Stomach Flu Treatment
Stomach flu treatment goals are focused on giving supportive care while the body fights the stomach infection. So, there is no medicine that will kill stomach flu viruses even antibiotics are not effective against this viral infections. There are people who are fortunate enough to have healthy immune system; their body is able to effectively kill stomach flu viruses after one to ten days, depending on the virus.
Giving special fluids by mouth called oral rehydration therapy is known to be the most effective stomach flu treatment especially for preventing dehydration. By doing so, people can reduce the chances to become dehydrated. Rehydration preparations used for oral rehydration can be purchased in pharmacies or grocery stores and can be acquired without a prescription.
Children with stomach virus infection need special attention because of the obvious fragile nature of their bodies and the risk of being dehydrated is great especially from conditions like diarrhea and vomiting. Oral rehydration fluids like pedialyte are highly recommended for their stomach flu treatment. Parents should start oral rehydration and take the child to the clinic immediately for medical evaluation because severe cases require hospitalization which may necessitates replacing body fluids directly through intravenous line.
Dehydration is defined as the loss of fluids from the body and it is the most dreaded condition when you have stomach infection because of the combination of diarrhea and vomiting which are the primary manifestations of the stomach viral infection. Signs that confirm that dehydration is setting in include:
Stomach Flu Symptoms
- Dry mouth
- Decreased tears
- Dizziness or light-headedness
- Excessive thirst
- Little or no urine
- Severe weakness or lethargy
For some adults, treatments are ignored especially when leading a very busy life. Well, actually not really totally ignored but the treatments employed were usually just to alleviate symptoms and not really to cure the real cause. In this case, recurrence is rampant and it may become more and more intense each time an outbreak happens. This is now what is called a chronic condition which may require longer and more intense treatment.
Stomach flu treatment should be employed even during the first onset and should be geared towards treating the root cause rather than just eliminating symptoms.