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Dysentery

 

 
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Dysentery
 
 
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Dysentery (formerly known as flux or the bloody flux) is a disorder of the digestive system that results in severe diarrhea
Diarrhea

In medicine, diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea , is characterized by frequent loose or liquid bowel movements. The spelling of "diarrhea" is an appropriation of the Greek "diarrhoia" meaning "a flowing through." ....
 containing mucus
Mucus

In vertebrates, mucus is a slippery secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. It is a viscous colloid containing antiseptic enzymes and immunoglobulins that serves to protect Epithelium in the respiratory,...
 and/or blood
Blood

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's Cell s ? such as nutrients and oxygen ? and transports waste products away from those same cells....
 in the feces
Feces

Feces, faeces, or f?ces is a waste product from an animal's gastrointestinal tract expelled through the anus during defecation....
. If untreated, Dysentery can (and usually will) be fatal.
Symptoms and complications
Symptoms include frequent passage of feces/stool and, in some cases, associated vomiting of blood. Variations depending on parasites can be frequent urge with high or low volume of stool, with or without some associated mucus or blood.






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Encyclopedia


Dysentery (formerly known as flux or the bloody flux) is a disorder of the digestive system that results in severe diarrhea
Diarrhea

In medicine, diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea , is characterized by frequent loose or liquid bowel movements. The spelling of "diarrhea" is an appropriation of the Greek "diarrhoia" meaning "a flowing through." ....
 containing mucus
Mucus

In vertebrates, mucus is a slippery secretion produced by, and covering, mucous membranes. It is a viscous colloid containing antiseptic enzymes and immunoglobulins that serves to protect Epithelium in the respiratory,...
 and/or blood
Blood

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's Cell s ? such as nutrients and oxygen ? and transports waste products away from those same cells....
 in the feces
Feces

Feces, faeces, or f?ces is a waste product from an animal's gastrointestinal tract expelled through the anus during defecation....
. If untreated, Dysentery can (and usually will) be fatal.

Symptoms and complications


Symptoms include frequent passage of feces/stool and, in some cases, associated vomiting of blood. Variations depending on parasites can be frequent urge with high or low volume of stool, with or without some associated mucus or blood. Once recovery starts, early refeeding is advocated avoiding foods containing lactose due to temporary [can persist for years] lactose intolerance
Lactose intolerance

Lactose intolerance is the inability to Metabolism lactose, a sugar found in milk and other dairy products, because the required enzyme lactase is absent in the intestinal system or its availability is lowered....
.

Treatment


Initial management of dysentery is to maintain fluid intake using oral rehydration therapy
Oral rehydration therapy

Oral rehydration therapy is a simple, cheap, and effective treatment for dehydration associated with diarrhea, particularly gastroenteritis, such as that caused by cholera or rotavirus....
. If this cannot be adequately maintained, either through nausea and vomiting or the profuseness of the diarrhea, then hospital admission may be required for intravenous fluid replacement. Ideally no antimicrobial therapy is started until microbiological microscopy and culture studies have established the specific infection involved. Where laboratory services are lacking, it may be required to initiate a combination of drugs including an amoebicidal drug to kill the parasite and an antibiotic
Antibiotic

In common usage, an antibiotic is a substance or compound that kills or inhibits the growth of bacteria. Antibiotics belong to the group of antimicrobial compounds used to treat infections caused by microorganisms, including fungus and protozoa....
 to treat any associated bacterial infection
Infection

An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. In an infection, the infecting organism seeks to utilize the host resources to multiply ....
.

See also

  • traveler's diarrhea
    Traveler's diarrhea

    Traveler's diarrhea or traveller's diarrh?a , abbreviated to TD, is the most common illness affecting travelers. Traveler's diarrhea is defined as three or more unformed stools in 24 hours passed by a traveler, commonly accompanied by abdominal cramps, nausea, and bloating....
  • Gastroenteritis
    Gastroenteritis

    Gastroenteritis is inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, involving both the stomach and the small intestine and resulting in acute diarrhea....
  • Shigella
    Shigella

    Shigella is a genus of Gram-negative, Endospore rod-shaped bacterium closely related to Escherichia coli and Salmonella. The causative agent of human shigellosis, Shigella cause disease in primates, but not in other mammals....