Intestinal Dysbiosis In Adults - Causes, Symptoms, How To Treat?

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 17:49

Intestinal dysbiosis in adults

Intestinal dysbiosis is a disease that occurs due to a violation of the microflora of this section of the digestive system, accompanied by a species change in the bacteria existing in it. There is a reduction in useful lacto- and bifidobacteria, and the pathogenic flora, on the contrary, grows. As a result, bowel function is impaired.

Normally, the intestines of an adult are inhabited by about 500 species of various microorganisms, the total weight of which can reach 3 kg. These are the so-called symbiont bacteria, which are involved in the process of digesting food. The most important for the normal functioning of the intestines are such types of bacteria as: bifidobacteria, bacteroids, lactic acid bacteria and E. coli.

They perform such important functions as:

• Stimulating the immune defense;
• Breakdown of undigested food that has entered the intestines;
• Formation of feces;
• Removal of toxins from the body;
• Synthesis of vitamins, enzymes, acids;
• Prevents constipation and diarrhea.

The state of balance of microflora is called normobiocenosis or eubiosis. When this balance is disturbed, dysbiosis develops.

Content:

• Symptoms of dysbiosis in adults
• Causes of intestinal dysbiosis
• Dysbiosis degree
• Diagnostics of the dysbiosis
• Answers to popular questions
• How to treat intestinal dysbiosis in adults?

Symptoms of dysbiosis in adults

Symptoms of dysbiosis in adults can be as follows:

• Diarrhea. Diarrhea with dysbiosis occurs due to the fact that an excess amount of bile acids accumulates in the human intestine. They contribute to the fact that water from the intestines is absorbed worse, contribute to loosening of the stool, and violate the integrity of the mucous membrane of the digestive organ.
• Constipation. This symptom is typical for people over the age of 50, suffering from dysbiosis. Often these patients have a history of chronic colitis and atherosclerosis. Long delays in the act of defecation are due to the fact that the intestinal microflora becomes untenable and cannot normally stimulate the contraction of the colon.
• Flatulence is also a symptom of dysbiosis in adults. It occurs due to the fact that the process of removing gases from the intestine is disrupted, and their formation is enhanced. Due to bloating, the patient begins to experience painful sensations, an unpleasant taste in the mouth, pain and burning in the region of the heart, nervousness, fatigue and weakness may occur. When flatulence has an acute course, the patient may develop dyspeptic asthma with severe shortness of breath, cold extremities, dilated pupils and pronounced bloating. (read also: Flatulence in adults - causes and symptoms, what to do?)
• Rumbling in the stomach. This symptom is especially intensified after eating, often accompanied by an acceleration of the evacuation of the food lump from the cecum.

• Abdominal pain with dysbiosis is most often pulling or bursting. They are not sharp, but monotonous, become stronger in the afternoon, accompanied by bloating. Colicky pains of severe intensity are extremely rare.
• Gastrointestinal dyspepsia syndrome. This symptom, characteristic of patients with dysbiosis, manifests itself in the preservation of appetite, in a feeling of fullness in the abdomen. Patients have belching, flatulence, nausea, and problems with bowel movements. Intestinal motility is impaired, its dyskinesia can manifest itself in intestinal colic. The pain disappears after the act of defecation.
• With pronounced processes of decay and fermentation, which are observed in only 25% of patients, the composition, shape and color of feces are disturbed. It becomes foamy, liquid, acquires a light color and a sour smell. There may be a burning sensation in the anus. If decay processes prevail, then the feces become fetid, and the gases have a pronounced unpleasant odor.

• Allergic reactions are also often symptoms of intestinal dysbiosis. Thus, patients often suffer from chronic food urticaria. It develops as a result of the production of excess histamine by bacteria, which is not able to be fully absorbed and excreted by the intestines, therefore it is absorbed into the bloodstream. At the same time, it can be quite problematic to establish the allergen. Continuing to eat foods that provoke allergies, a person contributes to the development of symptoms such as gingivitis, stomatitis, glossitis, esophagitis.
• Maldigestion or digestive insufficiency syndrome is a complex of symptoms characteristic of intestinal dysbiosis. It manifests itself in the fact that food cannot be completely digested due to a lack of enzymes in the cavity of the small intestine and on the intestinal membranes. Therefore, in the feces, particles of absolutely undigested food are found in an unchanged form. In addition, it is against the background of insufficient digestion that putrefactive and fermentative processes develop. This often leads to diarrhea, pain in the navel and in the iliac region, and spasms, which are relieved after the act of defecation.
• Intolerance to certain foods. Most often this applies to whole milk. A person, when consumed, begins to suffer from diarrhea, the stool liquefies, foam appears in it.

