How Can You Determine Whether Diarrhea Is Bacterial Or Viral?

Gastroenteritis, also known as the “stomach flu”, is a health condition caused by a bacterial or viral infection that affects the digestive system. Symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea, with other complications considered. Bacterial and viral infections have similar symptoms, but a stool test may distinguish between them.

Viral gastroenteritis typically manifests more rapidly than bacterial gastroenteritis and can include nausea, vomiting, and watery diarrhea. A stool sample may be requested by a healthcare provider to determine the source of the illness and whether it’s bacterial or viral. Bacterial gastroenteritis is a digestive problem caused by bacteria, while viral gastroenteritis is a viral infection in the digestive system.

Symptoms may include abdominal pain or cramps, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, fever, and blood in the stool. In severe cases, food poisoning may be the cause. The incubation period for a stomach bug is 24-48 hours after exposure to the virus, while for food poisoning, it may take 2-6 hours.

How can you tell the difference between viral and bacterial diarrhea?

These symptoms can happen with all forms of gastroenteritis (both viral and bacterial). High fever and bloody diarrhea are more common with bacterial gastroenteritis.

The symptoms of bacterial gastroenteritis may look like other medical conditions or problems. Always talk with your healthcare provider for a diagnosis.

How is gastroenteritis diagnosed?. Your healthcare provider will perform an exam and ask about your medical history. Your healthcare provider will likely ask for a stool sample to determine the source of your illness and whether it’s bacterial or viral.

How is gastroenteritis treated?. Once a healthcare provider diagnoses your bacterial gastroenteritis, it is easy to treat. Antibiotics work to cure some forms of bacterial gastroenteritis within a few days. You may need additional treatment to replace the fluids and electrolytes in your body. This will depend on the severity of your illness. In some cases, you may need IV fluid replacement.

Will bacterial diarrhea go away on its own?

When to Seek Medical Help. Most bacterial infections will go away on their own. However, bloody diarrhea, vomiting that won’t stop, dehydration, dizziness, or losing consciousness are reasons to seek care from a healthcare provider.

Diagnosis. For many people, infection with bacteria will cause diarrhea and/or vomiting for a few days. Abdominal pain and cramps after eating or drinking and feeling tired are also common. It may not be necessary to see a healthcare provider or to get a diagnosis because the symptoms aren’t severe enough to cause complications and will go away on their own.

For children or babies, it is important to talk to a healthcare provider about diarrhea and vomiting. Kids can get dehydrated and lose water through vomiting and diarrhea quicker than adults, so it’s important to make sure they take in enough fluids.

How do you know if diarrhea is caused by bacteria?

Lab tests may be done on the food or a stool sample to find out what germ is causing your symptoms. However, these tests do not always show the cause of the diarrhea.

Tests may also be done to look for white blood cells in the stool. This is a sign of infection.

You will most likely recover from the most common types of bacterial gastroenteritis in a couple of days. The goal is to make you feel better and avoid dehydration.

Drinking enough fluids and learning what to eat will help ease symptoms. You may need to:

How long does viral diarrhea last?

Depending on the cause, viral gastroenteritis symptoms may appear within 1-3 days after you’re infected and can range from mild to severe. Symptoms usually last just a day or two, but occasionally they may last up to 14 days.

Because the symptoms are similar, it’s easy to confuse viral diarrhea with diarrhea caused by bacteria, such as Clostridioides difficile, salmonella and Escherichia coli, or parasites, such as giardia.

The stomach, small intestine and large intestine (colon) are part of your digestive tract, which processes the foods you eat. Viral gastroenteritis is an inflammation of these organs caused by a virus.

If you’re an adult, call your health care provider if:

How do I tell what type of diarrhea I have?

Types of diarrheaAcute diarrhea: Acute diarrhea is loose, watery diarrhea that lasts one to two days. … Persistent diarrhea: Persistent diarrhea lasts about two to four weeks. Chronic diarrhea: Chronic diarrhea lasts more than four weeks or comes and goes regularly over a long period.

How is diarrhea treated?. Usually, you can get rid of diarrhea at home. Over-the-counter (OTC) medicines for diarrhea, like bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol® or Kaopectate®), often help people feel better quickly. You’ll need to see a healthcare provider for diarrhea that doesn’t improve or that happens alongside symptoms of severe diarrhea.

