Megacolon is a pathology that is characterized by hypertrophic changes throughout the large intestine or some part of it. In this case, an increase in the lumen, lengthening and thickening of the walls of the organ are observed. An expansion of the digestive tract of this nature leads to impaired peristalsis and, as a result, chronic constipation, signs of intoxication and increased gas formation occur. All the specialists at the Yusupov Hospital know about effective methods of treating megacolon, where you can receive treatment at any stage of the disease.
What substances can cause poisoning?
Milady Intoxication has a huge number of reasons and reasons to poison, and in her arsenal there are many exogenous and endogenous poisons.
Exogenous toxic substances enter the body from the outside. That is, through the skin and mucous membranes, the upper respiratory tract, and the digestive tract. The most common cause of intoxication is poisoning with ethanol, methanol, heavy metal salts, household chemicals, carbon monoxide, poor-quality food, contaminated water, and medications.
Microbes, penetrating into the body, cause not only disease, but also poisoning with their toxins. The “reason” for exogenous intoxication of the body can, for example, be poisonous representatives of flora and fauna, the pale grebe and puffer fish.
Endogenous poisons are formed in the human body as a result of metabolism, as a consequence of diseases and various pathological conditions: for example, cancer intoxication (with the development of malignant tumors), uremia (with chronic renal failure), thyrotoxicosis (with increased production of thyroid hormones), tuberculosis intoxication and so on.
If the detoxifying function of the liver is insufficient, a large amount of toxic metabolic products accumulates in the body, leading to endogenous intoxication. With complications of diabetes, the body is poisoned by products of carbohydrate metabolism - ketone bodies.
Treatment of intestinal infection
Step 1: Rehydrate
Treatment of viral and bacterial intestinal infections primarily aims to restore fluid and electrolyte levels. Oral rehydration is sufficient to prevent and treat mild to moderate dehydration. Various oral rehydrants based on dextrose, potassium chloride, sodium chloride and sodium citrate, as well as green tea, cranberry juice and even still mineral water are suitable as means to restore the water-salt balance. The total volume of fluid entering the body should be approximately equal to the volume lost. Particular attention is paid to children, in whom severe dehydration can occur very quickly.
Step 2: Detoxification
The causative agents of acute intestinal infection release many toxins that affect the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract and activate intestinal motility. In addition, toxins are absorbed into the blood, causing general intoxication. Its symptoms: weakness, fever, headache, muscle and joint pain and others.
Adsorbents—drugs that have high surface activity—help inactivate toxins. They are able to bind not only toxins, but also heavy metal salts, gases, and drugs. Be sure to warn the buyer that adsorbents perfectly absorb both food and medications, so they should be taken an hour before meals or taking other medications.
Step 3. Symptomatic therapy
In adults, treatment of acute intestinal infection may also include antidiarrheal drugs, in particular loperamide. In pediatric practice, probiotics are prescribed to combat diarrhea. It has been proven that preparations containing lactobacilli not only normalize the composition of the intestinal flora, but also reduce the duration of diarrhea.
For severe pain, antispasmodics are used. As a rule, there is no need for antibacterial drugs. If bacterial gastroenteritis is severe, antibiotics or nitrofurans are prescribed. Nifuroxazide is often used as a fairly safe antibacterial drug that acts only in the intestinal lumen. It can be prescribed not only to adults, but also to children over 1 month.
How does intoxication manifest itself?
Signs of intoxication depend on the nature of the toxic substance, its quantity, routes of entry into the body and ability to accumulate.
Toxic substances are divided depending on their effect on:
- carcinogenic (cancer-causing);
- mutagenic (leading to mutations);
- cardiotropic (heart muscle is affected);
- hepatotropic (liver intoxication) and others.
Symptoms of intoxication depend on the severity of poisoning:
- light;
- average;
- heavy.
Intoxication can be acute or chronic.
Acute intoxication occurs when poison enters the body once and is accompanied by pronounced symptoms. For example, food intoxication due to salmonellosis, alcohol intoxication.
Acute intoxication in a child occurs due to influenza, intestinal infection, drug overdose, food poisoning, and acetone syndrome. Competent parents know how to relieve symptoms of intoxication at home - they give the baby a drink and give Enterosgel sorbent (not forgetting to call a doctor).
