How to prevent gastroenteritis or stomach flu?

Suffering from diarrhea and vomiting? It's most likely due to stomach flu. Here are some tips to prevent gasteroenteritis

With the monsoons completely set in, local health clinics are already lined up with people complaining of bouts of diarrhea, vomiting, stomach cramps and aches. If you're one of those who have somehow luckily escaped the notorious stomach flu, you won't remain safe for long unless you take proper measures to prevent it.

Here are some expert tips with inputs from Dr Mehul Choksi, Consultant Gastroenterologist and Endoscopist, S.L. Raheja, Fortis, Mahim that can help you stay free from infectious gastroenteritis or stomach flu this season.

• Avoid eating roadside food: Roadside food outlets are completely unhygienic and have higher chances of being contaminated with pathogens like Escherichia coli, Salmonella and Shigella. The risk is even higher with raw or under-cooked food.
• Eat hot food items: When eating outside, choose your foods wisely. Foods that are served steaming hot are your safest bet as the high temperature kills any organisms that may be present in these foods. This significantly reduces your risk of infection.
• Drink clean water: Boiled water is the best option, considering the poor water quality in remote areas. When you're going out, carry a bottle of water along. Alternatively, you can buy bottled water.
• Special care for children: Kids are more likely to get infected so, to be on the safe side, carry oral rehydration tablets whenever you're travelling with children. Infants should be vaccinated against rotavirus.
• Keep an antibiotic handy: Although antibiotics should not be used indiscriminately, it's better to carry an antibiotic like ciprofloxacin in your medical kit while travelling.
• Maintain high level of personal hygiene: Personal hygiene covers a long list of do's and don'ts. Washing your hands before your meals and after visiting the restroom, following proper hygiene procedures while handling food, storing food properly to prevent spoilage and using clean utensils when cooking or storing food are basic hygiene habits that should not be ignored, especially during monsoon.

You may also like to read:

• How to protect yourself from gastroenteritis this monsoon
• Beware gastroenteritis can lead to kidney failure
• Could your child's frequent stomach upsets be 'stomach migraine'?
• 10 helpful tips to treat piles
• Diarrhea causes, symptoms,treatment and prevention
• Tips to manage diarrhea in children
• How can we solve India's diarrhoea problem?
• Diarrhea and Pneumonia: The biggest killer diseases of kids!

For more articles on gastrointestinal problems, visit our gastrointestinal problemssection. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest updates! For daily free health tips, sign up for our newsletter. And to join discussions on health topics of your choice, visit our forum.