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What Causes High Fever, Diarrhea, Body Aches And Headaches?
Question: 102 degree, diarrhea, ache all over , head ache. Had C-diff in July.
Brief Answer:
A visit to the doctor is required.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
High fever with diarrhea and general symptoms (headache and malaise) usually indicate gastroenteritis. There are many potential causes including Clostridium difficile if you've taken antibiotics recently or had a recent infection with it, diverticular disease, etc and there are other much less likely potential causes like inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, etc.
When high fever and diarrhea occur the doctor has to assess the patient. Signs like a high heart rate (higher than 100-120 per minute), low blood pressure (less than 90-100 mmHg), the presence of blood in the stool, general symptoms like confusion, faintness, etc usually indicate a serious infection. Profound and persistent abdominal pain may be an ominous sign while temporary pain that changes location every so often is not as worrisome.
A stool culture may identify the causative pathogen although in many cases it does not. Patients with fever and diarrhea usually do better with antibiotic treatment. Using a quinolone can be helpful in most cases but only your doctor can decide that. Adequate fluid intake is very important as both diarrheas and fever may result in loss of water.
I hope you find my comments helpful!
Regards,
Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis, Internal Medicine Specialist
A visit to the doctor is required.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
High fever with diarrhea and general symptoms (headache and malaise) usually indicate gastroenteritis. There are many potential causes including Clostridium difficile if you've taken antibiotics recently or had a recent infection with it, diverticular disease, etc and there are other much less likely potential causes like inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, etc.
When high fever and diarrhea occur the doctor has to assess the patient. Signs like a high heart rate (higher than 100-120 per minute), low blood pressure (less than 90-100 mmHg), the presence of blood in the stool, general symptoms like confusion, faintness, etc usually indicate a serious infection. Profound and persistent abdominal pain may be an ominous sign while temporary pain that changes location every so often is not as worrisome.
A stool culture may identify the causative pathogen although in many cases it does not. Patients with fever and diarrhea usually do better with antibiotic treatment. Using a quinolone can be helpful in most cases but only your doctor can decide that. Adequate fluid intake is very important as both diarrheas and fever may result in loss of water.
I hope you find my comments helpful!
Regards,
Dr. Panagiotis Zografakis, Internal Medicine Specialist
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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