Dysbacteriosis of the intestine. Symptoms and Treatment

Qualitative and quantitative changes in the correct species composition of the intestinal or skin microflora are called dysbacteriosis. That is, it is a microbial state that is characterized by an imbalance of microflora within the body or on its surface. The most noticeable signs of intestinal dysbacteriosis appear in the gastrointestinal tract, but they can also be found on the skin, any exposed surface or mucous membrane of the body. This applies to the vagina, lungs, mouth, nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses, ears, nails or eyes. The causes of dysbacteriosis are associated with various diseases, for example, inflammatory bowel disease, as well as with chronic fatigue syndrome.

In small quantities, microbial colonies are in most cases useful. They perform a number of necessary functions, as well as protect the body from the penetration of pathogenic microbes. These beneficial colonies of microbial organisms compete with each other, which helps maintain a balance between them and avoid the dominance of specific microorganisms. When this balance is disturbed by a variety of antibiotics, inappropriate use of them, or because of alcohol abuse, the microbial colonies show a decrease in the ability to control each other's growth. This can lead to an excessively rapid growth of one or more colonies, which then harm some other useful colonies of bacteria, resulting in a dysbacteriosis of the intestine. Symptoms depend on the severity of the disease.

Usually dysbacteriosis is accompanied by severe weakness, malaise, decreased performance and headache. With a pale face and a general emaciated form, a man's stomach is swollen. Breastfed babies cry because they are concerned about abdominal pain, which usually accompanies intestinal dysbiosis in newborns. Symptoms: bloating, rumbling and diarrhea (diarrhea). The chair is greenish, has a mushy consistency, has a fetid odor, and becomes more watery when it becomes more frequent. The patient's appetite disappears.

There are four stages of this disease, which, it should be recalled, is not included in the International Classification of Diseases. Foreign specialists often use a term such as SIBR, called the syndrome of excessive bacterial growth. SIBR is diagnosed if more than 105 microorganisms are detected in 1 dm3 of the small intestine aspirate, and the flora of the small intestine approaches the state characteristic of the large intestine. In our country, only some doctors diagnose "intestinal dysbiosis", the symptoms of which depend on the specific stage.

At the first stage, there is a markedly moderate development of pathogenic microflora, but there are no signs of bowel dysfunction. In the second stage, there is a critical decrease in the number of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria of the intestine, that is, the obligatory flora changes noticeably, and colonies of pathogenic bacteria develop rapidly, and as a result, signs of bowel dysfunction (metiorism, abdominal pain and greenish stools) begin to appear. For the third stage, the inflammatory lesion of the intestinal wall is characteristic due to the development of pathogenic microflora. Here already there is a chronic intestinal dysbacteriosis. Symptoms are characterized by the appearance in the stools of particles of undigested food, and for children there is a danger of lagging behind in development. The fourth stage precedes acute intestinal infection due to the practical absence of obligate flora. It contains conditionally pathogenic and pathogenic bacteria and fungi. As a result, there is avitaminosis, anemia and general exhaustion.

If the doctor is diagnosed with an " intestinal dysbacteriosis ," treatment and symptoms should be related to the underlying causes (for example, due to excessive intake of antibiotics or as a result of infectious diseases). Only then are the necessary preparations selected containing bacteria that are deficient in the body, forming an obligate flora and capable of restoring the balance between specific microbial colonies. Simultaneously, the patient is prescribed drugs that inhibit the pathogenic microflora, as well as preparations containing enzymes (necessary to ensure the flow of chemical reactions of the digestive process), which in a healthy person are produced by a useful microflora.