If the patient has vomiting, diarrhea and headache, special attention should be paid to this, since this set of symptoms can be a sign of many diseases.
In this case, only a doctor can determine the cause of such manifestations and make an accurate diagnosis. At the same time, the situation becomes even more serious if the appearance of vomiting, diarrhea, and headache is observed in a child or a pregnant woman. You should also be concerned if the above symptoms are combined with a fever. This is an alarming sign, especially in a young child.
Causes
Diarrhea accompanied by headache can act as a result of nervous tension, emotional exhaustion, or pregnancy. In this case, the symptoms will disappear as soon as the patient eliminates personal experiences and is able to calm down. The situation takes a serious turn in the case of pathological prerequisites for such a condition. Their list will be presented below.
Intoxication of the body
Eating low-quality food can result not only in diarrhea, but also in general weakness, including headaches. The manifestations of symptoms mainly depend on the amount of food eaten and the degree of its harmfulness. The first signs of poisoning appear 1-2 hours after consuming a spoiled or poorly processed product. They consist of the following states:
- diarrhea;
- severe pain in the head;
- general weakness of the body;
- gagging;
- pain, cramps, colic in the abdomen;
- fever, heat;
- intestinal spasms.
Treatment consists of helping the body eliminate harmful agents by gastric lavage, enemas, and taking laxatives and absorbents.
Rotavirus infection
The disease can be contracted through dirty hands, direct contact with an infected individual, drinking tap water that has not been boiled, or eating unwashed fruit. In the common people, the disease acquired the name “intestinal flu”; its main symptom is repeated diarrhea, which acts as an attempt by the body to get rid of the main pathogen. The process does not require a struggle, since it will go away on its own after the main cause of the disorder is eliminated. The clinical picture is supplemented by the following conditions:
- severe nausea and vomiting, complicating treatment with oral medications;
- symptoms of intoxication of the body in the form of elevated body temperature, headache, dizziness, fatigue and weakness;
- unpleasant feelings in the abdomen, which indicates a poor response of this organ to medicinal or traditional treatment tactics;
- changes affecting feces: they become yellowish, endowed with a sour odor;
- Sometimes signs of a cold appear - redness in the throat, cough, runny nose.
Therapy for this infectious process is carried out strictly under the supervision of a specialist, since independent attempts to get rid of it are fraught with complications and a long recovery.
Salmonellosis
Failure to comply with the rules and principles of rational nutrition can act as a causative factor in the formation of a bacterial infection caused by salmonella. The clinical picture is varied and is accompanied by the following symptoms:
- diarrhea;
- headache;
- vomit;
- increased body temperature;
- severe pain in the abdomen;
- muscle weakness.
The feces contain a huge amount of mucus, and they take on a dark green tone. Traditionally, sources of pathogens include meat products, undercooked eggs, fermented milk foods, and store-bought salads with mayonnaise. The basic principles of therapy are a professional approach, narrow focus, and urgency. It is necessary to fight the cause that gave rise to the pathology. For this purpose, absorbents are used and plenty of drinking water is ensured.
Dysentery
The source of damage is the penetration of the dysentery bacillus into the human body. The method of infection is through feces and the oral cavity. The stimulating agent carries out its activity in the area of the large intestine. The most striking clinical picture is at the initial stages of the disease - during the first week. It is accompanied by the following symptoms:
- diarrhea up to 30 times a day;
- headache;
- feverish condition;
- cutting pain in the abdomen;
- problems with heart rhythm;
- chills due to elevated temperature;
- excessive weakness.
Therapy boils down to bed rest and dietary nutrition. Under the supervision of a physician, measures are taken to take antimicrobial compounds in order to combat the pathogen.
Other pathologies
Headache and diarrhea in adults and children can be consequences of the following diseases:
- cholecystitis;
- pancreatitis;
- ulcerative process;
- appendicitis;
- intestinal damage;
- purulent abscess;
- typhoid fever;
- sepsis;
- flu;
- cancer tumor.
Types of headaches
Before talking about the treatment of headaches, it is necessary to understand exactly what type of headache is bothering the patient:
- Tension headache. The most common type, characterized by a pressing, squeezing character, usually on both sides. The main cause of such pain is emotional stress and fatigue. Diarrhea, especially long-term one, causes quite a lot of discomfort in itself, and its nocturnal form leads to lack of sleep and unnecessary stress for the body.
- Headache of infectious origin. Many pathogenic bacteria, the main symptom of which is diarrhea, cause fever and chills, which entails a mild throbbing pain in the head (usually in the temples). If symptoms increase and sensations become more pronounced, you should immediately consult a specialist.
- Headache due to intoxication. Appears due to exposure to a number of substances, for example, an overdose of alcohol, medications or food poisoning.
If a severe headache appears during diarrhea with signs of impaired consciousness, vomiting, tilting of the eyeballs, weakness of the muscles of the back of the head, a significant increase in temperature and tremors in the extremities, an ambulance should be called, as this may be a sign of the spread of infection to the membranes of the brain (meninitis). ).
