Food Poisoning And Stomach Flu Prevention And Treatment

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Many think that the stomach bug (or stomach flu), and food poisoning are one and the same. They couldn’t be more wrong. While both affect our digestive tracts causing abdominal pain and discomfort, their similarities end there.

Symptoms alone can’t tell you whether a person has the stomach flu or food poisoning. These diseases are two very different conditions and telling them apart is key to choosing the right treatment. Differentiating them can be quite tricky, however, these diseases have signs that help identify them. Their key difference lies in what causes them: Stomach flu is caused by viruses, while food poisoning is oftentimes caused by different kinds of bacteria that come from poor food preparation practices.

These clues, when combined with laboratory tests, help doctors narrow-down their diagnoses, aiding them in deciding on the proper course to take.

The following are some ways of preventing and treating stomach flu and food poisoning:

Stomach Flu Causes

Source: https://images.emedicinehealth.com

Contrary to what people think, the stomach flu, also known as viral gastroenteritis, isn’t really the flu or the respiratory disease caused by the influenza virus which many of us are familiar with.

Viral gastroenteritis is caused by different strains of viruses that attack the digestive system. The most common culprit in the U.S and around the world is norovirus, which can spread among people who live in close contact with each other. Usually, norovirus is passed on via contaminated food and water but can also be transmitted directly. Rotaviruses, on the other hand, are the most common causes of stomach flu in children who get sick by putting their fingers and other contaminated objects in their mouths.