Signs and symptoms

Gastroenteritis is called stomach flue bit it is not exactly same as influenza. Flu (influenza) affects your respiratory system, nose, throat and lungs. Gastroenteritis affects your intestines, causing signs and symptoms such as:

• Watery, usually non-bloody diarrhea. Bloody diarrhea indicates serious condition.
• Nausea, vomiting or both.
• Abdominal cramps and pain.
• Low-grade fever.
• You're not able to keep liquids down for 24 hours.
• You've been vomiting for more than two days.
• You're vomiting blood.
• Dehydrated. Signs of dehydration include excessive thirst, dry mouth, deep yellow urine or little or no urine, and severe weakness, dizziness or lightheadedness.
• Blood in bowel movements.
• Fever above 101 F.
• Hasn't had a wet diaper in three hours
• Has bloody stools or severe diarrhea
• Has a sunken fontanel (the soft spot on the top of a baby's head)
• Has a dry mouth or cries without tears
• Is unusually sleepy, drowsy or unresponsive

Signs and symptoms may look within one to three days after real infection and may be mild to severe. These symptoms may last just one or two days, but normally they may persist as long as 10 days.

Because the symptoms are similar, it's easy to confuse viral diarrhea with diarrhea caused by bacteria such as salmonella and Escherichia coli (E. coli) or parasites such as giardia.