Summer can bring higher risk for digestive problems

The Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) has cautioned that summer heat can affect gastrointestinal health and offered some tips for safeguarding people’s digestive system when the temperature rises.
“Many diseases in summer can affect the digestive system, including diarrhoea without vomiting or abdominal pain, which can cause frequent desire to go to the toilet. This happens due to eating food high in vegetable fat and hot spices or eating meat past -or close to- its expiration date,” said Dr Atia Ibrahim, family physician, PHCC’s Madinat Khalifa Health Centre.
A person may suffer from gastroenteritis that causes watery diarrhoea, vomiting, and abdominal cramps. Intestinal infections are caused by viral, bacterial, or parasitic infections. The infected person may need to do a stool analysis to discover cause and treat it.
Intestinal infections may develop into food poisoning, accompanied by vomiting, bloody diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fever, and a fall in blood pressure. The patient may require hospitalisation to receive appropriate treatment with intravenous fluids and antibiotics in case the stool and blood tests indicate that food poisoning is caused by bacterial infections, such as salmonella, shigella, and E. coli.
Some may also suffer from gastric reflux and heartburn when gastric acid flowing from the stomach back up into the food pipe, which may cause pain in the chest, hoarseness, or dry cough. This may occur during the summer due to eating spicy or fatty foods or eating dinner late at night, right before bed. It is thus recommended to have dinner several hours before bed and avoid spicy and fatty foods.
Indigestion is another health problem people may suffer from. Symptoms include bloating, gas and fullness, especially for those who suffer from Irritable Bowel Syndrome. They are advised to eat light meals containing fluids and fibres to prevent constipation and indigestion.
Some may also suffer from constipation during the summer, due to the lack of intake of fibres and fluids such as soups, cooked or boiled vegetables, as well as poor intake of green salads with olive oil.