How do you avoid bugs?

[pussinboots]

I know its impossible to avoid bugs generally and we emets would love to be able to avoid them altogether.

Following on from my previous post (and thanks a lot for your help) I am now very wary of catching such a bug again. I am just recovering from it and am back at work but am terrified of eating anything other than soup or toast and I panic at every little twinge in my tummy which I know I am bound to get with not having eaten properly for three days. It was only October when I had this bug before and it totally wipes me out and brings back my emet, even though I haven’t V**d, thank goodness.

I have noticed that friends of mine who don’t eat stuff like sausage rolls and pasties like I do never seem to suffer from tummy bugs. At work last week we had a buffet where everyone brought in food. This food was kept out for a full day at a time, taken back to the fridge at the end of the day and brought out again the next day. I ate some sausage rolls and stuff from this buffet and my friend thinks this could have upset me, though I know there’s a bug going about too so it could have been either. I feel from now on I’d like to avoid such stodgy foods in future as this may help keep away the nasty stomach bugs do you think?

My friend also suggested I don’t eat or drink anything at my Mum’s home when I go just to reduce the risks of catching anything from there as bugs do go round often in old people’s homes. The thing is I spend a lot of time there and do like a coffee while I’m there and the staff and residents drink and eat there all the time and don’t continually have bugs. Its like bugs can go round at work too can’t they? I know the other way to avoid a bug would be to stay in 24/7 and have no contact with the outside world at all but that’s just impractical and would cause major depression.

How do we get through this constant fear of catching the dreaded bugs?

[chicajojobe]

Here's the ways I've heard are good for avoiding stomach bugs....



1. Wash your hands often. Always after using the bathroom and before
you eat. Also alcohol based hand sanitizers can kill sv germs so that
can help if you don't always get to wash your hands.



2. Avoid touching your face a lot especially your mouth, eyes, and nose because that is how sv germs enter the body.



3. Make sure your food is properly prepared and stored.



What you said about buffet at work sounds half right. I don't eat
sausage because I don't like it but I do eat pastries. They're
fattening but they aren't any more likely to give you stomach bugs then
a salad is. However, you said that those foods were left out all day. I
definetly wouldn't eat that because if they are out all day then any
parishable foods like meats become breeding grounds for bactera and
even non-parishable ones like crackers can get germs on them if they're
left out in the open all day for people to touch with their germy hands
or sneeze on or who knows what!



What your friend said about the nursing homes is true, stomach bugs do
go through them a lot because it's a bunch of people, many of which
have comprimised immune systems, who live in close quarters. You may
want to not eat there, but having a cup of coffee sounds okay. The water to
make coffee is heated which helps kill germs in it.



If you're especially worried about something going around at work you
could try cleaning up your work area. I've seen several tv specials
where they swabbed the keyboards and the toilet seats in office buildings
and when the cultures come back they show that there's more germs on
the keyboards then the toilet seats.



Also some probiotic yogurt drinks may help your stomach recover from
the bug you just got over. They replace the good bacteria in the GI
tract which aid in digestion and help strenghten the immune system.


Edited by: chicajojobe