Over the past few weeks there's been a spike in the number of persons who have been visiting health care facilities with symptoms of gastro enteritis. The illness causes acute discomfort and is dangerous for children and older persons because they can become dangerously dehydrated as a result of loose stools and vomiting. Today we visited with the Director of the Cleopatra White Polyclinic 2 to find out what the symptoms are and what to do in case you know someone who's got it.
Dr. Khalid Ghazi,
"What we are seeing here mostly is a viral infection. Most of the time we can see this disease affecting the infant children sometimes also older folks, older age group.
The first symptom is mainly abdominal cramp or what we call abdominal pain. Most of patients come with diarrhea, loose bowels, the patient might have it about 6, 7, and sometimes ten times per day and vomiting. Sometimes gastroenteritis is associated only vomiting or sometimes diarrhea and most of it we diagnose as an acute gastroenteritis."
Alfonso Noble,
What parents do when they see these symptoms in a child?
Dr. Khalid Ghazi,
"What we encourage the patients most of the time is to prevent dehydration, the most dangerous thing in gastroenteritis. The dehydration occurs because the body is losing a lot of fluid, either by vomiting or diarrhea. So the minute they notice that the baby starts to have diarrhea or loose bowels or start vomiting, parents should start t re-hydrate that child. The child doesn't have to be rushed to the emergency room or rushed to the doctor in the beginning but also you have to watch your kid very well."
Alfonso Noble,
Is it absolutely necessary for children who develop these symptoms to visit the health center?
Dr. Khalid Ghazi,
"Yes. After 24 hours, or even sometimes less, if you see no response or the diarrhea and the vomiting is getting so worse and the parent cannot really handle, we advise people to come immediately to seek for help."
Doctor Ghazi says that this time of year there is usually an increase in the number of gastro enteritis cases, but so far there is no reason for mass public alarm, as the incidents are under control.
