even if a purifying filter is installed at home. To those who boiled water does not like it, it is better to use spring water sold in stores for drinking.

You can become infected with rotavirus in other ways. The most common of them:

Important! Rotavirus actively multiplies in the mucous membranes of the digestive tract and is excreted from the body with feces. If there is a person with an intestinal infection in the house, it is necessary to clean the toilet and disinfect the toilet every day to prevent infection of other family members.

How can you tell if a person has intestinal flu?

Diagnosing the disease at the initial stage is a rather difficult task, since the only symptoms in the first days of the disease are signs of respiratory diseases. Incubation period rotavirus infection can range from 4-6 hours to 5 days. Its duration depends on the state of the person’s immune system, the amount of the pathogen and the degree of its activity.

On the first day of the disease, the patient may notice the following symptoms:

an increase in temperature to 38°C or higher, accompanied by fever and chills;
headache;
pain in the throat when swallowing;
dry cough of moderate intensity (usually not painful);
discomfort in muscles and large joints;
redness and looseness of the tissues of the oropharynx;
sore throat.

In older people, as well as in people with reduced immunity, smokers, patients with alcohol addiction usually all appear listed symptoms. The signs are of high intensity, intoxication of the body develops rapidly, worsening the condition and well-being of the patient. In patients over 55 years of age, discomfort and muscle discomfort can develop into pain.

What happens on days 2-3?

Approximately 2 days after the onset of the disease, the virus enters the mucous membranes of the stomach and intestines, causing a characteristic intestinal symptoms. The patient begins frequent diarrhea, the stool is very liquid, watery, and has a foamy consistency. Repeated vomiting may occur. Vomit has the color of food consumed, without impurities of bile acids, blood and mucous streaks. The smell of the masses is normal, not offensive.

Abdominal pain with intestinal flu is acute and may resemble intestinal cramps. In addition to pain, the patient complains of flatulence, bloating and heaviness in the stomach (regardless of food intake).

Note! In about a third of patients, conjunctivitis appears within 2-3 days, a disease characterized by inflammation of the conjunctiva of the eye. Signs viral conjunctivitis are transparent discharge from the eyes, redness of the eye sclera, itching and burning.

How to treat stomach flu in adults?

Treatment of rotavirus infection in adult patients is symptomatic and can take place on an outpatient basis, if this possibility is allowed by the doctor who examined the patient. The main goal of intestinal flu therapy is to eliminate signs of intoxication and dehydration. To cleanse the blood and intestines of toxins released by rotavirus, the patient is prescribed sorbents. These are drugs that selectively absorb gases, solids and liquid substances and harmful fumes.

The most effective sorbents to eliminate intoxication during intestinal infections are:

You need to take them several times a day, while simultaneously increasing the amount of fluid you drink. This is also necessary to eliminate dehydration. For this purpose, rehydration therapy is selected for the patient. saline solutions. They normalize water-salt balance, support kidney function and help restore normal level moisture in the body. The most popular product in this group is “Regidron” in the form of a powder for preparing a solution. The contents of one package must be dissolved in a liter of boiled water and drunk in small sips throughout the day. At severe dehydration the patient will be hospitalized, and therapy will be supplemented with intravenous infusion of glucose and saline.

The medications listed in the table below may also be used to restore the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

Note! After completion of treatment, the patient is given a course of vitamin maintenance therapy. It is important that the complex of vitamins and minerals be selected by a doctor, since an excess of some elements is just as harmful as their lack. For example, in case of illness thyroid gland you should choose drugs that do not contain iodine. If the patient suffers from hyperkalemia or hypermagnesemia, it is necessary to refrain from taking complexes containing magnesium and potassium.

Basics of symptomatic therapy in adults

Medicines to reduce fever are prescribed if the thermometer rises above 38°C. With more low values the use of antipyretics is not advisable, since most rotaviruses die at this temperature, and its reduction may delay recovery. If the temperature has risen too high, you can take medications based on paracetamol or ibuprofen: Paracetamol, Nurofen, Ibufen. In some cases, your doctor may recommend combination drugs, for example, “Next”: they act faster and have a more pronounced therapeutic effect.

If the patient is bothered by a cough, therapy is supplemented with antitussive medications that act on the cough center and suppress the functioning of cough receptors.

These include:

Drinking plenty of fluids will also help relieve a cough and prevent irritation of the throat lining.

