Once you have noro, then what?

[lemonchar]

If you've been exposed to an s*v*, you're starting to feel ill...and panicky...is there anything you can do to prevent v*?? I'm 25 and reasonably healthy, have gone since 1991 without as much as a retch, and I was wondering if there was any hope after a norovirus exposure and onset of symptoms. Mint tea? Ice chips? In the past, I've managed to go without V* by maintaining tiny swallows until the n* passes...but I don't know if I've just avoided the nv altogether or been lucky or what.

Have you ever had nv and not v*??

[paulinek]

No, I had noro and v* - alot. And I know there are people on here who say they've had noro and willed themselves not to be s* but i really really don't know how on earth they did that and part of me does doubt if they even had noro in the firts place because honestly, i fought and fought as hard as i could - i was determined i was not going to v* but nothing could have stopped that - apart from maybe a good strong anti-emetic which i didn't have at the time, who knows maybe that would have worked maybe it wouldn't. I'd like to think they would do if taken early enough.

Ice chips and mint tea really won't cut it with noro unfortunately.

Noro is pretty hard to get really so long as you maintain good hand hygiene and only eat food prepared by others who also have good hand hygiene, i mean i'm 36 and i got it for the first time in my life a year ago, and the way i look at it is, if i live till i'm 70 odd i might get it once more(hope not tho!) and i suppose they are pretty good odds.

[lemonchar]

Paulinek, just curious: do you know how you got it?

I also hold out hope for the "every patient is different" thing you'll hear from doctors when there's an outbreak on the news...and the list of symptoms as including v*, n*, and d*--as though v* and n* were separate, like you could be n* and not v* but expect a lot of d*. Or is this just wishful thinking?

The reason I ask is because, like everyone else, I live where we're in the midst of nv season and in a university too. And my boyfriend, who is "normal," works in a pharmacy and has a baby nephew. Normal factors, but still--I want to know if I have any options once I'm exposed!

Sleeping in the car, not kissing him, not seeing the nephew etc. are not options for me as I decided a long time ago to continue acting "normal" even if I'm freaking out inside.

What about Xanax and other tranquilizers at the onset of noro? Do those have an effect, or would they upset an already distressed stomach?

[what_the_frick]

I don't know if I've ever had Noro ... I thought I'd had it in 2006, but after hearing Pauline say it was out of her control .. makes me think otherwise.

My kids & I got an sv* the end of Dec ... both my sons v*d all night. I came real close to v*, but fought it, like you, Lemon. I took an anti-emetic (promethazine) around 8p and was feeling horrible by 12AM ... felt better n*-wise after taking some Immodium. I mostly had d*. My fiance v*d once and had d* the rest of the time.

[paulinek]

what_the_frick - that sounds hopeful that the promethazine seemed to prevent v*! I know if i ever got that uncontrollable red hot water d* again i would take an anti-emet immediately - my only concern being that i'd have to stay on the loo as they send me to sleep and i wouldn't dare go to bed with that sort of d* lol

lemonchar - i'm not 1005 sure how i got it, but i think it was from a meal at mcdonalds 9and i hasten to add it was NOTHING to do with the food!) - what happened was, i took my finacees little boy to the loo, washed my hands, came back used some shand sanitiser then ate my meal (i didn't know at the time that most sanitisers don't protect from noro) because i got ill at the same time as my fiances son (who by this time had gone home) and then my fiance got it the next day off me. So I think it was probably on surfaces in the mcdonalds toilet or something. I know for certain it wasn't the actual food because a) it's pretty much untouched by human hand after cooking and my fiance and me had the same meal and he wasn't ill until 30 hours after i was.

Ever since then, i always use a sanitiser in that contains benzalkonium chloride and if i'm feeling particularly brave like in the summer i'll eat with my bare hands but 9 times out of 10 i hold the bun in it's paper wrapper and throw away the bit of chip i've been holding.

[what_the_frick]

I think it sure did help! lol .. falling asleep on the loo .. that would be a sight!

[lemonchar]

What about not eating? Is it possible to, once you're in/past the 48 hour "danger zone" to drink only water? Then you wouldn't have anything to v* up...right?

[deidre71]

Is noro a type of sv or is it another word for sv??

[what_the_frick]

Lemon - I've read that you're supposed to wait a certain amount of time after you v* before drinking even water. Usually ingesting something else causes you to v* again. I think the wait time is 2 hours? Sage can tell you for sure, or Pauline.

Deidre - Noro is a type of sv*. From what I understand, it's the nastiest. Usually both ends, same time.

