if noro is in the intestines and not the

[xmdslatx]

stomach...why is vomit contagious?

[moodyspasmodic]

that's a REALLY interesting question...i have no idea, but i'll bump up
your post so someone can hopefully answer us!

[xheartsxoliviax]

yeah i want to no so if its in your intestines if you get pain there does that mean your going to get a sv? eeeek! im more panicked now!

[jkl81]

More commonly a pain in the intestines is just trapped gas. I'll take a stab at why the v* is so infectious, as per Doug's site on v*ing, your body pulls up some stuff from the small intestine when you v* partially to neutralize the acid from your stomach, so you actually have quite a bit of intestinal material in there. If I'm not mistaken the horrific smell also comes from the small intestine from butanoic acid. HCL as is found in the stomach in its pure form has no color and no smell, but if the body did not partly neutralize it before v*ing it would burn the crap out of your upper digestive system. Its a VERY strong acid in its pure form.

[jubidyjub]

I'm using my knowledge to draw a conclusion, so don't go telling
everyone until I'm sure it's right

--------------------
*not sure if graphic (I use full words)*

When you vomit, though most of it is from your stomach, a good amount
of it comes from your intestines. If the to virus began multiplying above
the gall bladder I believe there would be a much higher chance than in
the vomit would be much more contagious than if it had multiplied
farther along. So I guess what makes it so contagious is, like I said
earlier, the bit that came from the intestines.

Also vomiting and diarrhea from noro is because of inflammation from
the destroyed cells not because your body is trying to remove the virus.

[jkl81]

That sounds right, using my logic as well, not a doctor or virologist here but that's what the info from Doug's site suggests. Good info there.

[xmdslatx]

ohhh..ok.that makes sense.

thanks!

[gumdropper1]

Doug here. Thanks for all those references to my Vomiting FAQ. I am very flattered.

The intestines are the point where norovirus enters the body, but vomiting is often the result. This is because the virus is targeted at intestinal cells. When this happens, the body senses an intestinal infection and responds by causing vomiting or diarrhea or both. Vomiting is often an efficient way to get rid of something in the intestines. It is only a foot or so from the first part of the small intestine to the mouth, but it is 30 feet from there to the anus. It basically makes no difference that the infection is not particularly well eliminated by either vomiting or diarrhea. It is simply how the body responds.

An even more perplexing question is why motion sickness causes vomiting, when motion is detected in the ears. There is no chance that vomiting will help the ears clear up. The reason is that the vestibular system in the inner ear is overstimulated by motion the same way it gets stimulated when the body has been poisoned. The brain interprets this overstimulation of the vestibular system as a sign of poisoning and responds by causing vomiting.

This was proved by giving dogs poison (digitalis I think). All the dogs vomited. Then they removed the inner ears of the dogs and poisoned them again. Some of them did not vomit.

You can learn more about how matter from the intestines gets vomited by watching this fascinating video. It is all x-rays, so don't worry about seeing anything gross.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6y5SykbqJE

Doug