Important! In some cases, histamine blockers (Loratadine, Diazolin, Claritin) are used to treat intestinal flu. They are necessary for prevention allergic reactions and possible adverse reactions against the background of multicomponent therapy.

Are antiviral agents needed?

Most infectious disease specialists believe that the use of antiviral drugs does not give a pronounced therapeutic effect, and the rotavirus dies on its own after 5-7 days. However, drugs in this group can weaken the activity of the virus during acute infection and activate cells of the immune system.

Purpose antiviral drugs and immunomodulators are necessary for people with weakened immune systems, as well as those who suffer bad habits or does not receive full balanced nutrition, since their immunity is not able to independently fight pathogenic microorganisms.

The role of therapeutic nutrition in treatment

During acute course pathology (and this is approximately 5-7 days), the patient must follow a diet excluding drinks and foods based on milk protein. This is whole and pasteurized milk, kefir, cottage cheese, yoghurts and other products, the basis of which is any type of milk. Such a restriction is necessary since most microorganisms develop faster in a dairy environment. In addition, fermented milk products and whole milk can increase intestinal symptoms and lead to a decrease in the effectiveness of treatment.

To reduce the load on inflamed bowel, it is important in the first 3-4 days to consume all products in pureed or highly crushed form. It is advisable to pass meat and fish through a meat grinder, grind vegetables and fruits to a pulp. Useful during this period are rice and oat infusions– they contain a lot of starch, due to which they envelop the walls of the gastrointestinal tract and protect it from damage. Fresh bread need to be replaced with rye crackers.

Until complete recovery and for another 7-10 days after the illness, the following are completely excluded from the patient’s diet:

Important! Introduce into the diet raw vegetables and fruits, as well as dairy products, must be gradually introduced. It is recommended to start with small quantity low-fat cottage cheese (no more than 50-60 g). On the third day, you can give the patient 100 ml of natural yogurt without additives. If everything is normal, the amount of dairy products is increased to the usual norm. Cow's milk is entered into the menu last.

Stomach flu - enough rare disease in adults, but effective protection there is no cure for rotavirus infection at any age. To reduce the likelihood of infection, it is necessary to carefully monitor the quality of food consumed and personal hygiene. Hand washing should be a mandatory procedure after returning from the street, visiting the restroom, and other actions related to unsanitary conditions.

In order for the immune system to fight viruses on its own, it is necessary to carry out general strengthening measures, eat right, and walk more. fresh air and provide the body with sufficient motor activity. If a person does become infected, it is necessary to strictly follow all the doctor’s recommendations and not refuse hospitalization if necessary, as there is a risk of dehydration.

Video - Intestinal flu in adults

Diseases caused by a viral infection and having a number of characteristic features, popularly called intestinal or stomach flu. Actually similar acute pathology, associated with damage to the intestinal mucosa, is not, in fact, the flu. Diseases are provoked by ARVI viruses of the order Rotavirus or Reoviridae, which penetrate into human body together with water and food, as well as through household and airborne droplets.

In medicine, intestinal flu is called gastroenteritis or, in other words, rotavirus infection. So, why is it dangerous? similar pathology for the patient? How is the disease transmitted and how to treat it? And is it possible to avoid infection?

Mechanism of disease development

Like regular flu, gastroenteritis is transmitted from a sick person to healthy children and adults. At the same time, become infected with such stomach infection can be done in many ways:

contacting a carrier of the virus;
swimming in pools and ponds or drinking unboiled water;
V kindergarten through toys;
if you don't wash your hands;
when ingesting contaminated products.

Having penetrated the human body, the intestinal influenza virus is activated and begins to multiply intensively, affecting intestinal epithelial cells. After 16–18 hours after infection, the cells affected by the virus are completely destroyed. Their remains fall off or are exfoliated into the intestinal lumen and accumulate in lower section gastrointestinal tract and are excreted along with feces. At the same time, exposed villi upper section fine or 12 duodenum they begin to swell and change shape, and in the upper balls of the intestinal mucosa the depth of the crypts quickly increases.

Important! Intestinal form influenza represents serious danger for children who have the immune system not fully formed. And also for older people whose immunity is already quite weakened.

