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Have Had Severe Diarrhea, Vomiting And Cramping. Blood And Stool Test Negative. Had Dehydration. Suggest?
Posted on
Mon, 26 Aug 2013
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Mon, 26 Aug 2013
Answered on
Sat, 14 Sep 2013
Last reviewed on
Question : I HAVE HAD SEVERE DIARHEA, VOMITING AND CRAMPING THE LAST 7 DAYS. I HAVE SEEN MY DOCTOR TWICE AND HAD BLOOD AND STOOL TESTS DONE. SUPPOSEDLY TESTS WERE NEGATIVE. ALSO FRIDAY I WENT TO EMERGENCY ROOM DUE TO DEHYFRATION. SYMPTONS STILL PERSIST. ANY THOUGHTS ON WHAT THE CAUSE COULD BE AND ANY SUGGESTIONS.
Brief Answer:
Infection
Detailed Answer:
Dear patient,
More than 90% of cases of acute diarrhea are caused by infection and the majority of these are viral in nature; symptoms can persist anywhere from 3 to 21 days and the most important thing is to stay well hydrated and replace electrolytes; some people advocate for the use of probiotics to reestablish normal flora. If there are dysenteric features, such as blood and mucus in the stools a short course of an antibiotic may be need suspecting a potential bacterial infection. But as I said most of them are viruses. if your symptoms do persist more than 3 weeks, then it would be unusual for a regular type of infection and you should see back your doctor.
Yours truly,
Dr Brenes-Salazar MD
Mayo Clinic MN
Infection
Detailed Answer:
Dear patient,
More than 90% of cases of acute diarrhea are caused by infection and the majority of these are viral in nature; symptoms can persist anywhere from 3 to 21 days and the most important thing is to stay well hydrated and replace electrolytes; some people advocate for the use of probiotics to reestablish normal flora. If there are dysenteric features, such as blood and mucus in the stools a short course of an antibiotic may be need suspecting a potential bacterial infection. But as I said most of them are viruses. if your symptoms do persist more than 3 weeks, then it would be unusual for a regular type of infection and you should see back your doctor.
Yours truly,
Dr Brenes-Salazar MD
Mayo Clinic MN
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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