Why do some people have to be so unsympathetic????

[Oerba Dia Luna]

FAMILY ESPECIALLY!! My little brother was sick 2 weeks (on the 3rd) he got better a day later but I heard the bug is going around at his school, and some kids are sick. I know he is probably immune to it but he could be bringing those germs into house and he is not hygienic at all. He refuses to wash his hands!!!! It's making me angry because I can't eat like I want in fear of being sick. I managed to avoid it when he and my mom got sick a 2 weeks ago but I could still catch it from his school. I am constantly washing my hands and I am nervous when I go out in public. I don't feel like I am safe and I just want to feel okay again and be able to eat like I did before. People are already commenting on how I have lost weight and how I need to eat. I just can't calm down or stop thinking that the germs are probably all over my hands when I touch something ugh!! Sorry for the rant but I just had to get it out!

[AoD]

Well, statistically speaking you're not that likely to catch a stomach virus even if your little brother doesn't wash his hands. I have friends (a couple) who don't even have hand soap at home, they never wash their hands, and they rarely catch stomach viruses. So it's not that big a risk.

[mdgirl1977]

I completely empathize with what you wrote! My family think I am nuts so I just don't tell them...but I am 36 and live away. I rarely go to their houses and never eat there. Same thing - no one washes hands and they think it isn't a big deal. Nope. I don't care. Your house, fine. You do need to eat though...can you get granola bars and other prepackaged, sealed things to eat, at least for the next week or so until you get out of the window of doom? I stash a box of cereal and crackers in my bed area...

[yourjedi]

AoD hit the nail on the head - only six percent of the US population gets norovirus in a given year. My family is also horrible about washing their hands, and they rarely get stomach viruses. My dad is not only careless with hand washing, but with eating foods that have been left out longer than most would like, and doesn't always care about expiration dates (depending on the product) and he has only gotten a stomach bug 5 times and food poisoning once in fifty years!

Keep up on your hygiene for your peace of mind. Your brother is nothing to worry about. If it worries you that much, don't eat "shared" foods, like bags of chips. Besides that you should be just fine, but I assume you would be anyway!

[KimberlyP]

I agree with the others as well but I know how you're feeling. There have been times that it felt like I was surrounded by Noro and it was just a matter of time until they finally got me. It's just the irrational part of this phobia, which sucks. The only 'good' thing about Noro is that it is kind of easier to avoid. I say this because if someone sneezes near you and they have a cold, more than likely you will catch that cold but if someone with Noro sneezes around you, you can't catch it.

To help your anxiety just wash your hands every single time before you eat. Don't touch your mouth and nose without washing your hands (including nail biting, if you do that lol). Other than that, you're safe! Infected Feces or V particles have to be ingested, so as long as you get into the habit of not touching your face and mouth and you wash your hands frequently, you're going to be just fine. It also wouldn't hurt to sanitize commonly touched surfaces like door handles, fridge handles, faucets, etc. I will even run a bleach mixture on a cloth over my cabinet doors and milk bottle handles to be safe.