Bacterial Diseases
Shigellosis Treatment
Treatment
If you have a mild case of shigellosis, probably will not need treatment because symptoms may disappear on their own. Sometimes, doctors may prescribe antibiotics if you live with the very young or very old women who could be infected with the infection.
If you have severe cases of shigellosis, your doctor will prescribe fluids to treat dehydration and an antibiotic according to the route of infection. For example, if infected with shigellosis in the United States, the infection is likely to respond to common antibiotics such as penicillin (Polycillin, Totacillin, Omnipen), trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim, Septra and other brands), tetracycline (sold in Many brands) or ciprofloxacin (Cipro). However, if you get during a trip to a developing country, the infecting strain of Shigella is more likely to be resistant to these common antibiotics and, therefore, may need an antibiotic newer or less common. Read the rest of this entry »
Shigellosis Prevention
Duration
In healthy people this problem apart from mild shigellosis, diarrhea goes away by itself in five to seven days. However, in very young children, elderly or people with chronic diseases, shigellosis can be severe and lead to fatal dehydration and other complications in a few days.
Prevention
There is no vaccine to protect against shigellosis. To prevent the spread of Shigella bacteria, you should: Read the rest of this entry »
Shigellosis: Symptoms and Diagnosis
Symptoms
While health experts do not know why some people are infected with Shigella bacteria without getting sick, others only develop fever or fever shortly brief mild diarrhea goes away by itself. Approximately 25% of patients, however, develop high fever, severe abdominal cramps and diarrhea possibly with blood, mucus and pus.
These people may have 10 to 30 bowel movements per day along with an urgent need to have abdominal movements that can lead to rectal prolapse (abnormal protrusion of the rectum). Rarely, Shigella bacteria can affect body parts from the digestive tract. When this happens, there may be convulsions, confusion or coma, renal failure (the kidneys), arthritis, rashes and other symptoms. Read the rest of this entry »
Shigellosis
Shigellosis is an infection of the colon (large intestine) caused by Shigella bacteria. Shigellosis is also known as bacillary dysentery because it can cause severe diarrhea. However, the infection often causes only mild symptoms.
Shigella can be found in water contaminated with infected water. The bacteria usually enter the body by drinking contaminated water. Shigella bacteria can also be found in foods that were rinsed with dirty water, grown in soil contaminated with sewage or touched by flies that have settled in the stool. Read the rest of this entry »