Gastroenteritis, popularly termed as stomach flu, is an inflammation of the stomach and the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in a ruthless mix of symptoms. The most common cause of stomach flu are viral infections; however, it can also be caused due to bacterial or parasitic infections and food-borne illnesses. The symptoms of stomach flu usually last up to 14 days. The condition is a highly contagious one that spreads through an oral-fecal route. The most common symptoms of stomach flu are as follows:

• Diarrhea
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Cramping in the abdomen
• Low-grade fever
• Chills
• Muscle aches

Here are some tips to treat the symptoms of the stomach flu:

Drink Lots of Fluids
When affected by stomach flu, your body loses essential bodily fluids through vomiting, diarrhea, and sweating. Therefore, it is important to consume these fluids to regulate the body’s water levels and stay hydrated. The best fluids to consume when suffering from the symptoms of stomach flu are as follows:

• Clear liquids such as water
• Ginger and peppermint tea to relieve nausea
• Energy drinks that assist in electrolyte replacement
• OTC preparations

Additionally, make sure to avoid highly caffeinated drinks such as coffee or black tea. These can muddle with your sleeping patterns and further upset your stomach.

Follow the BRAT diet
Most of the times, people with stomach flu do not feel like eating. But when they do, it’s best to start with a BRAT diet. BRAT is the acronym for bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. These four foods are easy to digest and a rich source of carbohydrates. They will replenish the vital nutrients in your body and give you the needed energy to function.

On the other hand, it is advisable to avoid dairy products, fibrous foods, and anything that is greasy or spicy as it will further complicate stomach distresses.

Try Acupressure
Acupressure is a great technique that helps in alleviating nausea and other symptoms of an upset stomach. You can locate the pressure point P-6 by measuring the width of three fingers, starting from the bottom of your hand palm. Massage the area with your thumb for 2-3 minutes to experience relief.

Medicate with Caution
Several people take to medicines for curing the symptoms of the stomach flu. However, it is important to note that stomach flu cannot always be cured with medications, and taking antibiotics will not help if the condition is caused due to a viral infection. Certain medications can be taken for stomach flu unless you suffer from a liver disease. They relive aches and fever and is less likely to upset your stomach. You can also take over-the-counter antidiarrheal medications to ease symptoms that are usually associated with stomach flu, such as diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is basically a viral infection. It is a common viral illness that is more prevalent in young children than adults. It can occur in older children or adults as well. This disease is characterized by fever, sores in the mouth, and rashes on hand, feet, buttocks, and legs.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease is more common in children below the age of 10 years. The virus causing HFMD is called coxsackie virus. This disease spreads through physical contact. You could get it from someone who has it or by touching something that has been in contact with the virus. This disease occurs more during the summer and fall seasons.

Symptoms of hand, foot, and mouth disease
Fever and sore throat are the first few symptoms of the disease. Followed by painful blisters developing on the inside of the mouth and on the tongue. Rashes also develop on the palms of the hand, soles of feet, elbows, buttocks, and legs. These rashes may turn into blisters.

How to prevent hand, foot, and mouth disease
Hand, foot, and mouth disease usually goes off on its own within 7-10 days. There is no treatment or vaccine for this disease. Symptoms can be eased with over-the-counter medication. The following preventive measures can be taken to prevent the spread of the disease:

• Refrain from sending an affected child to school until he/she fully recovers. The virus can easily spread when the infected person sneezes or coughs. Also, when the blisters or sores break open, the chances of the virus spreading through contact is very high.
• Encourage proper hygiene like the washing of hands and feet with soap and water.
• Disinfection of dirty or unclean surfaces at school and home.
• Avoidance of physical contact with infected people. Close contacts like handshakes, kissing, and hugging must be avoided to prevent the spread of HFMD.
• People traveling to countries where this disease is prevalent must maintain proper personal hygiene.
• Sharing of utensils for eating and drinking must be avoided to prevent the spread of the virus.
• Clothes worn or used by the infected person must be disinfected before wash.
• Playing outdoors when affected by the virus must be avoided.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease in children causes fever and a decrease in drinking and eating. Special care must be taken to stay hydrated and increase the calorie intake when the child is affected by this disease.

You may or may not know you are suffering from fibromyalgia. There is no specific test to determine its onset and is quite often poorly identified among the masses. Doctors generally test you for other diseases and conclude on fibromyalgia when everything else is ruled out. It is the second most common disease affecting the muscles and the bones. The most common symptom is the pain experienced in the joints and the feeling of fatigue for no reason. Here are a few of the symptoms of fibromyalgia seen in women. If you are suffering from these symptoms, visit a doctor immediately to get it diagnosed. While this disease has no cure, its symptoms can be managed.