Chronic intoxication occurs with long-term accumulation of toxic substances in the body, for example, cancer intoxication, lead poisoning, tuberculosis intoxication, drug addiction.
...and did you know that
In Moscow, every twentieth patient delivered by ambulance to city hospitals is diagnosed with acute poisoning.
In the structure of the causes of acute poisoning:
- 80% of cases are due to erroneous intake of a chemical substance;
- 18% of cases - an attempt to commit suicide (suicide);
- 2% of cases are intoxication at work.
The culprits of trouble
By the age of three years, each person already has close experience with intestinal pathogens, the number of which amounts to tens, if not hundreds. OCI develops as a result of infection with viruses, bacteria, and, less commonly, parasites. Sometimes diarrhea is caused not by the microorganisms themselves, but by the toxins they produce. And very rarely, symptoms of poisoning become side effects of medications. In a significant proportion of cases of acute intestinal infection, this is a consequence of infection with viruses. Acute viral gastroenteritis has three types.
The first is random and appears in infants. Most often it is caused by rotavirus infection. The second, as a rule, flares up in semi-closed communities - in families, work groups and recreational areas. Its causes are usually viruses that colonize in water and food, and in most cases, caliciviruses. And the third type of viral gastroenteritis develops sporadically as a result of infection with caliciviruses, rotaviruses, astroviruses or adenoviruses. But let’s not downplay the role of bacteria in the etiology of acute intestinal infection.
Intoxication of the body when working in hazardous industries
Why did the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland lose his mind? Perhaps it's all in the bag! Or rather, in the processing technology of the felt from which they are made. It turns out that in the 19th century mercury was used to process this material. Chronic intoxication of the body with mercury vapor causes progressive dementia. In England there was even a saying: “mad as a hatter.”
Occupational chronic intoxication these days, unfortunately, is also not uncommon. People who work for a long time in production associated with chemicals gradually accumulate toxic compounds in their bodies. For example, liver intoxication is not so uncommon in chronic lead poisoning.
Symptoms of intoxication in occupational benzene poisoning are associated with toxic effects on hematopoietic organs and blood cells.
Signs of occupational poisoning depend on the toxic substance entering the body.
Common signs of chemical poisoning:
- severe weakness;
- clouding of consciousness;
- dyspnea;
- changes in skin color;
- nausea and vomiting;
- in acute poisoning - loss of consciousness.
Detoxication in such cases is carried out in intensive care units or intensive care units.
Timely intake of Enterosgel sorbent at the first symptoms of intoxication will save you from the dangerous complications of poisoning or reduce its manifestations.
Signs of danger
The danger of acute intestinal infections is that their symptoms can be signs of other, much more serious diseases. Thus, under the guise of acute gastroenteritis, inflammation of the vermiform appendix of the rectum - appendicitis - may well be “hidden”. How to figure out what is behind abdominal pain and diarrhea? Alas, this is not always easy to do, and sometimes even experts leave room for doubt. But there are a few warning signs worth keeping in mind.
Firstly, with appendicitis, the pain usually begins in the navel area, after which it gradually descends down to the right half of the abdomen. Lying on the right side reduces the intensity of pain, which is why the surgeon's potential patients most often take this position. Secondly, with an acute intestinal infection, after the next trip to the toilet, short-term relief occurs, but appendicitis does not bring such joy. Thirdly, vomiting may precede manifestations of acute gastroenteritis, and with appendicitis it begins after the manifestation of pain.
Before giving a recommendation to a visitor who describes the symptoms of an acute intestinal infection, warn him about the similarity of the manifestations of banal poisoning and dangerous appendicitis. By the way, in case of appendicitis, antispasmodics and other drugs that “lubricate” the picture of the disease are contraindicated.
- decreased blood pressure;
- increased heart rate;
- decreased skin turgor;
- dry mucous membranes;
- decreased diuresis;
- increased thirst;
- retraction of the eyeball;
- retraction of the fontanel in infants.
Signs of dehydration (WHO, 2011)
If symptoms of severe dehydration appear, urgent intravenous hydration is needed!
Signs of acute and chronic intoxication of the body
In case of acute intoxication of the body, the patient experiences:
- heat;
- headache;
- muscle and joint pain;
- nausea;
- vomit;
- diarrhea.
When exposed to strong poisons, there is a serious threat to life. In such cases, urgent hospitalization is necessary, since it is not possible to relieve intoxication at home!
