Diarrhea with Chills and Nausea: Symptoms, Causes, and Management
What causes diarrhea with chills and nausea? How can you manage these symptoms? Get the facts about potential underlying conditions and effective treatment options.
Understanding Diarrhea with Chills and Nausea
Diarrhea, chills, and nausea can be a concerning combination of symptoms, often indicating an underlying gastrointestinal or viral infection. These symptoms can be caused by a variety of factors, ranging from foodborne illnesses to more serious medical conditions. Understanding the potential causes and effective management strategies is crucial for maintaining good health.
Potential Causes of Diarrhea, Chills, and Nausea
The most common causes of diarrhea accompanied by chills and nausea include:
- Gastroenteritis: Viral, bacterial, or parasitic infections that can lead to inflammation of the stomach and intestines, resulting in diarrhea, nausea, and sometimes chills.
- Food poisoning: Consuming contaminated food or beverages can trigger an acute gastrointestinal response, often including diarrhea, vomiting, and chills.
- Stomach flu (Norovirus): Also known as the “winter vomiting bug,” norovirus is a highly contagious viral infection that can cause severe diarrhea, nausea, and chills.
- Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD): Conditions like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis can lead to chronic gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhea, nausea, and chills during flare-ups.
- Medication side effects: Certain medications, such as antibiotics, can disrupt the gut microbiome and lead to diarrhea, nausea, and other gastrointestinal symptoms.
Recognizing the Symptoms
In addition to diarrhea, chills, and nausea, other common symptoms that may accompany these conditions include:
- Abdominal pain or cramps
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Muscle aches
- Headaches
The severity and duration of these symptoms can vary depending on the underlying cause. Seeking medical attention is advised, especially if the symptoms are severe or persist for more than a couple of days.
Diagnosing the Underlying Condition
To determine the root cause of diarrhea, chills, and nausea, healthcare professionals may conduct a physical examination and order various tests, such as:
- Stool analysis to check for signs of infection or inflammation
- Blood tests to look for signs of dehydration or underlying medical conditions
- Imaging tests, such as an abdominal X-ray or CT scan, to rule out more serious issues
- Endoscopic procedures, if necessary, to examine the digestive tract for any abnormalities
Identifying the specific cause is crucial for guiding appropriate treatment and preventing complications.
Managing Diarrhea, Chills, and Nausea
The treatment for diarrhea, chills, and nausea will depend on the underlying cause. In many cases, supportive measures can be effective, such as:
- Staying hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids, such as water, broth, or electrolyte-replenishing sports drinks
- Eating a bland, easily digestible diet, such as the BRAT (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast) diet
- Getting plenty of rest
- Avoiding caffeinated or alcoholic beverages, which can further irritate the digestive system
- Taking over-the-counter medications, such as anti-nausea or anti-diarrheal medications, as directed
In more severe cases or for underlying medical conditions, healthcare providers may prescribe medications or recommend other treatments to address the root cause and manage the symptoms.
Preventing the Spread of Illness
To help prevent the spread of illnesses that can cause diarrhea, chills, and nausea, it’s important to practice good hygiene, including:
- Washing hands thoroughly with soap and water, especially before eating and after using the bathroom
- Avoiding close contact with individuals who are ill
- Staying home from work, school, or other public settings if experiencing these symptoms
- Disinfecting frequently touched surfaces to remove any potential contaminants
By taking these preventive measures, you can help protect yourself and others from the spread of infectious gastrointestinal illnesses.
When to Seek Medical Attention
It’s important to seek medical attention if you experience severe or persistent diarrhea, chills, and nausea, especially if accompanied by:
- Severe abdominal pain or cramps
- High fever
- Dehydration (e.g., dizziness, excessive thirst, dark urine)
- Blood or mucus in the stool
- Difficulty keeping down any fluids or food
- Symptoms that last for more than a couple of days
Prompt medical care can help identify the underlying cause and provide appropriate treatment to address the symptoms and prevent potential complications.
Symptom Checker with Body from WebMD
NEW: This symptom checker now includes the ability to select symptoms by body location. We hope this makes it easier for you to identify your symptoms and possible conditions.
The tool also allows you to select multiple symptoms quickly. Click to see FAQs and tips for searching
1) How many body sections are there?