Most common symptoms of fibromyalgia are as follows 

• Widespread pain
  You may wake up in the morning and not feel refreshed. You may suffer from aches, stiffness, and body pain. The disease triggers the central sensitization of the body. This essentially means that body starts to get overly sensitive to anything. You may feel pain when you touch something, or if someone touches you. While pain medications do help, walking, jogging, acupuncture, swimming, and aerobics can go a long way in easing the symptoms of fibromyalgia.
• Fatigue
  You may feel fatigued at the end of the day or when you wake up. You may have not done much, yet you feel extremely tired. You can sleep better if you get an acupuncture and practice yoga. It is one of the most common symptoms of fibromyalgia.
• Migraines
  Severe headaches and migraines are yet another most common symptoms of fibromyalgia in women.
• Sleep issues
  You may not be able to sleep properly, wake up several times at night, or have trouble sleeping at all. Hypnosis and meditation can help get your sleep cycle back on track in such a case.
• Brain fog
  Your thought process may not be as clear as it once was. You may suffer from fogginess of thought and forget things more frequently than before.

Fibromyalgia generally affects women aged in their twenties and thirties. It is more common in women than men. It is important to understand the above-mentioned symptoms as it is tricky to diagnose this disease. If you are suffering from the aforementioned symptoms of fibromyalgia, pay a visit to the doctor at the earliest. There is no cure for the disease but a combination of exercise, healthy diet, medication, and stress management techniques can help you live a normal, active, and healthy life.

Groin pain can be extremely uncomfortable and unsettling. Be it due to some injury or some underlying condition, you need to seek immediate treatment. To put into perspective, you are experiencing pain below the beltline, you just have to find out the reasons for the same. At times the underlying cause of the pain may be due to your daily routine and simple tasks that you undergo. This might require serious medical attention. If you are experiencing pain consistently, for a period of time, visit a doctor at the earliest. The most common cause of pain in the groin region is a tendon, ligament or muscle strain. Whatever be the case, ample rest, medications, strengthening exercises and rehabilitation can go a long way in helping cure you of your groin pain. Here are a few of the possible reasons for the pain.

Causes of groin pain
Inguinal Hernia
This condition arises when a loop of your intestine or fat pushes through weak zones in the muscles of the belly. It may lead to a bulge appearing at the scrotum or groin. 1 in 4 men experience this condition in their lifetime. The problem with this condition is that it can cause the blood supply to be cut off if the loop of your intestine or fat gets stuck in the wall of the belly. Here are a few common symptoms of the condition you should look out for:

• Nausea, fever, and vomiting
• Inability to pass a dump or gas
• Sudden searing pain near the bulge or redness around the same

Epididymitis
This condition is characterized by the swelling of the tube that stores sperm. It is most often caused by an infection and may lead to a fever, pain while passing urine, on and off pain in the scrotum and milky discharge from the penis.

Prostatitis
An infection or swelling in your prostate gland leads to this condition. It often goes away by taking antibiotics. The condition leads to pain in the groin region and urination problems.

Men who play sports often experience groin pain. The pain can be instantaneous or may build up over time. Ensure that you take time off the sport and get ample of healing and resting time. If you choose to continue playing with an injury, you may worsen your condition and cause further complications. Groin pain may be serious, so seek immediate attention when you experience pain.

What is the normal body temperature in babies and adults?
There are several factors which may influence the temperature of your body. It is of no surprise then that you may have a fever, sometimes at a lower temperature, while at other times you may have a fever at a higher temperature. According to research, our bodies are warmer during the day. This essentially means that one may have a fever at a lower temperature early in the morning. Other factors also influence temperature. Younger people tend to have higher body temperatures in comparison to older people. The ability to regulate body temperature decreases with age, the reason behind variation in body temperature due to differences in age.

Find below the fever temperature chart for babies and adults.

Fever temperature chart
As mentioned before, the body’s ability to effectively regulate temperature changes as one grows older. It becomes much more difficult for older people to conserve bodily heat. Older people are likely to have a lower body temperature. The fever temperature chart varies. Here are the normal temperatures for babies and adults:

• Babies and children: The acceptable range of normal body temperature falls between 97.9 degrees Fahrenheit and 99 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything higher than that constitutes a fever.
• Adults: In adults, the average body temperature ranges between 97 degrees Fahrenheit and 99 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything above that is a fever.
• Adults over the age of 65: The average body temperature in older adults, that is those 65 years and above, is lower than 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything above this constitutes a fever.