• Antibiotics or antiparasitics. These drugs kill infection-causing germs.
• Medications that treat chronic conditions. Treating underlying conditions that cause diarrhea, like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and IBS, can help.
• Probiotics. Probiotics introduce good bacteria into your gut to combat diarrhea. Your healthcare provider may suggest you try them. Always talk to your provider before starting a probiotic or any supplement.

Can I stop diarrhea without taking anti-diarrhea medicine?. You can often get rid of acute diarrhea through lifestyle changes you can make at home.

What are the symptoms of a bacterial infection in the stomach?

Bacterial gastroenteritis is a digestive problem caused by bacteria. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, fever, diarrhea, belly cramping, and pain. In severe cases, you may become dehydrated and have an electrolyte imbalance.

Does diarrhea flush out viruses?

What causes diarrhea?. There are several things that can cause diarrhea. Most of the time, diarrhea is simply your gut’s way of getting rid of a harmful invader, like a bacteria or virus. However, in some cases, diarrhea is caused by a malfunction of the gut, as is the case with inflammatory bowel disease.

Many viruses can cause diarrhea. One of the more common causes is norovirus. It has also been a symptom of the COVID-19 virus. Another way you can get diarrhea is from food poisoning or after taking antibiotics. With a bacterial infection you will sometimes see blood or mucous in your stool. But the only way to really tell what is causing your diarrhea is through an examination and testing performed by your doctor.

It’s important to keep in mind that diarrhea is very contagious through stool or saliva. So to keep from infecting others, be sure to close the toilet lid before flushing, wash your hands thoroughly, and clean commonly touched surfaces often.

What quickly kills stomach bacteria?

Antibiotics: Your doctor will probably prescribe two antibiotics to keep the bacteria from building up a resistance to a particular one. Amoxicillin, clarithromycin (Biaxin), metronidazole (Flagyl), tetracycline (Sumycin), or tinidazole (Tindamax) are likely options.

Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori ) is a type of bacteria that infects your stomach. It can cause sores and inflammation in the lining of your stomach or the upper part of your small intestine (the duodenum). For some people, an infection can lead to stomach cancer.

Infection with H. pylori is common. About two-thirds of the world’s population has it in their bodies. For most people, it never causes any symptoms. But it’s the most common cause of peptic ulcers, which are painful open sores in your digestive tract. In rare cases, it could even lead to stomach cancer.

H. pylori bacteria usually spread from person to person and also likely through:

How do doctors tell the difference between viral and bacterial infections?

It can be difficult to know what causes an infection, because viral and bacterial infections can cause similar symptoms. Your doctor may need a sample of your urine, stool or blood, or a swab from your nose or throat to see what sort of infection you have.

• Key facts. Bacteria are single cells that can survive on their own, inside or outside the body.
• Viruses cause infections by entering and multiplying inside the host’s healthy cells.
• It can be difficult to know what causes an infection, because viral and bacterial infections can cause similar symptoms.
• Antibiotics won’t work for viral infections. Misusing antibiotics to treat viral infections contributes to the problem of antibiotic resistance.
• Antibiotics won’t cure viral infections.

On this page. Related information on Australian websites;

How are bacteria different from viruses?. Bacteria and viruses are too tiny to see with the naked eye. They can cause similar symptoms and are often spread in the same way, but are different in most other ways.

Does diarrhea flush out gut bacteria?

The Reason For Diarrhea. Studies at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have determined that diarrhea plays a crucial role in clearing the bacteria that is found in the intestines at the beginning of an infection. When a virus like E. coli strikes, two molecules in the intestine work together to enable pathogen clearance before the infection causes too much damage. While you may be inconvenienced by diarrhea, it may actually be the best thing for your body. Diarrhea could limit the severity and longevity of the infection.

The Danger Of Diarrhea. The biggest danger of diarrhea is dehydration, which can be a serious issue if not addressed- especially in young children or seniors. Signs to watch for in dehydration include:

• Constant and excessive thirst
• Your mouth or skin feels dry
• Dark urine and/or very little occurrence of urination
• Weakness, dizziness, lightheadedness or fatigue.

What kills diarrhea bacteria?

When diarrhea is caused by something you ate, Pepto Diarrhea is your go-to. Pepto Diarrhea actually helps treat your problem by targeting and killing the bacteria that causes many cases of diarrhea. Plus, it coats your stomach to provide fast relief.