Stomach Infection Symptoms

Stomach pain can have a various number of different causes ranging from digestive problems and organ disease to infections and viruses. When the pain is caused by a virus, the most common symptoms are abdominal cramping, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. The best way to alleviate this pain is to understand the underlying cause. Any number of infections can cause stomach illness. The more common types of infections that will lead to sudden and unexpected gastric conditions include viral infections, bacterial infections and food poisoning. These are typically referred to as gastrointestinal infections or GI for short. The term encompasses an entire range of infections involving the stomach. The most common infection is the flu, or influenza. This infection is caused by the invasion of a virus and a bout of pain while the symptoms can last from a single day to an entire week. The 24 hour bug is another type of flu that lasts for a length of 24 hours. Both stomach bugs are highly contagious and usually clear up on their own without medical treatment or medication.

Another common stomach bug that is responsible for abdominal symptoms is food poisoning. Food poisoning occurs when water or food that has been consumed was contaminated with parasites. The contamination normally occurs for reasons of poor food preparation, improper storage, unclean drinking water or tainted shellfish. However, unlike the other stomach bugs, food poisoning is not contagious in that you will not contract it by coming in contact with someone who has it. The only way to contract it is by consuming the contaminated food or drink.

While the exact cause of a stomach ache may vary, the symptoms produced by a stomach bug are usually the same. Due to this similarity, the causes of symptoms are difficult to diagnose. Hence the reason that most doctors will use a trial and error or a wait and watch approach when patients complain of a general stomach pain or show the common symptoms. Once a virus is ruled out, medication can be given to cure most of the other stomach ailments. However, when the cause is a virus, the treatment is more focused on the symptomatic relief. The body’s immune system will anyhow kill most viruses within a matter of days.

The most common symptoms of stomach bugs and infections are:

• Bloating
• Vomiting
• Nausea
• Loss of appetite
• Diarrhea
• Abdominal pain