Stomach Virus

Well, you might not want to do as I did, but I took 8 lomotil at once, and continued to drink Vitalyte. Worked like a charm.

Sue

Are you sure these events are viral? That's surprisingly frequent for viral gastroenteritis.

I once picked up a Giardia infection from an unknown source. I suspect it was from a public toilet that I tried not to leave too messy. The Giardia convinced me to reluctantly lower my standards for the condition of toilets after I've used them.

I agree that since it has happened so often, it's hard to say if it's always gastroenteritis that is causing your issues (though, that said, when my family got hit with Norwalk a few years ago, I went from feeling fine to violently ill over the course of only a couple of hours. It literally did have sudden onset). But, I would look for other possible triggers or causes--food related/food poisoning, pouchitis or even traveler's diarrhea (depending where you are traveling to). You may want to discuss the frequency of the attacks with your doctor. And if you do travel frequently, especially to warmer areas, it might be worthwhile to look into preventative measures such as Ducolax for traveler's diarrhea so you can avoid getting into a crisis so often.

I just saw a feature on the morning news stating that the latest strain of the Norovirus is especially virulent, highly contagious, and very swift (very short incubation). Past strains werevery contagious too, but I guess this is even worse. Of course, the very young, very old, and those susceptible to dehydration suffer the most. What s unique about Noroviruses is that they can be passed through contact or in food, so they are a source of food poisoning. Also, alcohol based hand gels are ineffective, so you need to wash your hands.

When you travel a lot you are exposed to more oppotunities to catch this, because you are eating out more and in contact with more people. Like cold viruses, Noroviruses mutate, so you are only immune yo the exact strain you were infected with before once you recover.

If you can't wash your hands a lot or beg off of hand shaking, at least keep your hands away from your face!

Treatments like Pepto Bismol and Imodium/lomotil may help, but antibiotics won't. Not even Xifaxin, which is prescribed for traveler's diarrhea. It only works on bacterial causes.

Jan

When I'm traveling I always start Pepto Bismal about a week before leaving and continue taking it until I return home.

Jan - it's good to know that alcohol based hand sanitizers aren't effective. I was told that awhile ago and I've been doing the 'happy birthday twice' hand washing ever since. ESPECIALLY when I go into the hospital. [And don't get me started on the hospital personnel shaking my hand or inserting a needle withOUT washing their hands or wearing gloves. Two different needle insertions withOUT gloves or hand washing]. I make sure that I don't put my hands anywhere near myself.

kathy

The hand sanitizers are good for most things, but not Norovirus, at least not good enough (better than nothing however!).

http://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/

I was instructed to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to time hand washing. But, I am lazy and seldom do.

Jan