• The symptoms of polyhypovitaminosis in intestinal dysbiosis deserve special attention.

  They can manifest themselves as follows:

  1. Headaches, disturbances in the work of the peripheral nervous system (deficiency of thiamine and vitamin B6);
  2. Irritability, depression of mood, its frequent swings, inflammation of the tongue, its redness, an increase in the volume of saliva secreted (lack of nicotinic acid in the body);
  3. Stomatitis, cracked tongue, staining it bluish, dermatitis of the nasolabial folds, hair loss (lack of riboflavin);
  4. Hyperchromic anemia (lack of folic acid);
  5. Mood depression, bleeding gums (lack of vitamin P).
• The symptoms of dysbiosis are changes in the skin and mucous membranes. This is dryness, itching, allergic rashes.

• Possible intoxication of the body with symptoms such as: an increase in body temperature up to 38 ° C, headaches, general malaise and weakness, sleep disturbances. Intoxication occurs, as a rule, with the accumulation of metabolic products in the body of a person suffering from dysbiosis.
• Weight loss can also be a symptom indicating imbalance in the intestinal microflora.
• Decreased immunity and susceptibility to infectious diseases, as well as fungal infections. This symptom indicates a long-term existing dysbiosis.

Causes of intestinal dysbiosis

Intestinal dysbiosis is a secondary disease, it never occurs on its own, but is always the result of certain exogenous and endogenous factors.

So, the causes of intestinal dysbiosis can be as follows:

• Iatrogenic dysbiosis develops due to the intake of any medications that have a direct effect on the normal intestinal microflora. These can be antibacterial agents, hormonal drugs, cytostatics, sulfa drugs, histamine blockers, tuberculostatics, immunosuppressants, antacids, drugs that have a laxative effect. The performed surgical intervention is another reason for the development of iatrogenic dysbiosis.
• Improperly organized nutrition, in which the necessary amount of the necessary components does not enter the human body, can provoke the development of dysbiosis. It also occurs due to the consumption of various chemical additives contained in products. Disruptions in the usual diet and a sharp change in the usual diet are often provoking factors.
• Psychological reasons can negatively affect the functioning of the intestine and cause disturbances in its microflora. It should be noted that stress dysbiosis was identified by scientists quite recently. Previously, it was believed that emotional upheavals are not able to influence the reproduction of intestinal microflora.
• Intestinal infectious diseases.
• Diseases of the digestive system. It can be gastritis, cirrhosis, hepatitis, pancreatitis, stomach ulcer, etc.
• The acclimatization process often leads to disruptions in digestion and disruption of the intestinal microflora.
• Disorders in the functioning of the immune system, endocrine diseases, metabolic disorders.
• Disturbances of intestinal motility.
• Parasitic invasions, for example, giardiasis, trichomoniasis, helminthiasis, contribute to the destruction of the normal intestinal microflora and its colonization with pathogenic bacteria.
• Oncological diseases, diabetes mellitus.
• Old age can lead to disruption of the functioning of the intestinal microflora as a result of age-related changes in the body.

Sometimes almost completely healthy people can suffer from dysbiosis. In this case, the reason should be sought in the specifics of the profession, or in seasonal changes in nutrition.

Dysbiosis degree

It is customary for experts to distinguish four degrees of dysbiosis:

• The first degree of intestinal dysbiosis is characterized by a decrease in the protective endogenous flora by no more than two orders of magnitude. Bifidoflora and lactoflora are not disturbed, clinical signs of the disease are absent. This degree is characteristic of the latent phase of the development of the disease. There is a slight excess in the amount of Escherichia coli.
• The second degree of dysbiosis is characterized by the fact that not only quantitative, but also qualitative changes occur in the intestinal flora. The growth of conditionally pathogenic microorganisms is observed, the number of bifidobacteria decreases. Clinically, this is manifested in local inflammatory reactions of some parts of the intestine, however, the general well-being of a person is not disturbed.
• The third degree is characterized by an increase in signs of intestinal dysfunction, which is due to more pronounced disorders in the composition of the microflora. In the intestine, aerobic microflora begins to actively multiply: Proteus, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Clesibella, etc. The symptomatology of the disease is moderate, diarrhea or constipation, flatulence, and pain occur.
• The fourth degree is characterized by a decrease in the number of lacto- and bifidobacteria. The symptoms of dysbacteriosis are pronounced, intoxication is growing, vomiting joins, the stool becomes more frequent, liquefies. There is a decrease in body weight. The likelihood of developing sepsis increases against the background of destructive changes in the intestine.

