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How to avoid contracting the stomach flu?


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Yikes, probably not! A couple of years ago, I got it from my niece (who also gave it to my other niece) and she was pretty much over it. Then my poor mom caught it when she picked up the girls (I was so sick from it and couldn't even change small girl's diaper) and she was in my house for less than 5 minutes.

 

Perhaps I would prepare for it, just in case....

 

ETA: Dumb question but did you know the girls had the stomach flu?? If not, why on earth were you not informed?? I would be highly annoyed if I brought my girls to a room full of stomach flu kids without that knowledge!!

Edited by MissKNG
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Most doctors I've dealt with are firmly against the regular use of hand sanitizers at home. They say proper hand washing is better. THIS is the one exception to that rule. They have always said-if you get a stomach bug in the house pull out the Purell. It may not be enough to save the first victim but it can help everyone else.

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ETA: Dumb question but did you know the girls had the stomach flu?? If not, why on earth were you not informed?? I would be highly annoyed if I brought my girls to a room full of stomach flu kids without that knowledge!!

 

I actually was wondering the same thing.....

 

:grouphug: I always dread the stomach flu. One tip someone gave me was to use trashbags in the trashcan and have them throw up in them. That way you don't have to physically handle anything. If she gets it, I would purell and lysol.

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He was away on a ski trip with the high school ski team. Apparently a group of girls came down with the stomach flu last night. They were all coming home today and had to turn the condos back over to the ski resort. Coach ended up keeping one condo late for the sick girls to stay in until time to come home this afternoon. Ds hurt his hip & knee yesterday evening, and decided to sit it out today. He used poor judgement and spent the day in sick-girl condo instead of in the lodge. I didn't find out about any of it until after I picked him up.

 

I think I'll run out and get some Purell. Maybe I should isolate him in the guest room, too. Ugh. I hate the stomach flu!

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Noro viruses circulate this time of the year and IIRC purell won't kill them.

 

I would start probiotics. Can't hurt, might help, and might decrease the severity if DC does contract it. Look for a good refrigerated brand like Udo or Jarrow. I'd start the whole family just to make myself feel better.

 

Any chance they had food poisoning (were they all together somewhere else before today?) or something other than a viral type stomach flu?

 

eta: any slim chance this was an alcohol-induced stomach "flu?" Just asking, as I know when I was in HS, ski trips were notorious for alcohol consumption. Just tossing that out as a possibility.

Edited by Momof3littles
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Purell won't kill the most common stomach bugs. Handwashing is the way to go.

 

I'd make sure he's showered and changed before touching anything in the house, get probiotics going to maybe lessen severity should it hit, and have everyone start practicing good handwashing habits especially in the restroom. If he's coming down with it he can be contagious before symptoms so I'd treat bathroom surfaces and hands as contagious until proven otherwise.

 

Maybe it was something other than a stomach virus.

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DS thinks it could have been food poisoning. All three of the affected girls had shared a pizza for dinner. Don't know what about a pizza could poison you, though.

 

I wondered about the alcohol possibility.

 

Either way, I want to take precautions just in case.

 

I did send ds to the shower, and moved his stuff into the guest room. He is a compulsive handwasher, but I think I'll wipe everything down with bleach anyway.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions! I think I'll look for the probiotics in the morning.

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Don't know what about a pizza could poison you, though.

 

 

The sauce could have gone bad, or one of the toppings could have been tainted. With a flavorful food like pizza, sometimes it's hard to tell when one of the ingredients has gone bad, and if the girls were drinking, they might not have been in the best shape to notice something like sour pizza sauce.

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Firstly, I would give him - or increase his dosage of - probiotics and vitamin C. Bio (active) yoghurt is a good alternative to probiotic capsules, and vitamin D3 will support his immune system.

 

If he comes down with the bug, then you could try what I do. This has never failed to work for me, dh, and the kids and we probably get a stomach bug every other year. The old saying "feed a cold, starve a fever" works around here: during the time when someone is being sick, we don't eat or drink anything. If the person hasn't stopped being sick within 6-8hrs, we go to the Dr, but I can't remember the last time it got that bad. After the last time of being sick, we time 12hrs, after which we reintroduce drinks and food like this:

1st 2hrs, every 20mins: a mouthful of water

Next hr, every 20-30mins: 2 tbsp of bio (active) yoghurt and a mouthful of water

Repeat until 24hrs after the last episode of vomiting

Then, we offer juice, Popsicles, crisps and dry toast for a few hours - not too much because you don't want to aggravate the stomach, but enough so the person isn't starving. After that, we allow them to have what they want as long as it doesn't contain any meat or dairy (not including bio yoghurt), or a lot of sugar. All foods are allowed when they reach 48hrs after the last episode of vomiting.

 

This is detailed, and may sound overly prescriptive, but it works here every time. My caveat is that my kids are 12, 10, 6, and nearly 4. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have done it like that before any of them were 2yo, and between 2 and 3yo I probably shortened those times, but I can't honestly remember any of mine having a serious stomach bug before they were 2yo anyway.

 

HTH!

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Oscilliococcinum stopped it for us this past week. Two doses 6 hours apart although the nausea quit right after the first dose. I had only used it for the achy flu before but it seemed to work for the stomach flu this time. Won't know if it was a coincidence or not until we face it again. You do have to catch it at the VERY beginning for it to be most effective though.

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DS thinks it could have been food poisoning. All three of the affected girls had shared a pizza for dinner. Don't know what about a pizza could poison you, though.
The most common form of food poisoning is chemical. That is, the food handlers wiped down a surface with some cleaner not intended for food surfaces and then put the food on it. Easy to do, as most restaurants have a variety of cleaners, all in similar industrial sprayers.
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