Norovirus

[anne865]

Hi everyone..

Last night I was lying awake in bed having panick attacks about the norovirus which is going around. Today I went to work and my client (Im a hairdresser) had norovirus this week and was still feeling unwell, and I did her hair. I made sure that I did not put my hands on my face/mouth and washed them a million times after I had finished. I havent even eaten anything since doing her hair yet. I'm so worried that I will catch it. :-(

But is it right you cannot catch it if she coughs or breathes on me? Its only particles if she vomits near me or from touch.. only if I don't wash my hands and touch my mouth?

[ditchy_jon]

Hi Anne

You are right, she cannot breathe or cough virus particles onto you as they particles live in the stomach so they can only be caught via contract with vomit or diarreah. If she had it at the start of the week, it is very unlikely that she had vomitting or diarreah before meeting with you. And even so, you washed your hand many times, meaning the virus would not be on your skin. You have no chance of catching it this way.

[anne865]

Hi Anne

You are right, she cannot breathe or cough virus particles onto you as they particles live in the stomach so they can only be caught via contract with vomit or diarreah. If she had it at the start of the week, it is very unlikely that she had vomitting or diarreah before meeting with you. And even so, you washed your hand many times, meaning the virus would not be on your skin. You have no chance of catching it this way.

Thankyou so much for replying! She had the bug Tuesday night and Wednesday but said she hasn't been out and is still feeling ill today! :-( I was just thinking if there were particles in her hair etc. I may have them on my hands.. but I washed them a million times! Still so worried tho..

[ditchy_jon]

Thankyou so much for replying! She had the bug Tuesday night and Wednesday but said she hasn't been out and is still feeling ill today! :-( I was just thinking if there were particles in her hair etc. I may have them on my hands.. but I washed them a million times! Still so worried tho..

Norovirus stops become contagious 48 hours after the symptoms disappear, so lets say that she stopped being ill (as in vomitting) on Wednesday night at the latest. By Friday night, she would stop being contagious anyway. And ontop of that, she would have had to not wash her hands after last going to the toilet. Also if you didnt touch her hands then there is no way you could have come in contact with the virus. Also ontop of that you have been washing your hands, meaning that the norovirus would not have been washed off. There is no chance you would have come into contact with it. Go and put your feet up, watch a nice movie and enjoy your weekend.

[anne865]

Norovirus stops become contagious 48 hours after the symptoms disappear, so lets say that she stopped being ill (as in vomitting) on Wednesday night at the latest. By Friday night, she would stop being contagious anyway. And ontop of that, she would have had to not wash her hands after last going to the toilet. Also if you didnt touch her hands then there is no way you could have come in contact with the virus. Also ontop of that you have been washing your hands, meaning that the norovirus would not have been washed off. There is no chance you would have come into contact with it. Go and put your feet up, watch a nice movie and enjoy your weekend.

Thanks for your kind reply... it just amazes me how so many people are catching it right now though?! Is it all just hand washing? I also handled money from her, but again I washed my hands thoughoughly. Her hair did not feel very clean and I then touched it to colour it. But again I didn't touch my face at all and washed so much. So I'm still freaking out :-( I wish I didn't have this phobia.

[livepink]

Hey! Try not to worry, if she had it earlier in the week I'm sure she must have brushed her teeth so there wouldn't be any particles in her mouth so breathing on you wouldn't be an issue And as for the money, I've got a story for you that might make you feel better. I worked at Walmart for 2 years as a cashier.. and my emet was almost non-existent at that point. Anyways, I used to go from handling money and items on my register to eating and smoking a cigarette, and NEVER once thought about washing my hands, only did it after using the restroom. I went straight from touching money to eating and everything.. and in that two years I never caught anything but a cold! I'm ashamed to look back at my habits now but I was 16-18 so I was worried about getting to my breaks and hanging out So if you washed your hands after handling money you DEFINITELY should be okay xox

[ditchy_jon]

Thanks for your kind reply... it just amazes me how so many people are catching it right now though?! Is it all just hand washing? I also handled money from her, but again I washed my hands thoughoughly. Her hair did not feel very clean and I then touched it to colour it. But again I didn't touch my face at all and washed so much. So I'm still freaking out :-( I wish I didn't have this phobia.

