Rotavirus infection in adults resembles ARVI. With the development of intestinal flu, the nasal mucosa swells, and pain appears when swallowing food. The disease is accompanied by an increase in temperature. The clinical picture, reminiscent of ARVI, disappears after 3 to 5 days. Subsequently, symptoms of gastrointestinal diseases appear.
Signs and symptoms of rotavirus intestinal infection in adults
The name rotavirus comes from the word “rota” (from English “wheel”). The origin of the name has nothing to do with the word “mouth” .
Rotaviruses are transmitted by the fecal-oral route. You can become infected not only through airborne droplets, but also in many other ways :
- Through contaminated food
- Upon contact of hands
- Through dirty water
Rotaviruses infect the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract.
Rotavirus in adults
Symptoms of rotavirus infection in the first days of illness are expressed as follows:
- Fever
- Frequent vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Rumbling in the stomach
In addition, rotavirus infection is accompanied by pain, sore throat, and mild runny nose.
You can assume infection with rotavirus by observing your stool: on the first day, the stool is liquid yellow in color, the next day it is grayish with a clay-like consistency.
The infection can be diagnosed by testing stool for antibodies to the virus.
Rotavirus infection
Important: Rotavirus infection usually affects children aged 2 to 6 years. The disease in adults often passes under the guise of food poisoning - the symptoms of these two diseases are very similar. However, unlike food poisoning, rotavirus is contagious.
It is worth noting that the immunity of adults is able to resist the disease more steadfastly than children's immunity. Therefore, quite often rotavirus infection in adults occurs in a mild form.
How does infection occur?
Young children and people of mature and elderly age are especially susceptible to the disease; they have a hard time suffering from it, since the mucous membrane of the digestive organs suffers. Chronic diseases and reduced immunity aggravate the course of the disease.
If a rotavirus infection is introduced, the incubation period in adults lasts no more than three days, after which the virus begins to multiply intensively, which causes an acute inflammatory process. Once it enters the body, a person becomes infectious to others. The main reason for the penetration of a pathogenic agent is failure to comply with basic hygiene standards.
How rotavirus infection is transmitted is one of the important questions, the answer to which can prevent severe pathology.
The most common variants of infection:
- through insufficiently processed products (mainly dairy);
- through poorly washed hands - this happens both at home and in public institutions;
- in tap water the virus can maintain its viability for up to 30 days, and if this happens, a real epidemic of rotavirus infection can begin.
Since there are often cases when a rotavirus infection is detected within the same family, it is not difficult to understand how the virus is transmitted from person to person - the microorganism easily penetrates into a healthy body through everyday contact, if personal belongings and household items are used. From the moment of infection, the patient is a source of infection for about a month. The sad thing is that once a patient has suffered from an illness, he may encounter this scourge again.
So, after a couple of days, or even earlier, signs of the disease may be detected in an adult. But the pathological process begins much earlier, almost immediately after infection. The active activity of rotavirus leads to dystrophic changes in the mucous tissues of the walls of the small intestine, which is why nutrients are less absorbed and assimilated. In addition, the production of important enzymes involved in breakdown is disrupted.
The result is stagnation of food, increased osmolarity of the blood, causing signs of poisoning - nausea and vomiting, fever, respiratory dysfunction, requiring increased oxygen supply. At the same time, the body rapidly loses fluid, which can disrupt water-electrolyte metabolism.
Typically, the disease is mild or moderate in severity, but sometimes a severe form of infection occurs. If secondary infection occurs, the symptoms in most cases are not severe.
How many days is rotavirus infection contagious for adults after contact with a sick person?
Important: You can become infected with rotavirus even before a person develops acute symptoms of the disease. In general, a rotavirus carrier poses a threat to others for 10 days.
The period of the acute stage is especially dangerous, when the patient has vomiting and loose stools.
It is advisable to isolate infants and pregnant women from the sick. If you do have to come into contact with a sick person, follow the rules:
- A patient with rotavirus should use individual utensils
- Wash your hands often with soap, and the patient should also wash their hands and face frequently
Classification of the disease
Gastroenterologists observe two types of development of infectious diseases in the body of an adult patient.
- Typical course of the disease, with severe symptoms.
- Atypical, with mild symptoms and, basically, practically asymptomatic course of the disease.
Rotavirus is also systematized according to severity:
- light;
- average;
- severe.
The course of the clinical picture is assessed based on the general condition of the patient, either as smooth, without incidents, or with complications expressed to one degree or another:
- toxicosis;
- exicosis (dehydration of the body);
- intestinal dysbiosis.
