Most people associate the coronavirus with pneumonia, but this disease has very diverse symptoms.
Common symptoms of COVID-19 are:
- fever, chills;
- fatigue, weakness;
- dry cough;
- runny nose and nasal congestion;
- loss of smell;
- abdominal discomfort, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.
Symptoms of damage to the gastrointestinal tract occur frequently. Up to 40% of COVID-19 patients have them. Among them, the most common manifestation is diarrhea. Diarrhea can be both the first sign of the disease and join the symptoms later and last up to 10-14 days.
Why do people with COVID have diarrhea?
With COVID-19, there are two ways of infection:
1) respiratory droplet;
2) fecal-oral.
The respiratory organs and intestines have receptors sensitive to the action of the virus, they are the entrance “gates.” Contacting the receptors of intestinal cells, the coronavirus causes a damage of the permeability of the mucous membrane, the development of inflammation, a disbalance of the microflora – dysbiosis, all this contributes to the development of diarrhea.
Each person has a different number of sensitive receptors to the coronavirus. The fewer of them, the lower the probability of diarrhea.
Diarrhea, as a symptom of COVID-19, occurs more and more frequently and affects 2.0% to 40.0% of patients, depending on the region.
Diarrhea with COVID-19 has a longer duration – 2-3 days longer than usual.
In patients with chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, gastritis with reduced secretion) diarrhea occurs more often than others. These patients are at risk.
The first complaints with coronavirus may be:
- an increase in the frequency of bowel movements up to 5-8 times a day, a change in the consistency of fecal masses to “mushy” and “watery”;
- decrease in appetite;
- on the 2nd or 3rd day, cough, sore throat and other symptoms join.
In adults, diarrhea occurs in the first 2-3 days from the moment of infection with the coronavirus, and lasts up to 5 days. At the same time, in a quarter of patients, diarrhea is the only symptom of the disease.
In children, diarrhea is often the first symptom of the coronavirus and can be much more severe and last longer than in adults. Against its background, the following conditions may arise:
- vomiting;
- drowsiness;
- dehydration;
- shortness of breath,
- pneumonia,
- appendicitis,
- peritonitis,
- convulsions,
- multiple organ failure.
There is no specific treatment for COVID-19, it is symptomatic.
In case of diarrhea, the therapy is aimed at replenishing the loss of fluid and salts, normalizing the consistency of the stool and reducing its volume. The first step in the treatment of diarrhea is taking special drugs for rehydration therapy. Medicines that will help restore damaged intestinal cells will be important, as a rule, this is diosmectite.
Resume:
If diarrhea appears and there are no other symptoms, you should consult a doctor, pass an analysis for the presence of the virus: an antigen test or PCR, and do not delay treatment.
Home-aid for diarrhea is a balanced diet and rehydration therapy – restoring the water-electrolyte balance. At this moment, D-ORS will come to your aid, which will protect your intestines, remove toxins and pathogens from the lumen of the intestines, reduce the risk of complications and speed up recovery.