So when will I be "out of the woods?"

[luna33]

First, I just want to say I'm so glad you're all here. I found this siteseveral years ago and have lurked from time to time, but never was freaking out sufficiently to warrant registering . . . UNTIL NOW.


My daughter recently got her first sv. She's 3.5 years old and had only vomited two timesin the past, ever (maybe a future emetophobe) . . . and both times she was with my husband, who knows that v**** is *always* his job (I told him no kids otherwise). But they were isolated incidents. Not this time *shudder*.


We went to Easter dinner at my mom's where my sister and mom's bf both had a sv the preceding week. I figured it was safe to go as everyone had been healthy for 5 days by then. WRONG. My sister's husband and my daughter both woke up in the wee hours of Tues. morning with severe v****ing. (He did over 30 times, and my daughter did every 20 minutes from 4 am unitl 10 am . . . WORST six hours of my life . . . my husband went to work at 7 and left me literally holding the bucket!)


So somehow I survived that without running out of the house screaming, and supported my daughter. Since then she's been fine (no v****ing since 10 am Tuesday, and no other sympotms, no diarreah), but I'm a wreck. My husband and I have not yet gotten it, but it seems to have a long contagious period . . . At this point, do you think I can still get it from my house or daughter? I've Lysoled everything, washed all the sheets she's touched, but she keeps crawling into my bed . . . do I still need to change the sheets every time? And my clothes once she's touched them? How long can these horrible viruses live outside the body? My hands are bleeding and cracked from washing them constantly, but I'm panicking, and I don't want to treat my daughter like a leper. Although I have to admit I have moved to the couch (she always crawls into our bed in the wee hours, which is where she *shudder* commenced her sv, if you all know what I mean . . . )


HELP!

[jptk]

Adults dont usually pick up viruses from their kids. Children have a weak immune system and cant really fight it off, but adults can as there immune system is much stronger. So try not to worry too much, its unlikely you would catch it

[rileyl]

I am so sorry for you, Luna. I have two kids, and what you've gone through is my definition of NIGHTMARE. Anyway, I have dealt with my kids and sv's countless times, most recently about 2 weeks ago. Here's what I have learned from my experience.


NOTE: There is nothing scientific about this; it's just what I've experienced. But it seems like the research I've done backs it up.


Anyway, I have found that the sv is contagious AFTER the dreaded symptoms start to appear, and then for about 3 days after the symptoms STOP. This means if your daughter stopped v'g at about 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, she is probably not contagious after 10:00 a.m. on Friday.


Also, the incubation period for a sv is pretty short, 24-48 hours. It averages about 36 hours, so about a day and a half. I would say that if you caught it from her on either Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, you would have shown symptoms by now. The fact that you haven't bodes well for you. My guess is that you are "out of the woods." You can definitely rest easy by the end of this weekend.


Hope this helps. The above has proven itself out with my kids. So far, I have not caught a sv from them, and they have only caught one sv from the other, and they are 8.5 and 6 years old.


Best of luck.

[stella9]

Dear Luna 33,



Poor baby. I am so sorry that you have experienced this and slaps
to your husband (just kidding). The problem with svs are
two-fold. First is how long are people contagious? There is
so much debate on this and sadly there is no perfect answer. Some
sources state that people shed the virus for 72 hours after their last
episode of v*** and/or diarrhea. However, and this is the big
however, there are references that indicate that the virus can shed for
up to two weeks after the last v*** or diarrhea episode. How much
of that has the potential to create illness is
questionable. I usually adhere to a five day window.



The second big problem is how long the virus can stay on
surfaces. Stomach viruses need host cells in order to replicate,
but I have read that they can stay on surfaces and cause illness up to
a month later. That is quite frightening. This is probably
why cruise ships and hotels close up shop and scrub down their
environments when they experience an outbreak.



So, because of the ambiguous nature of the information I do
the following. If I know someone has had a sv, I stay away from
their home for atleast two weeks afterwards if not longer. As for
the wait after exposure, - I usually give it 7 days.



Stella