Rotavirus Symptoms

Is your child’s daily hygiene just summed up into a 10-minute shower? Is personal hygiene more important to you than cleanliness of your home? If yes, then it’s time to buck up your healthy habits and detoxify your place for good. Believe it or not, unlike what most people opine, infections aren’t always sourced from external agents. Anything from contaminated food to soiled restrooms to feces on your child’s diapers can expose you and your child to the risk of viral infections. One of the biggest threats that lurk within the confines of your house is rotavirus. Rotavirus is an extremely contagious bug that mostly infects the tots and the kids. From day cares to preschools to your home, these contagious bugs thrive everywhere and can easily infect you and your child. Rotavirus infection is primarily transmitted through the fecal-oral route. Hence, it’s important to pass on some basic lessons on hygiene to your kids. Frequently washing your hands and sanitizing your home is possibly the best line of defense against rotavirus. If your child has been down with fever and diarrhea of late and refuses to hold any food or water for long, then it probably should ring an alarm bell for you. Scroll down this write-up to acquaint yourself with the symptoms of rotavirus.

 

 

Vomiting 

Rotavirus is an awfully contagious virus that usually plagues the digestive tract and completely knocks out the small and the large intestines. Those infected with rotavirus infection find it extremely difficult to keep any liquids or food down for long. After the initial exposure, the patient may start vomiting frequently, throwing up almost 15-20 times in a day or every time he/she eats or drinks something. Vomiting can be severe and can last anywhere from 4-9 days.

 

Diarrhea 

If your child has frequent bowel movements and is passing watery, foul smelling, green colored stools every five to ten minutes, then in all likelihood your child is infected with rotavirus. Diarrhea is one of the most common symptoms of rotavirus infection and may last for several days, and can cause acute dehydration in the infected person. Apart from profuse diarrhea, the infected person may also complain of bouts of painful cramps and aversion towards food.

 

Fever 

One of the primary signs of the rotavirus infection is fever. It’s normal for the body temperature to soar during the incubation period. Babies infected with rotavirus can suffer from mild fever as and when the infection occurs, with temperature usually measuring between 101 and 102 degrees F. The fever usually lasts for a couple of days.

 

Dehydration 

One of the biggest complications of rotavirus is dehydration. Vomiting, fever and watery diarrhea deplete the body of its fluids leading to dehydration. Some of the most telltale signs of dehydration are drying up of mouth, no tears, and cool dry skin, less or no urine, fatigue, weakness, sleepiness, listlessness and excessive thirst. Large fluid losses can lead to extreme conditions and at times can also cause death in babies. 

Rotavirus infection is common among children aged between 4 to 24 months and can have fatal consequences in some cases. These symptoms of rotavirus will give you a better understanding of the disease and will gear you up better for the combat.