• There are 11 primary body regions and 41 sub-regions from which you can choose. For example, the arm is a primary region, and your elbow is a more specific sub-region. The ability to choose sub-regions allows you to more precisely specify your symptoms.
2) What should I do if I’m not sure which body area to choose?
• Since all symptoms in a sub-region (example “elbow”) are also listed in the primary body region (example “arm”), it is best to start with the primary body region if you are unsure exactly where the symptom is on your body.
3) What if my symptom isn’t associated with a specific body location (for example, “chills”)?
• If you are not sure what body area your symptom falls under, you can type your symptom in the main search box or select the “General Symptoms” category.
• There is also a separate section for skin symptoms only.
4) What if I don’t see my symptom on the list?
• When a body location is selected, the “most common symptoms” are displayed first, but you can also switch tabs to see “All” symptoms.
• You can also use the category-specific search box to search for all symptoms in that category.
• The search box on the main page includes ALL symptoms in all categories.
5) What if I can’t find my condition or my medication on the “Questions” page?
•If your condition or medication is not displayed in the type-ahead list, we don’t have enough information about it to factor it into the results. If you don’t see it, skip that field.
• All questions are optional, you can always skip directly to results.
6) Are there any other tips for using this symptom checker?
• If you need to go back to a previous page, please use the “back” or “previous” buttons within the tool. Do not use the back button on your browser or phone. You could lose the symptoms you entered.
• Results are ordered by how closely your symptoms match a condition AND how common it is (in the United States). Extremely rare conditions may not surface in this tool. You should always consult a doctor for specific concerns.
• We strongly suggest entering more than 1 symptom. It will likely improve your results.
This tool does not provide medical advice It is intended for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never ignore professional medical advice in seeking treatment because of something you have read on the WebMD Site. If you think you may have a medical emergency, immediately call your doctor or dial 911.
Diarrhoea and sickness? Stay at home!
Home > Diarrhoea and sickness? Stay at home!
Norovirus is a virus which causes diarrhoea and/or vomiting and spreads like a cold or flu and is more common in the colder, winter months. It is also sometimes called ‘gastric flu’ or ‘winter vomiting’.
Symptoms can begin suddenly and may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach-cramps, chills and muscle aches which tend to last for around 24 hours, although the bug may last for up to 48 hours in your body.
Winter vomiting is quite infectious and can be spread quite quickly through any close contact.
Anyone, including visitors, who is suffering from diarrhoea or vomiting should not go to hospital until they have been free from symptoms for 48 hours (2 days).
Help reduce the spread of Norovirus. Wash your hands thoroughly and stay at home.
Remember:
- Wash your hands. Stay at home if you are ill.
- Symptoms may begin suddenly and include: Nausea | vomiting | tiredness | fever | diarrhoea muscle ache | stomach cramps | headaches.
- Stay away from hospital until you are symptom-free for at least 48 hours (2 days).
- Prevent the spread of germs with good hand washing.
Prevent the spread of germs with good hygiene
Our campaign for winter is to encourage everyone to adopt good hand washing practices.
Winter months see the spread of colds, flu and norovirus (sickness and diarrhoea) through touching surfaces as we go about our daily business, and then touching our mouths or food that we eat.
Adopting good hand washing practices reduces the risk of spread which is particularly important when we’re visiting friends or relatives in hospital, the elderly at their home or when we’re around very young children.
The best way to clean hands is with soap and warm water, paying attention to fingers, thumbs, under nails and wrists. Drying hands properly is just as important, as damp hands can harbour germs.
About Infection Control at our hospitals
When you are admitted to hospital it can be an anxious time for you and your family or friends. Although infection may be concerning you, we want to reassure patients and relatives that the Trust takes infection control extremely seriously and we do everything we can to prevent infection affecting you or the hospital.
All our staff working with patients receive training in infection prevention and control practices.
We have an Infection Prevention and Control Team at our Trust who have a responsibility to reduce the risk of infection for all patients, staff and visitors to the Trust. This is achieved through the provision of education to all staff groups whilst ensuring appropriate evidence-based policies and systems are in place and audited.
The Infection Prevention and Control Team provide daily advice and training for our staff and offer advice to patients and their relatives. Infection prevention and control needs are included within the cleaning, catering and laundry services.
Hand washing
What patients and visitors should always remember – hand washing.
