Gastroenteritis: Symptoms, Causes, and When to Seek Medical Help

Viral gastroenteritis is also known as the stomach flu. However, it's not actually a type of influenza but rather a virus that attacks the intestines. It can make you feel very sick within days after being infected. Most people recover from it fine but it can be more harmful to babies and the elderly. Here's how to recognize it.

Instructions

• 1

  Know the symptoms. They include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting, muscle aches or headaches, and a low grade fever.

• 2

  Understand the causes. Viral gastroenteritis is spread through contaminated food or water or sharing utensils with an infected person. You can also get sick from shellfish, particularly raw or undercooked oysters.

• 3

  Know when to get medical help. Contact your physician if you haven't been able to keep liquids down for 24 hours, you have been vomiting for more than two days, you are vomiting blood, you are dehydrated, you have bloody stools or if you have a fever above 104 degrees.