To be honest only 2 I know (out of nearly 200 people I see on a weekly basis - including work, friends, pub lot etc) have definitely had norovirus. Someone else I know reported that he had it on facebook. He woke up Xmas day, vomitted twice, felt quesy the rest of the day and was absolutely fine the next. I am sure this was not norovirus. In Britain it is reported that 1.3 million people have had norovirus. That statistic is actually 1 in every 63 people have had it. The way I look at it is, imagine standing in a line with 62 people and your the 63rd person. Someone comes up to you and says, one of you is going to get norovirus. You would be very happy that your chances of getting it are extremely slim. The press over report it as there is nothing else to put on. Its not nearly as bad as the press have reported it to be. I wouldnt feak out though because what you have to think is there are many people who hardly wash their hands and they don't get norovirus, yet you wash your hands more than most, meaning you have next to no chance getting it.

[anne865]

livepink - wow you were very lucky then to not catch anything! thanks for the reassurance x

ditchy jon - yeah you are totally right, it is all so exaggerated in the press!

How long do the particles live on us, I'm just thinking if they were on her hair when I was touching it (before it was washed) could I have breathed them in? Say there were still some in her hair even after it was washed and I blow dried it, could that make the particles be breathed in?

My question sounds silly.. Im over thinking.. I really need to do something about the phobia.. it's given me a headache now! xx

[Cynna]

She is most contagious from day 1-3. She is less contagious from day 3-10. There is some debate it she could pass it on from day 3-10 or not.

It is spread by particles of v.. or d... If she did not wash her hands properly after using the bathroom then she can transfer the virus. She can also transfer it by v.. close to you or having d.. close to you.

You should be in the clear. You should have nothing to worry about at all. You washed you hands before touching you face. Washing hands properly is how you stop the spread. It is illogical to think there would be any virus in her hair. Either way you washed you hands.

Influenza can be spread by coughing, etc, not noro.

EAT. There is absolutely no reason to starve yourself. If you tummy is in knots from anxiety, eat some comfort foods.

Breathe, distract your mind when it starts to obsess about noro. Watch a movie, read a book, dance, sing, meditate, etc.

[ditchy_jon]

livepink - wow you were very lucky then to not catch anything! thanks for the reassurance x

ditchy jon - yeah you are totally right, it is all so exaggerated in the press!

How long do the particles live on us, I'm just thinking if they were on her hair when I was touching it (before it was washed) could I have breathed them in? Say there were still some in her hair even after it was washed and I blow dried it, could that make the particles be breathed in?

My question sounds silly.. Im over thinking.. I really need to do something about the phobia.. it's given me a headache now! xx

Again this is something that is exagerated in the press. Particles generally live on hard sufaces for at the most 12 hours. However there has been alot of debate whether viruses can shed outside of the living host for 12 hours (if a virus cant shed, then it usually dries and inactivated within an hour).
Also what you have to remember is that 90% of the time, norovirus symptoms start within 24 hours of invading a host, it is very rare to start 48 hours after. Therefore you have already passed and exceeded the incubation time, meaning that there is no chance you are going to get it now. Also the two people I have know to have norovirus have had stomach cramps 12-15 hours after they caught the virus, then symptoms started 8 hours after that (ie: Vomiting and Diarreah), so I would be confident to say that you have definitely not caught this.

[Grace47]

Although, her hair was dirty, you washed it. Anything harmful that may have been in her hair was washed away with the shampoo and water. Soap and water are one of the best germ killers. OT - I can't imagine being ill and not showering and thoroughly washing my hair. A nice, long, relaxing shower and hair wash is one of my get well celebration rituals. It feels so good to be clean after you've been ill. Of course, I think it always feels good to be clean and have clean hair. But to each his/her own.