Eating unclean food can easily cause intestinal infections. Intestinal bacterial infections are mainly transmitted through rectal intercourse, oral sex, or sexual promiscuity. It is important to seek timely treatment. So, what are the traditional Chinese medicine treatment methods for intestinal infections?
I: Dietary Therapy for Intestinal Infections
1. Si Shen Tang (Four Divine Soup)
Si Shen Tang is beneficial for spleen and stomach health, aiding digestion. The herbs used in this soup are all mild in nature. It is not suitable for those who have constipation. Ingredients: 1 pound of pig intestines or stomach. Herbs: 40g of coix seed (Job's tears), 20g of poria (hoelen), 20g of euryale seed (fox nut), 40g of lotus seeds, 20g of Chinese yam. Seasoning: 1 teaspoon (5g) of salt.
Preparation: Soak the euryale seed and lotus seeds in water for 20 minutes. Cut the pig intestines or stomach into sections or pieces, then put them in 5 cups of water (1200ml). Add coix seed, poria, euryale seed, Chinese yam, and 1 cup of rice wine (240ml). Simmer together for 1 hour. After the pig intestines or stomach are partially cooked, add lotus seeds and simmer for another 20 minutes. Add salt for seasoning and it is ready to be consumed.
2. Lotus Seed Congee
Lotus seed congee is good for spleen health, stopping diarrhea, and nourishing the heart and calming the mind. Ingredients: 100g of glutinous rice. Herbs: 50g of lotus seeds. Seasoning: 20g of rock sugar.
Preparation: Soak the tender lotus seeds in water until they expand, then remove the lotus seed hearts and wash them. Put the lotus seeds in a pot with water and cook until tender. Put the glutinous rice in a pot with water (about 480g) and cook until it becomes congee. After the congee is cooked, add the lotus seeds and rock sugar, stir well, and it is ready to be consumed.
II: Prevention of Intestinal Infections
The key to preventing summer intestinal infectious diseases is to pay attention to food and water hygiene and develop good hygiene habits.
Do not drink untreated or contaminated water. Do not eat spoiled or contaminated food. Leftover food, especially those stored in the refrigerator, should be thoroughly cooked before consumption.
Develop good hygiene habits. Wash hands before meals and after using the restroom, and clean them thoroughly with soap or other cleaning agents. Take regular showers and change clothes frequently.
Wash fruits and vegetables before eating them, and it is best to use specialized detergents for cleaning. To remove pesticide residues, extend the soaking and cleaning time.
Do not consume "four nos" food and drinks, which are products without a manufacturer, trademark, production date, or expiration date. Soft-packaged ice water and ice cubes are especially prone to causing diarrhea.
If a person experiences diarrhea or vomiting, they should seek medical attention at the gastrointestinal outpatient department of a hospital in a timely manner, rather than delaying treatment with a lucky mentality.
When there is a person with intestinal infectious diseases around, isolation measures should be taken. Pay special attention to the proper handling of patient's feces, vomit, etc., to avoid water and food contamination.
III: Solutions for Intestinal Infections
1. General Treatment for Intestinal Infections
Rest in bed as much as possible and take oral glucose electrolyte solution to replenish lost fluid. If there is persistent vomiting or obvious dehydration, intravenous infusion of 5%-10% glucose saline and other related electrolytes may be required. Encourage the consumption of light and liquid or semi-liquid foods to prevent dehydration or treat mild dehydration.
Symptomatic treatment: If necessary, antiemetics can be injected, such as intramuscular injection of chlorpromazine at a dose of 25-100mg per day. Antispasmodics can be used, such as dicyclomine at a dose of 8mg three times a day. Antidiarrheal drugs can be used, such as loperamide at a dose of 1 sachet per time, 2-3 times a day.
Antibiotic treatment: The use of antibiotics for this condition is controversial. For infectious diarrhea, targeted antibiotics can be used appropriately, such as oral berberine at a dose of 0.3g three times a day or oral kanamycin at a dose of 80,000 units three times a day. However, the misuse of antibiotics should be avoided.
2. Pathogens of Intestinal Infections
Intestinal viruses include polioviruses, Coxsackie viruses, and enteroviruses (ECHO viruses) that cause cell lesions in the human intestine. In 1970, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses classified these viruses into the genus Enterovirus of the Picornaviridae family. After the 67 types of enteroviruses belonging to the three named intestinal viruses mentioned above, more enteroviruses were discovered and named according to their order of discovery, such as enterovirus type 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, etc.
Enteroviruses are small particles with 20 faces and a diameter of 24-30nm. They do not contain lipids, but have a core with single-stranded RNA. They are resistant to ether, other lipophilic solvents, and acid. They have resistance to various antibiotics, antiviral drugs, and detergents. Most viruses cause cell lesions in cell cultures.
Enteroviruses usually parasitize in the intestines and occasionally enter the bloodstream or nervous tissues. Normal carriers of the virus are rare, but latent infections are very common, and only a few infected individuals develop clinical symptoms.
3. Transmission Routes of Intestinal Infections
Humans are the only natural hosts of human enteroviruses, and the viruses spread through close contact between people (through hands, utensils, and food). The virus is present in the throat and intestines of infected individuals, and it can be excreted in feces for a long time, lasting for several weeks. The fecal-oral route is the main transmission route. It can also be occasionally spread through respiratory droplets. The virus can survive for a long time in sewage.
After infection, it takes 7-14 days for the virus to exist in the lymphoid tissue of the throat and intestines and enter monocytes through the bloodstream to replicate. Finally, it reaches target organs (such as the spinal cord, brain, meninges, heart, liver, skin, etc.) and causes corresponding clinical symptoms in different organs.