Symptoms and external manifestations

The first signs of the stomach flu are absolutely similar to the symptoms of a cold. In the first hours after infection, patients may experience a slight runny nose, sneezing and coughing, pain when swallowing, sore throat, and slight chills.
However, these signs quickly disappear, and their place is taken by completely different symptoms:

frequent loose stools up to 10 times a day. In this case, abundant bowel movements of a yellowish-gray color and clay-like consistency are observed, but without inclusions of blood and mucus. At first they have a strong unpleasant odor;
sharp pain in the abdominal area, accompanied by rumbling and spasms;
increasing nausea and periodic vomiting, leading to rapid dehydration;
increasing weakness, drowsiness and apathy;
increase in body temperature to subfebrile (sometimes high) levels.

At the same time, the manifestation similar symptoms in children and adults it may be a sign of other intestinal infections– cholera, salmonellosis, food poisoning. Therefore, at the first manifestations of the disease, you should contact medical institution for help. Timely diagnosis intestinal flu will help preserve not only the patient’s health, but in some cases his life.

Important! Intestinal flu in a child quite often requires immediate hospitalization and inpatient treatment. This means that parents need to urgently call a pediatrician or an ambulance if they detect even 1-2 symptoms of the disease (especially if it is diarrhea or vomiting). Lately provided health care may cause the baby's death.

Diagnosis and treatment

As such special drug treatment rotavirus infection does not exist. Which means the whole complex therapeutic measures aimed at eliminating the symptoms of intestinal flu and strengthening protective forces body in the fight against viral infection.

To clarify the diagnosis, the attending physician may prescribe additional examinations, among which:

general blood test, the result of which may show a decrease total number leukocytes and the predominance of lymphocytes and monocytes (this speaks in favor of a viral infection);
A general urine test in the presence of gastroenteritis will show an increase in its density;
A biochemical blood test makes it possible to determine the increase in the concentration in the blood of the indirect fraction of bilirubin, as well as ALT and AST.

Intestinal flu should be treated only under the supervision of a doctor, following all his recommendations and wishes. Treatment consists of taking medicines, normalizing the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and a special diet. To restore the body you should take:

enterosorbents – Smecta or Polysorb;
as part of rehydration therapy - the drug Regidron. It must be taken every 20–30 minutes to restore the water-salt balance in the body;
enzymes that improve digestion - Creon or Pancreatin;
drugs against diarrhea - Furazolidone or Enterofuril.

After intensive care and eliminating the symptoms of the disease, probiotics are prescribed to restore the beneficial intestinal microflora - Linex, Bifiform, Hilak Forte. It is not recommended to take antibiotics to fight the virus, since these drugs completely destroy both aggressive and beneficial intestinal microflora. By killing intestinal flu with the help of such drugs, you can get in return dangerous complication– dysbacteriosis.

Important! Gastroenteritis – serious illness, sometimes requiring treatment inpatient conditions. Therefore, engage self-treatment and uncontrolled use of funds traditional medicine is strictly prohibited. Self-medication can even lead to death.

Diet for illness and prevention

A special diet is an effective adjunct in the treatment of intestinal flu and an excellent remedy will recover quickly after past illness. Primarily useful are:

herbal decoctions with chamomile, rose hips, strong green and black tea;
liquid porridges prepared in water: semolina, rice or oatmeal;
vegetable soups from potatoes, carrots, onions, zucchini, beets;
mild broths made from skinless chicken, turkey, rabbit, lean beef.

Food should be taken in small portions, warm, every 3-4 hours.

In this case, the following should be excluded from the diet for a while:

raw vegetables and fruits;
natural juices;
grain bread;
whole milk, butter, cheeses;
cereals;
smoked meats;
legumes;
canned foods;
chocolate and coffee.

It is also prohibited to smoke, eat fatty, spicy and fried foods, alcoholic and carbonated drinks.
There is no doubt that stomach flu is easier to prevent than to treat. Therefore, it is very important to follow a number of rules for preventing this disease, namely:

wash your hands after coming from outside, visiting the toilet and before eating;
wash fruits and vegetables eaten raw in large quantities running water (you can pre-soak them in a 3% vinegar solution for a few minutes);
drink only boiled water (even if it is from a well or spring);
wash children's toys and pour boiling water over them more often;
Avoid swimming in open water.

Important! The virus of the Reoviridae group is resistant to influence external environment, it tolerates cold and low temperatures well. At the same time, simple preventive measures make it possible to destroy the virus before it enters the body, and will not become infected with the dangerous and insidious intestinal flu.