Chronic intoxication may be accompanied by:
- weight loss;
- aversion to food;
- insomnia;
- depression;
- indigestion;
- anemia;
- decreased immunity;
- dermatitis;
- prone to allergic reactions and autoimmune diseases.
With a decrease in the body's defenses and a severe purulent infection, intoxication syndrome develops.
This condition may occur against the background of:
- peritonitis;
- pleural empyema;
- osteomyelitis;
- phlegmon;
- abscess;
- sepsis.
Severe intoxication of the body leads to toxic damage to the heart muscle, nervous system, liver and kidneys.
Palpitations, depression of consciousness or euphoria, kidney and liver failure are the main signs of intoxication syndrome.
The diagnosis is made through blood tests and the leukocyte index of intoxication. This important research method makes it possible to assess the severity of endogenous intoxication and the effectiveness of the treatment.
Normally, the values of the leukocyte index of intoxication range from 0.3 to 1.5. An increase in values from 4 to 9 indicates endogenous poisoning.
Poisoning at its finest
Acute intestinal infection is primarily diarrhea. All other accompanying symptoms may vary significantly. It depends on the type of pathogen and the individual reaction whether the manifestations are limited to regular trips to the toilet or whether they are joined by fever, abdominal pain and vomiting. OCI caused by salmonella is difficult to overcome. The incubation period of salmonellosis lasts up to three days, and the disease is accompanied by high fever, vomiting, abdominal pain and, of course, diarrhea. But manifestations of infection with aeromonas immediately follow infection and are tolerated quite easily. Sometimes, for example, when infected with rotavirus, intestinal manifestations of the infection are accompanied by typical signs of ARVI: runny nose and sore throat.
But no matter what virus or bacteria causes the disease, its outcome is almost always a foregone conclusion. Most acute intestinal infections are self-limiting. After the allotted time - usually 3-7 days - the microbe dies completely on its own and recovery occurs. However, this does not mean that the disease does not require treatment, but first you should make sure that the diagnosis is correct.
“Household” intoxication or “reality poisoning”?
It is not for nothing that household poisoning is called the “epidemic of the century”, because quite often the means that are supposed to make our life easier become the cause of acute intoxication. Bleach, pesticides, detergents and cleaners, car windshield wipers - the list of potentially dangerous culprits of severe poisoning is quite extensive.
The number of poisonings due to the erroneous use of household chemicals, especially by children, has increased significantly in recent years. Cases where children's curiosity ends tragically are not so rare in everyday life: either a two-year-old girl swallows a “Mole” for cleaning pipes, or an older boy decides to try a powerful detergent advertised on TV.
After intoxication with household chemicals, acute renal and liver failure occurs. Stopping the work of these vital organs that remove toxins from the body can, in some cases, even lead to the death of a person.
Poisoning with ethanol and its surrogates
According to the World Health Organization, more than 300 thousand people die annually from intoxication with alcohol and its substitutes.
According to the international classification (ICD10), the toxic effects of alcohol are coded as T51.
One of the largest cases of poisoning with surrogate alcohol occurred in the Estonian city of Pärnu in 2001: workers at one of the plants stole 20 canisters of methyl alcohol. As a result, 68 people died from poisoning, and 43 became disabled after intoxication.
Methyl alcohol is a potent poison of the vascular and nervous system. It is quickly absorbed and very slowly eliminated from the body.
Typical results of methanol poisoning are blindness, cerebral edema, and cardiac and respiratory arrest.
How to treat intoxication?
Therapy for exogenous and endogenous intoxication of moderate and severe severity is carried out in intensive care units, intensive care units, and toxicology centers.
Treatment of acute and chronic intoxication is carried out taking into account the cause of poisoning, the severity of the patient’s condition, the results of laboratory and instrumental studies.
Removing intoxication in each specific case has its own differences.
Treatment of cancer intoxication is palliative, that is, drugs are prescribed that improve the quality of life of an incurable patient. For cancer intoxication, narcotic analgesics (morphine), sorbents (Enterosgel), and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed. In a hospital setting, a drip is performed for intoxication with the administration of drugs that remove toxins from the body.
Therapy of tuberculosis intoxication involves a long course of treatment with anti-tuberculosis drugs, vitamins and immunostimulants.
For household and professional poisoning, antidotes (antidotes), detoxification of the body, gastric and intestinal lavage are used to cleanse toxic substances.
