ProudGrandma Posted December 26, 2010 Share Posted December 26, 2010 if you have been following my saga today, we have the stomach bug at our house, wanting to leave for a 12 day vacation tomorrow...sick kid was only sick for a few hours and is now up playing with Christmas toys and eating a drinking with no problems. My question is...when are you the most contagious...I have heard people say right before you get sick, only when you are sick...and even for days after you are all better...so which is it...does anybody know???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plain jane Posted December 26, 2010 Share Posted December 26, 2010 *My* understanding is for stomach viruses, you're most contagious during and for a few days after. But, someone posted this the other day, which says up to two weeks after. :eek: We had stomach issues here with dh last night which has left me wondering what we're dealing with. :grouphug: to ya. It sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted December 26, 2010 Share Posted December 26, 2010 It really depends on the bug. They're all different. But in general, you're most contagious the first few days of illness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted December 26, 2010 Author Share Posted December 26, 2010 *My* understanding is for stomach viruses, you're most contagious during and for a few days after. But, someone posted this the other day, which says up to two weeks after. :eek: We had stomach issues here with dh last night which has left me wondering what we're dealing with. :grouphug: to ya. It sucks. that article makes me wonder what facts they are basing their information on...that just seems over the top to me and makes me think they just want to sell their products... hmmm...anybody else???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted December 26, 2010 Share Posted December 26, 2010 that article makes me wonder what facts they are basing their information on...that just seems over the top to me and makes me think they just want to sell their products... hmmm...anybody else???? I didn't read the whole thing but what I did read looks accurate. Which part are you questioning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted December 26, 2010 Author Share Posted December 26, 2010 When is the Stomach Virus Contagious? - Yahoo! Answers I just found this...this contridicts what the other article says....what do you guys think of this one?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted December 26, 2010 Author Share Posted December 26, 2010 I didn't read the whole thing but what I did read looks accurate. Which part are you questioning? I am questioning the 2 weeks after being sick thing....that seems crazy...kids are allowed back in school after being symptom free for 24 hours...and according to this, they would be infecting everybody they come into contact with... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Perry Posted December 27, 2010 Share Posted December 27, 2010 I am questioning the 2 weeks after being sick thing....that seems crazy...kids are allowed back in school after being symptom free for 24 hours...and according to this, they would be infecting everybody they come into contact with... Gastroenteritis (which isn't really 'flu') can be caused by a bunch of different pathogens, most commonly viruses and bacteria, but also some protozoans (like giardia)and parasites. So when someone is talking about stomach 'flu', it could be from one of many, many different bugs, each of which have their own specific properties. Unless there is a large outbreak, doctors rarely do tests to know which germ is causing the problem. Many viruses can survive outside the body for days or weeks, but that doesn't necessarily mean they can cause disease after that amount of time. All it means is that if someone goes into your house in two weeks and swabs the toilet, they may be able to detect the virus in their lab. It doesn't necessarily mean the virus is viable and can make you sick. Outside the body, the virus is undergoing degradation and at some point would no longer be infective. And how long a norovirus can hang around outside the body may be entirely different than, say, an adenovirus, or salmonella or giardia. As far as school policies, there is absolutely no good scientific reason for most of them. :glare: The policy that you can send a kid back to school after 24 hours of no fever is a long tradition, but has no good science behind it. For most infectious diseases, you are still contagious after 24 hours. Generally, you are more contagious right before symptoms start and then for the next few days, but for some illnesses you would be contagious much longer than that. Also, young children and immunocompromised people are contagious longer than other people, so it depends some on the person who is infected. When my kids had whooping cough last month, they had to stay home until they had completed 5 days of antibiotics. This is based on research done in the past that shows that after 5 days of antibiotics, pertussis can't be detected in the nasal passages. But I was unable to find any studies where they tried to detect it after 1, 2, 3, or 4 days! Those studies apparently haven't been done. So it's entirely possible that patients are not contagious after 24 hours of antibiotics. But since they don't know, to be on the safe side, 5 days at home is advised. That is my very long winded way to say yes, kids are probably still contagious when they go back to school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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