Tablets, drugs for the treatment of rotavirus infection in adults at home
There is no specific treatment regimen for rotavirus. There is no point in taking antiviral drugs and antibiotics. However, rehydration therapy and the use of sorbents (smecta, activated carbon, enterosgel) are necessary.
Rehydration therapy involves drinking plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration during diarrhea. Saline solutions, unsweetened compotes, herbal teas - this drink is suitable for the treatment of rotavirus disease.
Treatment of rotavirus
How to treat rotavirus infection in adults with folk remedies?
Having simple components on hand, you can prepare solutions for the treatment of rotavirus infection.
- To prepare a saline solution, mix 1 tsp. salt, 5 tsp. sugar per 1 liter of boiled water. Take the solution throughout the day.
- You can also make a soda solution . Take the same amount of water, salt and sugar as in the previous recipe and add 1 tbsp. baking soda.
- Decoctions of chamomile, St. John's wort, and calamus will relieve inflammation of the intestinal walls and help restore water balance. Herbal mixtures can be bought at the pharmacy, they are quite inexpensive.
- , infusion of pomegranate peel helps well . Just pour a glass of boiling water over the peel, leave for half an hour and drink little by little.
Traditional methods of treating rotavirus
Nutrition for adults with rotavirus infection
When sick with rotavirus infection, it is important to adhere to a strict diet .
First of all, you need to exclude:
- Dairy products, milk porridges
- Fatty, spicy, salty
- Sweets
- Carbonated drinks
- Raw vegetables or fruits
You are allowed to eat the following foods:
- Vegetable soups
- Rice and semolina porridge on water
- Rusks or stale black bread
- Compotes
- Herbal teas
- Boiled (or steamed) fish and lean meat
- Light broth
- During the recovery stage, mashed potatoes can be administered.
It is difficult to follow a diet; you will have to give up many familiar foods, however, diet is the only way to a speedy recovery.
Vaccination for adults against rotavirus infections
The vaccine is a reliable method of preventing rotavirus infection. You should know that:
- The rotavirus vaccine consists of live, weakened strains of viruses (administered orally)
- The vaccine can be given to both adults and children
- The vaccination should be done in 2 doses, then it will protect the body from rotavirus attacks
- It was found that the vaccine does not lose effectiveness if given simultaneously with other vaccines (for example, DTP)
- Vaccination against rotavirus will protect the body for several years; there is no lifelong immunity.
Important: The vaccine should not be given to those who had a severe allergic reaction during the first dose, as well as to people with immunodeficiency syndrome. Vaccination of people with intestinal defects and chronic gastrointestinal diseases is questionable (the final decision is made together with the doctor). It is also contraindicated to get vaccinated during the acute stage of the disease.
Vaccine for rotavirus infection
Should the temperature be lowered?
Doctors have an important principle: no matter what the disease, you cannot reduce the temperature to 38 degrees. Thus, the body fights viruses and destroys them. High rates are the result of the fight between healthy cells and pathogenic ones. A reduction is allowed only if:
- seizures;
- mental problems.
As for children, if the baby normally tolerates 38 and 39 degrees, then there is no need to reduce it. But the process must be supervised by an experienced doctor.
What are the complications of rotavirus infection in adults?
Rotavirus is usually tolerated without side effects or complications. If the patient drinks and eats correctly within 10 days, he recovers without consequences.
The most dangerous factor in the development of infection is dehydration. In some cases, dehydration can be fatal.
It is also necessary to monitor body temperature. It is not worth reducing the temperature to 38º if the patient tolerates it normally. It is at this temperature that the body destroys harmful viruses. However, if the temperature goes beyond 39°, it is necessary to take an antipyretic, since such a temperature puts a strain on the cardiovascular system.
Useful tips
- Today, it is very important to know the fundamental differences between the symptoms of rotavirus and the symptoms of the Hong Kong flu and to understand how to treat this disease, which is unpleasant in all respects.
- Find out how to get rid of phlegm in the throat at home using simple methods using traditional medicine.
- If a child’s ear hurts, what should parents do first when a sudden illness strikes at an hour when doctors’ offices are not available?
Prevention of rotavirus infections in adults upon contact with a patient: drugs
It is advisable to avoid contact with a person who has become infected with rotavirus infection. Visits to the patient are inappropriate in this case.
There are no drugs to prevent rotavirus. The only thing you can do is wash your hands and face more often, and use separate utensils if contact cannot be avoided. Although these measures will not provide a 100% guarantee of protection.
If a person has had rotavirus once, this does not mean that he will not get sick again. Lifelong immunity to these pathogens is not developed, and re-infection is possible.