Diagnostics of the dysbiosis

Diagnosis of dysbiosis begins with collecting complaints from the patient. In addition, an objective examination and collection of feces for microbiological analysis will be required. An objective examination of the patient is reduced to palpation of the abdomen, determination of areas of intestinal pain (thick and thin).

The indications for performing microbiological analysis of feces are as follows:

• Long-term ongoing intestinal disorders;
• Prolonged recovery period after intestinal infections;
• identified purulent-inflammatory foci that do not lend themselves to correction with antibacterial drugs;
• Disorders in the functioning of the intestines after radiation therapy, or after radiation exposure;
• Any immunodeficiency states;

Dysbacteriosis of the small intestine is detected by performing a scraping or aspirate of the jejunum. However, this technique is quite laborious, therefore it is used only in extreme cases, when other analyzes do not allow a diagnosis to be made.

Dysbacteriosis can also be suspected based on the results of biochemical analysis of feces, according to the results of a coprogram and gas-liquid analysis.

Answers to popular questions

• Can dysbiosis go away on its own? In some cases, it is really possible to independently rid the body of a minor disturbance in the intestinal microflora. For example, when the cause of the disorder becomes an experienced emotional shock, or the process of acclimatization. If the disease has not progressed beyond the first degree, then the dysbiosis can go away on its own. However, in this case, a person is unlikely to notice at all that he has a violation of the intestinal microbiocenosis. When more pronounced symptoms join, one should not hope for self-healing, it is necessary to seek help from a specialist.
• Is dysbiosis contagious? Dysbiosis itself is not a contagious disease, because it occurs against the background of any conditions of the human body. However, some of the reasons provoking it can be dangerous to the people around. For example, if dysbiosis develops against the background of helminthiasis.
• Can there be a temperature with dysbiosis? An increase in body temperature with dysbiosis is possible. It can be caused both by the cause of the development of dysbiosis, and by the dysbiosis itself, as a result of which symptoms of intoxication are often observed.

How to treat intestinal dysbiosis in adults?

Drug treatment of dysbiosis is reduced to taking medications aimed at restoring normal intestinal microflora, as well as correcting other disorders in the body. The selection of drugs and their dosage is selected exclusively by the doctor, after a full examination of the patient.

It can be:

• Prebiotics, for example: Hilak-forte, Duphalac. They contribute to the creation of conditions for the growth and reproduction of bacteria beneficial to the human body.
• Eubiotics, for example: Bifidumbacterin, Bifikol, Linex, Biosorb-Bifidum, Enterol. These preparations contain live bacteria that colonize the intestinal flora.
• Symbiotics, for example: Maltodofilus, Bifidobac. These preparations contain a probiotic and a prebiotic, therefore, not only create conditions for growth and reproduction and beneficial microflora, but also supply it to the body.
• Antibiotics are prescribed only at the last stage of the development of the disease in order to destroy the pathogenic microflora that threatens human health. Most often, these are drugs such as: Metronidazole, Doxycycline, Ampiox, Ceftriaxone.
• If, according to the results of the analyzes, a fungal flora was detected, then treatment with antimycotics is necessary. In this case, Levorin is most often prescribed.
• In case of severe disorders of the digestive process, patients are recommended to take enzymes, for example, Mezim, Pancreatin.
• Symptoms of intoxication require the appointment of sorbents, for example, activated carbon.
• Perhaps the appointment of multivitamins.

Read more: A complete list of drugs for dysbiosis

An equally important point in the treatment of intestinal dysbiosis is diet. It is important to exclude alcohol, fatty and fried foods, as well as foods that cause the processes of decay and fermentation in the intestines.

The author of the article: Gorshenina Elena Ivanovna | Gastroenterologist

Education: Diploma in the specialty "General Medicine" received at the Russian State Medical University named after N. I. Pirogova (2005). Postgraduate studies in the specialty "Gastroenterology" - educational and scientific medical center.