New gut illness in Big Country: Fever, nausea, and diarrhea symptoms
Many in the Big Country opt to stay home after the latest sickness sweeps through our area. The sickness is gut-biased, with patients suffering from symptoms like fever, abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea. My Emergency Room 24/7, located at 4438 S Clack Street, says its phones have been ringing nonstop from people seeking relief from these symptoms. Emergency Medicine Physician for My Emergency Room 24/7, Dr. Rena Salyer, spoke to potential origins for this current ailment.
'You can name a million things. It could be a bacterium that is working its way through our water supply; it could be any number of viruses that are in our environment and that we pass from one another,' Dr. Salyer said.
While these symptoms are unpleasant, Dr. Salyer describes how they are short-lived but could develop into complications for more serious issues.
'For most folks, it seems to be self-limited just a couple of days. Folks that are having some problems… I've got a few patients where it's just obliterated their gut biome, and they get a secondary infection called the C Diff, which is very problematic and difficult to treat,' Dr. Salyer said.
Dr. Salyer went on to elaborate on how the severity of these symptoms for some people largely stems from what we choose to eat and that consuming fewer processed foods can lead to better overall gut health.
'I think that it's only problematic because we have less of the good bacteria in our colon, and then we're used to the probiotics that we take now, with the important ones being bifidobacteria and lactobacillus. We're just not getting those in our food anymore,' Dr. Salyer said.
The experts at My Emergency Room 24/7 say the best ways to counteract the sickness are to reduce proximity to those who are already sick and take proper safety precautions, such as wiping down infected surfaces and thoroughly washing your hands.
BigCountryHomepage contacted the Abilene Taylor County Public Health District for more insight into this rise. Officials stated that water samples tested over the past couple of weeks have returned pathogens in the local supply.
The health district has confirmed that the illness is Norovirus, a highly contagious virus that spreads through contaminated food and water and physical contact. Fortunately, the symptoms usually last just a couple of days, and most people recover quickly.
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