It was a thrilling night for me, who was on the night shift in the emergency department. Just after rescuing a patient, I was about to take a break when I suddenly felt a sharp pain in the “stomach”, as if someone was twisting it hard. The only way to get better is to bend the body like a boiled shrimp. In fact, it is not the real “stomach”, but the position below the junction of the ribs on both sides of the upper abdomen. In the end, through physical examination, judging excrement and physical symptoms, I preliminarily concluded that I had a bad stomach. After conditioning and treatment, he returned to normal work on the third day.
In fact, many other diseases will be disguised as abdominal pain and diarrhea. So, regardless of whether you have a clear unclean diet, it is recommended to rule out the possibility of other diseases, such as pancreatitis, appendicitis, cholecystitis, ectopic pregnancy, and even myocardial infarction, as I did. So, what to do if you have sudden abdominal pain and diarrhea? The following is an introduction to the “emergency” plan in this regard.
These preparations should be done before visiting the doctor
The characteristics of poop Yes, it is recommended that you take a look at your poop. If possible, take a picture with your phone and give it to the doctor. Because you have no professional training, it may be difficult to identify mucus, pus and blood, tarry stools, and mushy stools. Sometimes there may be residual normal stools after the first bowel movement, please refer to the abnormal ones. Also, estimate your total bowel movements. If you can, please hold back, defecate in the hospital and leave a specimen, which is extremely helpful for judging the condition. Don’t worry about your watery stools, the hospital has small bottles for watery stools.
Looking for dehydration Dehydration is a complex assessment, but it can be simple: decreased urine output, thirst and desire to drink. In addition, palpitation, dizziness, and fatigue can also be symptoms of dehydration. If so, and you can’t drink a lot of water, go to the hospital as soon as possible.
Carefully review your experience of eating, traveling, and raising pets. Ask your friends who eat with you if you have the same symptoms, and if so, make an appointment to see a doctor together. Of course, you should also pay attention to separating meals with your family to avoid infection. Tell your doctor if you have taken antibiotics or been hospitalized in the past 3 months, if you have had high-risk sex in the past, if you are taking immunosuppressants (such as prednisone), or if you have an illness that weakens your immune system , as special causative pathogens need to be considered in this case.
Usually eat and drink and expect to heal on its own
For most people like me who are not seriously ill and do not have high-risk disease, adequate fluids after diarrhea, Just maintain nutrition. Rehydration is best done by drinking diluted fruit juice, or oral rehydration salts.
If severe dehydration occurs, intravenous fluids can be given, and when the condition improves, oral fluids can be used. In terms of diet, maintaining adequate nutrition is also important for recovery. If you don’t want to eat or have symptoms of nausea and vomiting, it’s okay to only eat liquid food in the short term. However, it is necessary to pay attention to whether the symptoms of nausea and vomiting affect the rehydration, and if so, intervention is required.
After severe diarrhea, high-fat foods need to be avoided until bowel function returns to normal. Also, other than yogurt, your body may have difficulty digesting other dairy products, and it is advisable to temporarily avoid lactose-containing foods.
Three situations to consider “on” antibiotics
Most acute diarrhea resolves spontaneously without antibiotic treatment. However, antibiotics can be considered in the following cases, but should be prescribed by a doctor:
1. When the symptoms are severe, such as fever, frequent bowel movements per day, and the volume is seriously insufficient to require hospitalization;
2. Features of invasive bacterial infection, such as mucoid stool or bloody stool (photos/or specimen tests of stool are needed to assist in the judgment);
3. The person with diarrhea has special circumstances, such as age over 70 years old or Combined with heart disease and diseases that impair immune function.
Prevention is the best treatment: wash hands before meals, separate meals during meals, separate raw and cooked dishes when preparing food, eat fresh and fully heated seafood, cook food when shabu-shabu, avoid Eating raw food…these are all great recipes for enjoying your meal and staying away from diarrhea.
Text/Ma Shicheng (Beijing Tsinghua Chang Gung Memorial Hospital)