Rotavirus infection occurs more often in children than in adults. This is associated with the development of immunity, as well as a way of life.
The fact is that rotavirus infection often enters the body through dirty hands and cutlery, unwashed fruits and vegetables. When we hear the phrase of doctors about the need to wash hands before meals, as well as vegetables and fruits, there is often a threat of infection with rotavirus. Also, this disease can hit a person through running water, especially after pipeline emergencies.
Rotavirus is very tenacious - it is not destroyed even by chlorinated food, the effect of temperature also does not affect its development. For example, in a refrigerator rotavirus can be kept for several weeks.
Rotavirus infection can be defined as:
- rotavirus gastroenteritis;
- intestinal flu;
- gastric flu.
All these names correspond to one disease.
Symptoms of rotavirus infection in adults
Symptoms of rotavirus can be manifested vividly or have a poorly expressed picture.
First, the virus penetrates the gastric mucosa, and then spreads and damages the small intestine mucosa.
In the first days of infection, the rotavirus does not manifest itself, and the person does not suspect that infection has occurred. After about 5 days a patient may have a sore throat, a cough, and all the symptoms indicate that a cold has occurred. At the same time, body temperature can rise to subfebrile, which also reveals the similarity of rotavirus and normal influenza.
A few days after the first symptoms occurred, a person can already raise the temperature to 38 degrees. Suddenly, there is nausea, the patient refuses food and prefers to drink water or tea. Then there is a urge to vomit, and this can be considered the first signs of rotavirus. The gag reflex can arise constantly, with a periodicity of 15-30 minutes. Such an acute manifestation of rotavirus is dangerous because the body is dehydrated. If cases of vomiting exceed 8 times a day, you should call an ambulance, which will deliver a dropper to prevent dehydration.
The situation is complicated by the fact that on the first day of the manifestation of rotavirus with severe vomiting the patient can not take even a small amount of water - any intake of food or liquid causes a vomiting reflex in the very first minutes after ingestion.
Another characteristic symptom of rotavirus infection is diarrhea. Desires in the toilet can be frequent, and this also affects the dehydration of the body. Diarrhea occurs due to enteritis - inflammation of the small intestine, which provokes rotavirus.
During an acute manifestation of rotavirus, which can last up to 3-5 days, the patient can significantly increase the temperature, which is difficult to knock down.
It should also be noted that the symptoms of rotavirus in adults are very often poorly expressed, and some of them are not observed: for example, there may be no pain in the throat and coughing, or vomiting. The mild course of rotavirus is associated with the patient's strong immunity. Sometimes a person may not suspect that his organism is infected with rotavirus, and will take
The incubation period of rotavirus
The incubation period of the rotavirus can go up to 10 days, with obvious signs occurring about 3 days. If the disease has bright manifestations and is difficult to tolerate by the body, the duration of the incubation period can increase by several days. In this case, recovery will take at least a week.
How is rotavirus manifested in children?
The main difference between intestinal flu in children is as follows:
- longer duration of the disease;
- higher temperature;
- acute onset of the disease.