SV* Season..

[trs12345]

I recently moved to the Northside of my Hometown after 11 years of living in a city considered to be on the “outskirts” of it, about 15 minutes away from the Southside, where I was born in and 40-45 minutes from the Northside where I’m living now. I’ve been living here for about a week now, and I’ve been fine for the most part.

However, just a couple minutes ago, I was on Facebook and saw a post from one of my friends that live in the city I just moved from. He posted about how his stomach’s been hurting bad & how he’s been up all night because of it. To which his friend commented “it’s the stomach bug, it’s going around. Drink a LOT, it’ll flush out the bacteria.”

Now I’m freaked out, especially because I just left the store and who knows what person could’ve touched the food items I grabbed? And I left my Lysol brand 3 at the old place (we still go back to it once a week to take out things we left over).

I felt some small relief in the sense that the dude who made that comment lives in Houston. Same state as me but the city itself is over 2 hours away, however that doesn’t mean the virus isn’t here. It’s possible it made its way to the area I just left and even the area I live in now. It doesn’t make me feel better that the guy we live with (my mother’s boyfriend) usually always get sick after hanging around someone who’s sick.

So yeah. I’m kind of panicked. Even more so because we live in a small apartment with a little fridge. He only buys food for the week, not for the month or anything else. And Thanksgiving is coming up so I’ll have to go back to the city to celebrate with my family! Some of the people in my family are very prone to getting sick. Is there a way I can prevent catching this damn bug?

[Syrup]

Hi there!!!

We all know the sinking feeling that hits when someone says something like, "it's going around". I feel ya!

First of all, the person who posted was up with a stomach ache. Do you know how many things cause intestinal upset? It could be one of a million things! Especially this time of year. Too much Halloween candy, a greasy pizza or an undercooked turkey at the office Thanksgiving party!

Beyond that, the "expert" response should tell you how much weight you should give his opinion. Flush out bacteria with water? Norovirus isn't a bacterial infection. It's viral. Beyond that, if someone DID have a bacterial infection they certainly couldn't just flush it with water, they'd need an antibiotic! Ha! So, it sounds to me as if someone just likes to talk (or type &#128521.

Lastly, yes, it's the time of year when people begin to come down with more tummy bugs. Does that increase your chances of getting it? Nope. As long as your hands are clean before touching your mouth you can't contract it. So, all of the boxes at the supermarket are safe. Your room mate is safe. They can't hurt you and they're not dangerous. Think about it. How many people go grocery store shopping EVERY DAY, skip washing their hands and eat? The vast majority. And by and large MOST adults don't get I'll in a year. So, statistically speaking your chances of coming into contact with the bug in daily life are SLIM but beyond that by practicing normal, standard hygiene you really have nothing to worry about. Truly.

Don't let these posts get to you. People love drama and showing off their insight even when they're wrong. You're totally fine! 😊

[trs12345]

Yeah, I’m completely aware of the guy’s lack of knowledge. What came to mind as I read his comment was “The Stomach Bug is a virus, moron. And you don’t drink to flush it out, you’re supposed to drink a lot to keep hydrated while your BODY does the flushing.”

And you’re right, it was a stomach ache. My friend doesn’t use Facebook that much in general, but I did check his page every now and then out of impulse. About two days after his stomach ache post, he shared videos about some tacos and talked about how he craved them so I’m guessing he was fine after all. Thank you for the response. It helped me out quite a bit.