Health News: Treating Stomach Bug
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – With so many different kinds of illnesses going around, the last thing you want to experience is an upset stomach. But there are ways to treat and even prevent them from happening.
Dr. Michael West, a general surgeon who specializes in gastroenterology at Tristar Greenview Hospital in Bowling Green says one of the most common reasons people experience an upset stomach is due to a viral illness, often the enterovirus.
But sometimes, the upset stomach doesn’t go away-or may come back sooner than it should. In that case, dr. West says you should be on the lookout for certain signs that something more may be involved.
Signs such as bright red or dark blood in your stool or when you vomit, frequent diarrhea or persistent vomiting. Vomiting blood is an automatic trip to the emergency room, the same applies for anything more than a spot or two in your stool.
And if you see only a spot or two in your stool, that’s a sign you need to schedule a visit with your primary care provider as soon as possible to find the cause, since more serous illnesses from colitis or cancer need to be treated quickly.
Dr. West has a word of advice for preventing GI problems — he says he is a big proponent of probiotics which helps keep the digestive tract in balance.
