What is the difference between diarrhea and vomiting

If you experience sudden diarrhoea and vomiting, the best thing to do is stay at home until you're feeling better. There's not always a specific treatment, so you have to let the illness run its course. You don't usually need to get medical advice, unless your symptoms don't improve or there's a risk of a more serious problem.

Gastroenteritis can spread very easily, so you should wash your hands regularly while you're ill and stay off work or school until at least 48 hours after your symptoms have cleared, to reduce the risk of passing it on see Preventing gastroenteritis. You don't normally need to see your GP if you think you have gastroenteritis, as it should get better on its own. Visiting your GP surgery can put others at risk, so it's best to phone or your GP if you're concerned or feel you need advice. Your GP may suggest sending off a sample of your poo to a laboratory to check what's causing your symptoms.

Antibiotics may be prescribed if this shows you have a bacterial infection. You can look after your child at home if they have diarrhoea and vomiting. There's not usually any specific treatment and your child should start feeling better in a few days.

You don't normally need to get medical advice unless their symptoms don't improve or there's a risk of a more serious problem. Make sure you and your child wash your hands regularly while your child is ill and keep them away from school or nursery until at least 48 hours after their symptoms have cleared see Preventing gastroenteritis.

You don't usually need to see your GP if you think your child has gastroenteritis, as it should get better on its own, and taking them to a GP surgery can put others at risk.

Your GP may suggest sending off a sample of your child's poo to a laboratory to confirm what's causing their symptoms. Antibiotics may be prescribed if this shows they have a bacterial infection. You can catch the infection if small particles of vomit or poo from an infected person get into your mouth, such as through:.

A person with gastroenteritis is most infectious from when their symptoms start until 48 hours after all their symptoms have passed, although they may also be infectious for a short time before and after this.

It's not always possible to avoid getting gastroenteritis, but following the advice below can help stop it spreading:. Take extra care when travelling to parts of the world with poor sanitation, as you could pick up a stomach bug.

For example, you may need to boil tap water before drinking it. Home Illnesses and conditions Stomach, liver and gastrointestinal tract Gastroenteritis. About gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis is a very common condition that causes diarrhoea and vomiting.

Stay off school or work until you've not been sick or had diarrhoea for at least 2 days. Call a pharmacy or contact them online before going in person. You can get medicines delivered or ask someone to collect them. They can arrange a phone call from a nurse or doctor if you need one. Go to Check with the GP surgery before going in. Babies vomit for a variety of reasons, many of which may require medical attention. You're most likely to contract viral gastroenteritis when you eat or drink contaminated food or water, or if you share utensils, towels or food with someone who's infected.

Some shellfish, especially raw or undercooked oysters, also can make you sick. Although contaminated drinking water is a cause of viral diarrhea, in many cases the virus is passed through the fecal-oral route — that is, someone with a virus handles food you eat without washing his or her hands after using the toilet.

Each gastrointestinal virus has a season when it's most active. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, for instance, you're more likely to have rotavirus or norovirus infections between October and April. The main complication of viral gastroenteritis is dehydration — a severe loss of water and essential salts and minerals.

If you're healthy and drink enough to replace fluids you lose from vomiting and diarrhea, dehydration shouldn't be a problem. Infants, older adults and people with suppressed immune systems may become severely dehydrated when they lose more fluids than they can replace. Hospitalization might be needed so that lost fluids can be replaced intravenously. Dehydration can be fatal, but rarely. When you're traveling in other countries, you can become sick from contaminated food or water.

If you have severe vomiting, don't drink sport drinks, such as electrolyte solutions. These don't have the right mix of water, sugar, and minerals. They can also make the symptoms worse. In this situation, commercially available oral rehydration solutions are best. Vomiting and diarrhea are ways your body uses to rid itself of harmful substances such as bacteria.

Don't use antidiarrheal or antivomiting antiemetic medicines unless your healthcare provider tells you to do so. Aspirin, medicine with aspirin, and many aspirin substitutes can irritate your stomach. So don't use them when you have stomach upset. Certain prescription and over-the-counter medicines can cause vomiting and diarrhea.

Talk with your healthcare provider about any medicines you take that may be causing these symptoms. Certain over-the-counter antihistamines can help control nausea.