To ask how often you get sickness bugs

[Takemebackto]

We’ve had a stomach bug twice within the last year. I’ve just googled this and apparently the average person only gets one five times in a lifetime. Aibu to have thought it was common to catch it more often than that as it’s so contagious?

As an adult 3 times. One gastric flu (only time I've ever had a dr called out) one norovirus and one god knows but I was rough. All while I was teaching. None since. No idea as a child but did spend my first Christmas in intensive care with gastroenteritis.

Norovirus about 8yrs ago, all of us in the household had it. Prior to that, I don't remember having anything as an adult, perhaps a handful of times as a child (when we went on holiday or stayed with family as far as I remember). Other sickness was down to alcohol and intolerance to certain foods (I cannot tolerate jalapenos at all!)

Once a year from age around 4years until about 13years. Big family, lots of siblings in a tiny overcrowded house.

None at all since then/in the last 30 years!

I like to think my childhood gave me immunity to every possible norovirus mutation 😁

My DC don't really get anything either, I'm pretty hot on food hygiene though, don't eat undercooked or out of date food, clean and wash hands after raw meat etc. One of my friends, her kids always seem to get tummy bugs.

My three eldest last had a sickness bug in January of 2011, I remember because it was the week we were moving into our first bought home!
I can't remember the last time I myself had one, it was before then but I know lots of friends whose children seem to get the sickness bug every year.

Once that I can remember.

proper d&v not just bit of an upset stomach just once at uni, not fun in a flat with shared bathroom!
Maybe another time as a child I don't remember.

Just to say that you do actually have to ingest the Norovirus particles to fall ill, which is why handwashing is so essential.

Way more than that. Sometimes twice in a year but at least once every 3 years. My kids probably every year or 2. Husband less often now I think of it.
And squillions of colds.

I haven't had a stomach bug since I was 8 and I only remember 2 occasions up until then. I'm now in my mid-40s.

I have had food poisoning 3 times in the last 25 years. One occasion was my fault (inexperienced cook and under-did some sausage). The other 2 definitely weren't (dodgy restaurant, in-date but dodgy supermarket prawns).

The hygiene procedures we've been told to adopt during lockdown - they're normal for me and it's worked for avoiding novovirus so far. I really hope people keep this up and then it might not spread so much in the first place.

Crikey when my oldest dc started nursery at 2 we got it every year for about 4/5 years (even fit it twice in one year 😫)

Thankfully not had it since then so a few years of being sickness free!

Strangely my youngest has only had it once and thankfully we didn’t catch it.

Strangely I never get colds though...

Three times as a child that I can remember.

Once when I was 15.

Once when I was pregnant with DS, I was sick so much that I had to go into hospital as I became dehydrated. Then again when DS was 5 months. I tend to get quite ill with it when I do, whereas my DP will be back on his feet after 12 hours! I do wonder if I have a vulnerability. Weird.

Up to my 20s, all the time. Then I went vegetarian and nothing for nearly 40 years.

Dc are adults now and have never eaten meat. Both now vegan. They have never had a stomach bug of any sort.

As a kid maybe 3 times that I can remember but one may have been something I ate. Then nothing from age 9 til 36, although again pretty sure that was something DH & I ate as we got ill at the same time. I was sick, he wasn’t, and I more or less immediately felt a lot better whereas when I got noro last Autumn it took a good fortnight to feel 100% again. DD11 rarely throws up & has only had a couple of bugs when she was very little.

20years ago. I'm not a sicky person.

This is a good question. I get one about once every 10-15 years, but here on MN people seem to get them regularly. Unlucky I guess.

Once at 12-13 years old and once as an adult - week before last Christmas. It was the 24 hour one. I vomited once and slept for 12 hours. And then just felt a bit woozy for another 12 hours.
I never vomit though. Even when stupidly drunk and need to vomit, I actually have to force myself. It doesn’t come by itself.

Noro in 2010 (lost a dress size in a week), and then some kind of sickness bug in 2012. That's it and I'm 33.

I've had other illnesses that involved throwing up, like the flu and food poisoning, but no vomiting viruses.

A handful as a young child (primary age) and then one, one in nearly 30 years, that I caught from my toddler two years ago.

I feel like I need to defend myself. My hygiene is impeccable! The vast majority of sickness bugs (and I've only had 5 or so) were caught on holiday. Two years in a row at Center Parcs (I will never go again). My dc have only had them when they're raging through school or on holiday. Never had food poisoning and I'm veggie, practically vegan (I eat eggs).

It is NOT poor hygiene in our house. I have terrible emetophobia and the idea that people think it could be a hygiene issue has struck a nerve.

Interestingly, I am blood type o, so are the dc.

I've never had a fever as an adult and never get coughs/colds.

I suspect we might just be susceptible.

I had several as a child and when my daughter was 1-2 she had five in a year, three of which me and DH also had. Horrible but (fingers crossed, touch wood etc) she now hasn’t had one in ages.

I have no memory of ever having one, I grew up in Pakistan, guts of steel.

I’ve never had a sickness bug, DS3 has once, other kids never and DH never (as far as I’m aware). DSS who is nearly 19 now used to ‘be sick’ fairly regularly as a child but never when he was with us. I don’t know if it was something he didn’t like eating when with his mum or just bad luck!

I think I might have IBS or similar as when I have a stomach upset it tends to be of the diarrhoea variety.

I had food poisoning last year for the first time, it was a good two weeks before I was back to normal, but again, no vomiting just shitting through the eye of a needle.

There was a thread on MN before where most people said they'd only had 1-2 bouts of diarrhoea or vomitting in their entire lives & could recall exact dates even though sometimes 32.5634 yrs ago. I was slightly morbidly fascinated at how mentally scarred they were by the occasions that they could remember so precisely.

Meanwhile I read a prevalence survey that seemed to suggest that most people in UK had a diarrhoea at least once every 3 yrs, and many of these bouts were forgotten about almost instantly. So I learnt that MNers are freaks of nature.

I've had at least a dozen vomitting bugs in adulthood, all since I had kids. Real number could be anywhere between 7 & 30. I don't track, though and can only identify 1-2 specific dates because of related other notable events (like dashing home from a NYE party early when my son was about to heave). My kids are mostly adult size now. Only DC3 seems to get ill from anything ever nowadays.