[lemonchar]

I should clarify--what I meant by the 48 hours danger zone is the time after you were exposed (presumably, 48 hours earlier) and when symptoms show up. Basically, would it be worthwhile to drink a lot of water and flush yourself out before symptoms start, so that you'll be hydrated and not have much/any food in your stomach if n* starts?

[IceMaiden]

That's exactly what I do Lemon, if someone is sick I eat absolutely nothing, and drink tons of water, I haven't been able to test it fully yet, as I had the a tum virus 3 years ago, caught it off my nephew, didn't know he had it, so ate on the morning I was unwell, but the good news is when I have taken that precaution I haven't been ill, not sure whether due to not catching anything or the method yet though, either way even if you do get ill my opinion is it's better to bring up a bit of water then a belly full of food.

[turbokinetic]

Nothing is certain about a SV. It has a "usual course" it follows, but there are exceptions.

I truly and completely beleive I had noro (short for "norwalk-like virus" another name for "stomach flu") a few years ago and did not V.

We had over 50% of our workforce out of work with it, several went to the doctor and were diagnosed professionally with norovirus gasterointeritis. The course of the illness was sudden onset nauesa and V*, followed by mild fever and diarrhea for about 24 to 48 hours.

I had the sudden onset nausea, and came very close to V'ing but did not. The nausea came and went about every 30 minutes, with the first or second episode being the worst. After 2 or 3 hours of nausea, I started to feel loss of energy and feverish.

The nausea subsided during the night, with no further symptoms. There was no denying this was a real illness and not 'in my head' because I had a severe nausea and fever.

I was working in an environment where half my co-workers were stricken; two were professionaly diagnosed with noro, and all who left work V'd. I had the same fever, nausea, and felt bad for the same length of time - but did not have outward physical symptoms.

So it IS possible to wether this storm without V'ing.

I really really hope you don't have to go through this, V or not!!!!

Respectfully,
David

[sarabean518]

Turbo...Just wanted to say that I haven't been on in a couple of years, and reading through your posts are quite comforting. Im turning 30 in 2 months and have been semi "cured" over the last year, but having major setbacks this weekend.
Just thought you should know that you're helping me a bit today, so thank you for that.

[scaredycat]

I just heard a rumor that if you have been exposed to start drinking purple grape juice - something about it changing the chemistry of your gut to be resistant to the virus? Has anyone else heard of this?

[asianeko]

Now, are there other SVs aside from Noro? Because I knew I had noro once, there was a confirmed outbreak at my church. I was ill every hour on the hour for 24 hours. It was a nightmare.

I've had other bugs though, that are far less severe, some of which I was able to not V, and some where I still Vd a few times.

[pretendworld_]

From Wikipedia: Norovirus (formerly Norwalk agent) is an RNA virus (taxonomic family Caliciviridae) which causes approximately 90% of epidemic non-bacterial outbreaks of gastroenteritis around the world,[1] and may be responsible for 50% of all foodborne outbreaks of gastroenteritis in the US.[2][3] Norovirus affects people of all ages. The viruses are transmitted by faecally contaminated food or water and by person-to-person contact.[4]

[turbokinetic]

Turbo...Just wanted to say that I haven't been on in a couple of years, and reading through your posts are quite comforting. Im turning 30 in 2 months and have been semi "cured" over the last year, but having major setbacks this weekend.
Just thought you should know that you're helping me a bit today, so thank you for that.

Awe! Thanks, very happy I comforted you. Hope you get over your setback and have more smooth sailing!

My work life is highly variable, and some months I'm on here alot and others I'm hardly here at all. When I first found this place - I posted a LOT because I had many years of emet stories to share!

Sincerely,
David

[sarabean518]

Feeling a bit better. Its 2am and I woke out of dead sleep from my anxiety, but I feel ok besides the slight panic. Im not out of the woods just yet, but Im hoping my sister and I (the lone survivors of the sv in our house so far) are, in fact, survivors..

[kyphie]

I have found that a very strong brew of a herbal ginger tea(nothing with black tea!)is very effective in keeping me from *v. I've had a couple of sv* over the years but have managed to avoid *v using the tea and massive amounts of willpower. I highly suggest it to everyone here!!

[sage]

Hi folks - we have an Information and Research section now with a subsection called "Norovirus Facts". Check it out!

[andee]

Yes, I read and tried the grape juice thing when my son was exposed. I also gave him some garlic in rice, echinacea, etc. Thankfully no one got it, so maybe it helped...who knows?