What is Dysentery and how can it be treated

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Dysentery is an infection that occurs in the intestines and causes severe diarrhoea that in some cases may need medical treatment. It can cause nausea, vomiting, fever, dehydration and abdominal cramps. It is an infection that is more often than not spread through inadequate hygiene. This can be either poor hygiene on the part of the individual or lack of access to clean water and sanitisation.

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The development of flushing toilets and running water that we access through pipes and the removal of waste through drains that can be repaired using Drain Lining from companies like https://www.wilkinson-env.co.uk/sewer-repairs-drain-lining-concrete-cutting/drain-lining/ has meant that instances of dysentery in many countries have significantly reduced. However, there are still parts of the world that do not have access to clean running water or fully hygienic sanitisation and so dysentery continues to be a problem for these countries and communities.

There are two distinct types of dysentery and these are either caused by bacteria such as E.Coli, Campylobacter and Salmonella or is caused by a parasite in the case of Amebic dysentery. It is this latter type that tends to be found in countries where the sanitisation is not as adequate as it is in other countries and leads to poorer hygiene overall.

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Most cases come as a result of contact with contaminated products such as:

Physical contact with an infected person
Food
Water and drinks
Swimming in water that has been contaminated
Poor hygiene and handwashing in particular.

There are a number of different treatments for dysentery and the methods used will depend on whether you have bacterial dysentery of amebic dysentery and the severity of any symptoms that are experienced.

In most cases, the symptoms will pass with rest and plenty of fluids to ensure that the individual stays hydrated. There are medications that can help with abdominal cramps and diarrhoea and also rehydration powders for those who are dehydrated. It is important that medications that are designed to slow down the intestines, such as Imodium, should not be used in cases of dysentery as it can actually make the symptoms worse. In cases where people become severely dehydrated an IV of fluids may be recommended and a short in hospital.

Where amebic dysentery is present there are a number of drugs that can be prescribed that kill off the parasite and help the body to eliminate it. In some instances, these drugs might be followed up with another medication to make sure that the body has removed all traces of the parasites to help prevent a flare-up of symptoms from occurring.