Hand washing is the simplest but most effective way to reduce the risk of infection. Hands should be washed with soap and water or alcoholic hand rub may be used in many situations. Visitors should also wash their hands on arrival and before leaving the ward. When you are at home hand hygiene is necessary to keep you well.
You should wash your hands:
- when visibly dirty
- after using the toilet
- after changing nappies
- before preparing food or drink
- after washing soiled bedding or clothes
- after handling pets or cleaning up after them
- after gardening
- after any cleaning.
Remember: wash hands well with soap and water. Dry them thoroughly with a clean towel.
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Diarrhea – MOCYTALMED
Diarrhea is a condition of stool disorder in which there is frequent, liquid bowel movements. Often, pathology is a manifestation of poisoning, but in some cases it may indicate a disease of the gastrointestinal tract. Diarrhea leads to loss of fluid and electrolytes and if left untreated can lead to dangerous complications.
Clinic Mositalmed offers patients a wide range of services in the field of gastroenterology, including specialist consultations, instrumental and laboratory diagnostics.
Causes of diarrhea
Causes of acute diarrhea include:
- Salmonellosis;
- Dysentery;
- Cholera;
- Acute viral infections;
- Parasitic diseases;
- Allergy to drugs or food;
- Stress
Chronic loose stools, more than 3 times a day, may cause:
- Irritable bowel syndrome;
- Food intolerance;
- Crohn’s disease;
- Ulcerative colitis;
- Neoplasms of the large intestine;
- Malabsorption syndrome;
- Pancreatitis;
- Diabetes mellitus;
- Diseases of the thyroid gland
Symptoms
The symptoms of diarrhea differ depending on the underlying cause. Acute infections of bacterial and viral etiology are characterized, in addition to stool disorders, by fever, chills, nausea, and muscle pain. With food intolerance, allergies and poisoning, there should be a clear relationship between the appearance of diarrhea and the use of a food product.
Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease is accompanied by repeated bowel movements, mixed with pus, mucus or blood. Frequent diarrhea leads to dehydration and water and electrolyte disturbances, which is accompanied by dry skin, decreased performance, weight loss and impaired heart function.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of diarrhea is aimed at establishing the cause that caused it.
For this, instrumental and laboratory tests are used:
- General and biochemical blood test;
- Coprogram;
- X-ray examination of the intestine;
- Sigmoidoscopy;
- Colposcopy;
- Biopsy of the intestinal mucosa;
- Determination of the level of hormones in the blood;
- Ultrasound of the liver, gallbladder and pancreas;
- CT or MRI;
- FGDS
To make a correct diagnosis, our clinic uses modern diagnostic equipment with a high level of accuracy, which allows us to detect even the smallest deviations from the norm.
Treatment of diarrhea
Treatment of diarrhea includes diet, medication, and hydration. The diet for diarrhea includes drinking plenty of water and freshly squeezed juices, avoiding sweets, starchy foods, alcohol and legumes.
Antidiarrheals, enterosorbents and antibiotics are prescribed for acute diarrhea. After recovery, to normalize bowel function, probiotics, prokinetics and enzyme preparations are used.
In chronic diarrhea of inflammatory etiology, anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive agents are used. If the disease is caused by the pathology of other organs and systems, drugs are prescribed to treat the underlying disease and supplement this therapy with drugs to normalize intestinal motility.
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causes, symptoms and treatment of all types of diseases in the FSCC FMBA
Panic attacks are a fairly common occurrence. Statistically, about 30% of the population experience one or more brief episodes of unmotivated anxiety attacks. Panic attacks on a regular basis are suffered by 5% of people, and in a latent (hidden) form – about 10%. As a rule, middle-aged people are susceptible to episodes of panic attacks. It is worth noting that more and more elderly people are now seeking help with complaints of anxiety episodes.
Causes of panic attacks
An emotional experience such as anxiety is of paramount importance in the development of panic attacks. Anxiety is a condition that is manifested both emotionally by a feeling of anxiety, excitement, and physically by increased heart rate, excessive sweating, chest tightness, and weakness. Panic attacks are different for everyone. In some people, the component of motor excitation predominates, others note such respiratory disorders as shortness of breath, lack of air. Some people have gastrointestinal disorders (nausea, flatulence, diarrhea).
All the processes described above are vegetative manifestations of the anxiety state.