Enterosgel intestinal sorbent will help quickly and effectively relieve intoxication at home in case of poisoning.
Additional recommendations
Having provided the client with oral rehydrants, sorbents and symptomatic medications, do not forget to tell them about a gentle diet. Nutrition for acute intestinal infection should be gentle and meager: rice, applesauce, bananas, toast or dark bread croutons at first. As recovery progresses, lean boiled meat and a clear second broth are added to this food set, and then fermented milk products. There is no need to rush into introducing high-calorie heavy food - improper nutrition can slow down recovery.
And finally, support the buyer with a smile and assure that with correct treatment, in just a few days the disease will go away without leaving a trace.
Enterosgel and poisoning
The drug can be used for intoxication, both acute and chronic, as well as at all stages of treatment (in first aid, first aid, hospital, specialized, at the rehabilitation stage).
Unlike other drugs for similar purposes, the drug is approved for use in children from the first days of life, and is also indicated for pregnant and lactating women.
Enterosgel even removes bacterial endotoxins, promotes the regeneration of damaged mucosa and normalizes the intestinal microflora.
Thus, the functioning of the intestines and immune system is restored. At the first signs of possible poisoning, you can take Enterosgel in a standard dose. Then use the drug according to the instructions for 1-2 weeks.
A sufficient amount of water consumed and laxatives contribute to the rapid removal of toxic products from the body.
Liver protection medications, digestive enzymes, and anti-dysbacteriosis medications will also help relieve intoxication at home.
Oh those bacteria!
Millions of children and adults experience acute bacterial gastroenteritis every year. The top 3 microbes that cause bacterial diarrhea include Salmonella, Shigella and Campylobacter [1]. On their heels are aeromonads, which are especially aggressive in summer and autumn. During the summer holidays, Campylobacter also becomes active, and in the cold winter, Yersinia mostly “works.”
Toxin-producing pathogens, such as enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli and some Shigella species, produce substances that can cause systemic disorders, including seizures and hemolytic uremic syndrome. Representatives of the normal intestinal flora Escherichia coli and clostridia can also cause bacterial diarrhea in some cases.
Each pathogen has its own “face”: the incubation period, during which the disease only gains momentum, and clinical manifestations. Nevertheless, it is possible to identify a symptom that is characteristic of all cases of acute gastroenteritis.
How to relieve alcohol intoxication?
Unfortunately, the morning after a festive “alcoholic evening” is not always good. My head is pounding, my mouth feels like the Sahara Desert, my heart is pounding somewhere in my throat, it’s cloudy and stormy, a cat is loudly stomping around the apartment - a nightmare, in a word!
Mild alcohol intoxication, or, more simply, a hangover, is usually treated at home.
What needs to be done: get enough sleep, take Enterosgel sorbent on an empty stomach, be sure to have breakfast and drink clean water throughout the day.
A drip for alcohol intoxication at home can be prescribed if you need to immediately “get back on track.”
Symptoms and mechanism of development of intestinal dyspepsia
By intestinal disorder, many understand an increase in the number of bowel movements per day or dilution of stool. In fact, the pathology in most cases is also accompanied by increased gas formation, cramps and colic in the abdomen, and nausea. During infectious processes, fever, weakness, and lack of appetite occur.
Dyspepsia is divided into physiological and pathological. In the first case, the symptoms quickly pass, no pathological changes are observed in the intestines, and there is no danger to the body.
Intestinal upset occurs if one of the mechanisms of food digestion is disrupted, and such pathological processes occur as:
- Maldigestion is a deterioration in the digestion of bolus food. After entering the duodenum, products do not completely break down into components convenient for further breakdown. Reasons: insufficient production of enzymes by the pancreas, small amount of bile;
- Malabsorption is a malabsorption of food in the small intestine. Food is broken down into the necessary components, but is not completely absorbed by the body.
- Putrid dyspepsia. Occurs due to deterioration of protein digestion and is accompanied by severe gas formation;
- Fermentative dyspepsia. Occurs when carbohydrates are poorly broken down and absorbed.
Intestinal dyspepsia syndrome can be caused by allergies to certain foods or individual intolerance to them. Pathology also occurs after drinking low-quality water, too fatty foods, or fruits rich in fiber. In women, loose stools are often observed during menstrual periods, which is associated with hormonal imbalance.
