Running A Low Grade Fever (99.3), No Sore Throat Or

Posted on Sat, 23 Feb 2019

Question: running a low grade fever (99.3), no sore throat or cough/congestion. Have a little bit of nausea, vomited once. Slight stomach pain that is intermittent on left side. Is this likely a routine GI infection or could it be the flu? I received my flu shot.

Answered by Dr. Ramesh Kumar (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
This is mild gastroenteritis/flu shots are not 100% effective

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thank you for asking,

The symptoms you are describing are mostly suggestive of Bacterial gastroenteritis (commonly called food poisoning), which is the bacterial infection of the intestine. Mild fever is suggestive of infection of the intestine. Nausea, vomiting, fever etc are all symptoms of gastroenteritis.

Secondly left side pain is usually associated with intestine(diverticula's are there which are small pouches in intestines and get infected).

Stool analysis and culture are required to confirm the diagnosis.

Management is with antibiotics (usually a combination of Ciprofloxacin and Metronidazole) for which you will need a prescription. So please be advised to follow up with the urgent care/your physician.

For fever, you may take Acetaminophen(Tylenol) over the counter three times daily.
Meanwhile, drink plenty of water and electrolyte containing drinks like Gatorade. Follow soft diet. BRAT (Banana, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast) diet will be easier on your tummy.

You can also take Buscopan 10 mg thrice daily for abdominal pain.

Hope this answers your query
Please let me know if you need further clarification
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee

Follow up: Dr. Ramesh Kumar (4 hours later)

I had a CT scan in the ER last week where they said that i did not appear to have diverticulosis. They also said my bloodwork/urine analysis came back perfect. i went after first experiencing the sharp stomach pains on my left side. Does this mean they could have missed something on the CT scan or would they definitely have picked that up?

Answered by Dr. Ramesh Kumar (58 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Viral gastroenteritis.

Detailed Answer:
Hello again,
This means that you can be having viral gastroenteritis which is self limiting in nature.If CT was fine it could not be diverticulitis.Stool test is some thing not very sensitive and often misses out infection.
Start taking the diet I suggested with over counter medicine you would start feeling better.

Note: For further follow up on digestive issues share your reports here and Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T