Noro outbreak EVERYWHERE!

[jbsmom]

I have been doing some research on the internet this evening about the recent Noro outbreak here in Japan. My kids are going back to school Monday and I am starting to freak out because from what i am reading its not gone. My youngest goes to preschool and i talked to his teachers last wednesday and they said 5 teachers and most of the students got it just before christmas. Of course they have been cleaning but I dont know if they are doing it well enough. If it was me i would even be washing the outside toys....thats my emet taking charge i guess. My middle child is a 2nd grader and we received an email a couple of weeks before Christmas about the Noro outbreak in Tokyo and Osaka. They closed the schools in those places. In my research i found out that the week of Christmas 6 people in Yokohama died in the hospital after having contracted noro and more than 100 people in staff at the hospital came down with it. In Osaka 2 people died. They are saying that there is a new strain of the virus out and it is running rampant. So what is going to happen to that vaccine if this thing can mutate into different strains. Thats why they cant create a vaccine for the common cold. Too many strains.
How long does it take for this virus to calm down and go away? I know it wont go away completely but dang man I can only stress out for so long. No one in my house is as wacked out as I am about this so hand washing isnt as important to them as it is to me. They dont run the other way when someone vomits, well except for my 2nd grader. He is emet too so I am sure he will bolt. My preschooler has no idea and my husband has the attitude of "if i get it, i get it" What he doesnt understand is, if he gets it, so does everybody else in the house. My mom also lives with us and she is definately not as careful as I am. I have seen her do the quick hand rinse in the bathroom and keep on rolling. I dont know how people do that! She got Noro a couple of years ago so you would think she would be more careful. I kind of scared her last night when she got D, i told her she might be coming down with it cause she didnt wash her hands as good as i did when we used the public restrooms. But today i am sure she forgot about it cause she didnt have the noro it was just the milk that the lady at the coffee shop put in her tea. Milk does that to her.
Sorry this is so lenghty but I need advice on how to deal with the stress of this outbreak. Some ideas on how long it hangs around, maybe its gone from the kids' schools? I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to buy the germstar noro but I dont know how to get it to Japan. I have an APO address which is an armed forces address from the US but germstar doesnt ship to APO. Any ideas? Help! I need to relax, it is consuming my every thought!

[zombie0037]

My advice stop reading about it, press like to make a drama about theses things, it's not a nice stomach bug, by the sounds of it one of your children have picked up on your fear, there is always stomach bugs going round, all year round, worrying in about it will just make it seem worse, if ya catch it, it will not be the end of world.

[Ana Bellini]

Stop researching about it, turn of the tv during the news. Forget about noro. Worrying about it won't make you stronger.

[jbsmom]

I think the reason i researched it is because the kids are going back to school on Monday and i want to see if the virus has moved on from our area. If i had some reassurance that the number of cases is decreasing in our area then i could relax a little more. I have been thinking about it a lot lately. I guess we got lucky and got out for vacation before it got us. I just hope we are lucky enough that the break gave the virus a chance to get out of the schools cause those that caught it didnt have to go back to school. I have found that a lot of parents dont follow the rules of not returning to school until there has been no V and no D for 48 hours. Then i wonder if since my kids didnt come down with it before the break will they be the ones to get it after? I am trying to stop worrying about it but as fellow emets you know that its hard to stop once you stop obsessing about something.

[Cynna]

This phobia is tricky. It makes you want to know more and more. You think the more info you get the calmer you will be since you know the facts. Problem is the mind is irrational and phobic and will often use this info to take your panic to the next higher level. Stop reading about. You will do nothing different. You are still going to wash hands.

Try to relax. It will be ok. I am sure you have instilled good hand washing in your kids. Try to distract your mind

[fixxxer2012]

it's not media hype this year, it is bad and is probably the worst they have seen in a decade. that and this inluenza A strain.

[sammy_gaga]

the media in the uk are hyping it up, if you look at the stats its been way worse

[jbsmom]

Check out my grape seed extract post! in a study done recently and published in November of 2012 they found that grape seed extract can kill noro! They compared it to the vaccine! Said that mothers who dont want their babies ennauculated so young can use grape seed extract as an alternative. It can actually kill the virus and make it non infectious!!!! According to the articles i read!

[mdgirl1977]

there are always strains of the sv going around. ALWAYS. it just seems worse in the winter/fall becaue we are cooped up indoors and people are around teh same people all day (school age kids, at least). if it gets your family in the summer, it probably wont be talked about alot. but at school, the teahcers and others kids notice and tell ppl. its really not as bad as you think. stop reading the news! it doesnt help!

[Rls1994]

it's not media hype this year, it is bad and is probably the worst they have seen in a decade. that and this inluenza A strain.

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