There are other types of headaches, such as cluster or migraine, but they are usually not associated with diarrhea and are based on organic pathology of blood vessels or nerves.
Diagnostics
During the diagnostic process, the doctor determines the nature of the headache (cutting, pressing, throbbing), and also learns as much information as possible about the stool (color, the presence of additional inclusions in the form of pus, mucus, blood, shape and consistency). The frequency of bowel movements and additional symptoms play an important role. If necessary, MRI, CT, and ultrasound are prescribed in order to exclude pathologies of internal organs, and an analysis of stool, mucus and blood that is present in it is also taken. Based on the data obtained, treatment is prescribed.
Salmonellosis
This disease is also an acute intestinal infection, but it is caused by salmonella. The routes of infection are the same as for dysentery:
- Oral-fecal;
- Food;
- Domestic.
But most often people become infected with salmonella through food. Eggs, meat, dairy products, canned food and semi-finished products that have undergone poor-quality heat treatment or have expired are especially dangerous.
The main and first symptom of salmonellosis is diarrhea and other eating disorders. Feces in color and consistency resemble swamp mud; they are liquid, greenish, with a lot of mucus.
Dehydration with severe diarrhea and vomiting can occur within a few hours, the patient becomes very weak, and headaches may also occur.
Complication of salmonellosis:
- Brain swelling.
- Anuria.
- Kidney dysfunction.
To make a diagnosis, laboratory tests of vomit and feces, blood and urine are required.
Treatment
If you have a headache and diarrhea, you need to urgently take treatment measures. They depend on the cause that caused this condition.
For food poisoning
- To avoid dehydration, the patient needs to consume as much fluid as possible. Warm water, warm green tea, jelly, fruit drink, herbal decoction/infusion will do.
- To help the intestines cleanse themselves of toxins, the activity of which causes diarrhea, it is necessary to take sorbents. The most accessible of them is activated carbon. Enterosgel, Smecta, Polysorb are also prescribed.
- Regidron solution will help restore the moisture balance in the body. One packet of powder is dissolved in a liter of water and then taken orally throughout the day.
Headache due to food poisoning is the result of severe intoxication of the body. Once the toxins are released, the symptom will disappear. Therefore, taking medications against headaches is not advisable.
For viral diarrhea
Viral phenomena are common accompaniments of gastrointestinal disorders. As they progress, the use of the following medications for diarrhea, headache, and weakness is indicated.
- Products to prevent electrolyte loss and dehydration. Regidron is most often used in practice.
- Enterosorbents and enzymes - activated carbon, Smecta, Enterosgel. They help absorb toxins and quickly remove them from the body with feces.
- Probiotics to normalize intestinal microflora. These are Linex, Bifiform, Vitaflor, Normoflorin.
- Antipyretics for fever accompanied by headache and general deterioration of health.
- To eliminate signs of diarrhea, doctors often prescribe drugs that bind the contents of the intestines. This is Immodium or its budget analogue Loperamide.
For infectious diarrhea
If loose stools coupled with a headache are caused by an infection, only a doctor can prescribe treatment. Typically, therapy is complex, involving a pathogenetic, etiotropic and symptomatic scheme.
- Taking rehydrants to restore fluid balance is mandatory.
- The use of enterosorbents is justified in case of severe diarrhea. They effectively bind and remove harmful bacteria and microbial toxic elements from the body.
- Probiotics saturate the body with beneficial bacteria and stabilize its environment.
- Etiotropic drugs - antibiotics - fight bacterial infection, but the prescription is strictly for medical reasons - Levomycytin, Ampicillin, Doxycycline, Metronidazole.
- To eliminate individual symptoms, it is customary to use painkillers (Ketanov, Ketorol, Spazmalgon), antiemetics (Eskazin, Torekan).
Signs that require medical attention
Any alarming symptoms should be discussed with your doctor. This is not always possible, which is why more and more people are self-medicating using the Internet, medical literature, or the advice of friends.
This is fundamentally wrong and life-threatening. It is especially important to take timely measures if any of the listed symptoms appear.
When you urgently need to go to the hospital:
- The temperature is above 38.5 degrees and cannot be reduced by medications or other methods.
- Trouble breathing, swelling of the throat.
- Apathy, drowsiness and lethargy, disorders of consciousness.
- Convulsions, incessant vomiting.
- Symptoms of dehydration.
If you notice any of the above symptoms, you must go to the hospital. Such conditions may indicate various pathologies, from toxic poisoning to brain tumors. Timely medical assistance in this case can save a life.
2How to recognize poisoning?
There are different types of poisoning; it is mainly associated with the consumption of unedible food contaminated with harmful bacteria and chemicals.
Main signs indicating poisoning:
- A sharp, severe pain appears in the abdominal cavity;
- My head is spinning;
- Chills;
- Weakness;
- Nausea, repeated vomiting;
- Loose stools.
The main distinguishing features are the manifestation of symptoms after eating food, its intensity increases over time. If poisoning is caused by highly toxic substances, for example, botulinum toxin, disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system may be detected - hallucinations, unclear coordination, blurred vision, double vision.