The feeling of anxiety is characteristic of every person and is normally an adaptive mechanism. For example, a student experiences anxiety on the eve of a major exam. But anxiety can also be pathological. It often happens that an anxious state takes possession of a person in situations that do not pose a real threat at all. Maladaptive (pathological) anxiety is characterized by inadequate perception of the situation as threatening. These anxiety states interfere with many daily tasks. The person believes that he is not able to cope with a possible threat.
Risk factors
Stress, physical and emotional overload, alcohol consumption, lack of sleep, chronic diseases can trigger the development of panic attacks.
These factors, affecting the autonomic nervous system, change the normal course of physiological processes. For example, drinking alcohol leads to increased heart rate, increased sweating, and nausea. Lack of sleep causes a person to lose energy. A person thinks about these symptoms, he becomes confident that violations occur in the body. Such thoughts are responsible for the appearance of anxiety. Against this background, there is an active release of the stress hormone – adrenaline, the symptoms of the autonomic nervous system intensify.
A person begins to think about the likelihood of developing such serious diseases as stroke, heart attack, insanity. The feeling of anxiety transforms into a panic attack. After an episode of a panic attack, a feeling of weakness is characteristic. A vicious circle is formed, which is called the “vicious circle of anxiety.” The described mechanism leads to social maladaptation.
What is a panic attack? Symptoms of panic attacks
A panic attack is a sudden attack of intense fear that causes severe physical reactions in the absence of a real danger or apparent cause.
Panic attacks usually begin suddenly, without warning. They can strike at any time during daily tasks. Panic episodes can be intermittent or occur quite frequently.
The complex of the following symptoms develops within minutes and may last up to 2 hours:
- palpitations
- violation of inhalation and exhalation
- tightness, chest pains
- headaches
- increased perspiration
- nausea, diarrhea
- dizziness, presyncope
- abdominal cramps
- chills and hot flashes
- feeling of numbness and tingling in certain areas of the body
The following mental changes are characteristic of panic attacks:0012
Every time after an attack, a person’s greatest fear is a recurrence of an episode of a panic attack. Unfortunately, panic attacks actually tend to recur if you don’t seek professional help in time.
It should be noted that clinical studies on panic attacks indicate that the experience of panic disorder does not lead to threatening severe outcomes, which patients fear so much (death from strokes, heart attacks).
However, panic attacks seriously change the mental background of a person, which leads to the following complications:
- development of social maladaptation. The person tries to avoid social contacts as much as possible in order to reduce the risk of developing an anxiety condition
- excessive painful control over one’s physical condition, unreasonable suspiciousness
- the formation of secondary depression due to severe symptoms experienced by a person, the loss of all hope for recovery
- the use of alcohol, psychotropic substances in order to relieve stress, as a result, the development of dependence.
It is now very important to raise public awareness about the disorder of panic attacks. Anxiety can and should be corrected and treated. In most cases, patients turn to the stage when the disease is already protracted. As a result, reduced working capacity, financial problems, loss of social contacts.
For the treatment of panic episodes, we use the author’s method of therapy, which allows you to heal from panic attacks in 10-12 sessions.
Therapy is aimed at relieving symptoms that block a person’s full life. Therapy allows you to look at yourself from the outside, change your attitude towards yourself, realize that it is possible to control reality for your own benefit and maximum comfort. Consolidation of the result occurs with the help of hypnosuggestive techniques.
Our method is effective and affordable. Its application gives positive results in a short time.
Treatment of panic attacks in the hospital FSCC FMBA
The doctors of our center carry out complex treatment of patients subject to panic attacks in a neurological hospital.
Panic attacks are known to be accompanied by manifestations from various body systems. At the same time, the patient develops an idea of serious violations in the work of internal organs, while the basis of panic attacks is a change in the mental background. It is the correction of the mental state that underlies the treatment of panic attacks.
Round-the-clock stay of the patient under the supervision of a multidisciplinary team of hospital doctors makes it possible to conduct an examination, identify real disorders and deviations in the functioning of internal organs. The results of examinations, conversations with doctors, including psychotherapists, help the patient understand that the cause of the development of panic attacks lies in the mental imbalance that has arisen.
The doctors of our center have been successfully using the author’s technique for a long time, which allows for 10-12 sessions to achieve recovery and release the patient from panic attacks, as well as to consolidate the positive result obtained.