Visit a doctor immediately if your temperature is very high or is persistently high as it may be indicative of an underlying condition and would require instant treatment.

The fever temperature chart varies in babies and adults. If you measure your temperature through your armpit, the readings can be up to an entire degree lower than the reading from that in the mouth! Readings from the mouth, in turn, are lower than readings taken from the rectum or the ear. Factors like diet and the level of physical activity you engage in can also influence the body temperature. Ensure that you have a thermometer at home to record temperature if you are not feeling well over an extended period of time. It may so be that the underlying reason for your fever is something other than what you may think. Hence, consult a doctor immediately.

Before starting the treatment, it becomes really important to find out what type of urinary incontinence you are facing. Your doctor will start your treatment with a thorough physical examination of your body. He or she may also ask you to do some simple maneuvers that will indicate the incontinence. After finding out the exact cause of your problem and the type of problem you have, your bladder problem treatment will begin.

After the initial diagnosis your doctor will in most likelihood recommend the following:

• Urinalysis
  A sample of your urine will be tested in order to see whether you have any signs of infection or traces of blood or any other abnormality.
• Bladder Diary
  You will be asked to keep a note on how much liquid you drink and how much urine you produce. Also, you have to notice that whether you had an urge to urinate or it is one of those incontinence periods.
• Post-void Residual Measurement
  You will be asked to urinate in a container which will measure your urine output. After that, your doctor will check how much urine is left in your bladder with the help of a catheter or an ultrasound test. If a large amount of urine is left in your bladder then it will indicate an obstruction while urinating or a problem with your urinal muscles or nerves.

If your doctor is not satisfied with these tests, then he or she may recommend more urinal tests such as pelvic ultrasound and urodynamic testing.

Treatment
Your bladder problem treatment will depend on the type of problem you have according to its incontinence, underlying reasons, and severity. A combination of treatments is required and if there is an underlying cause then the doctor will look to heal that condition first. After seeing your condition, your doctor is more likely to recommend:

• Bladder training
  This treatment of this bladder problem, you will be asked to delay urination after you get an urge to urinate.
• Double voiding
  This treatment of this bladder problem, you will be emptying your bladder and then wait for a few minutes to try urinating again.
• Scheduled toilet trips
  In this treatment, you will be asked to urinate every 2 to 4 hours rather than awaiting the urge to go.

The above are some of the treatments your doctor is likely to recommend if you face an issue of urinary incontinence.

Bowel disorders or bowel problems are a group of ailments that result from prolonged infection or inflammation of the digestive tract. The mouth, esophagus, stomach, small and large intestine are the parts that make up the digestive tract. Any infection or inflammation in one or more of these parts results in bowel problems.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohn’s disease, intestinal obstruction, and celiac disease are some common bowel problems. Most of these bowel disorders result from conditions that affect the small and large intestine. These bowel disorders affect the body’s ability to digest and absorb food.

Symptoms of bowel problems
Typical symptoms of the disorder revolve around impaired digestion. These symptoms will vary with the type of disorder and the individual. Common symptoms of bowel disorders are:

• Abdominal discomfort or pain
• Bloating of abdomen and gas
• Nausea
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Constipation
• Blood in stools
• Unexplained, sudden weight loss
• Incomplete emptying of bowels
• Abdominal cramping

Potentially severe symptoms like blood in stools, fever or sudden weight loss require immediate medical intervention.

Causes of bowel problems
For most of the bowel disorders, the causes are unknown. Disorders like Crohn’s and IBS do not have clear causes, but their risk or trigger factors have been identified. Celiac disease is a genetic condition; those who have a family history of the disease are more likely to be affected.

Risk factors
Some of the risk factors of bowel disorders are listed below.

• Smoking is considered a trigger for bowel disorders.
• Environmental factors like diet are one of the leading causes of bowel disorders. A diet plan that has excessive salt, oil or fat is considered a trigger for bowel disease.
• Microbial and immunologic factors cause bowel infections.
• Genetic disposition is a key cause of bowel diseases. Those with a family history of bowel diseases like Celiac disease have a predisposition towards the disease.
• Injuries to the abdominal area that cause a rupture of internal organs may cause bowel disorders.
• Surgeries to organs of the digestive tract may cause bowel disorders, especially in cases of improper surgical procedures or inappropriate post-surgical care.
• Medications such as antibiotics, antiviral or antibacterial medications can impact the digestion system. Side effects of these medications like heartburn or acidity or diarrhea may lead to bowel disorders.

Symptoms of some bowel problems like diarrhea can strike anytime, causing considerable embarrassment for the person. Lifestyle changes go a long way in dealing with these bowel disorders.