Vomit virus IS airborne

[Feelingmehmehmeh]

I always thought that sick bugs were not airborne. I was under the impression it was spread by contact with surfaces the infected person had touched. We had a big event at the weekend and my parents had been poorly with a bug in the week. DF was all better but DM had the runs. She hadn’t been sick.
We decided to risk it and be very careful so as not to ruin the event (it was just us - no risk to outsiders).
We were ultra careful and only spent a few hours with them in our home at arms length. No kissing hugging etc and lots of washing hands. Now all but one of us are throwing up/diarrhoea. To me this looks like it was indeed an airborne virus. What does everyone think? Any specialists in viruses here? I can’t tell you how careful we were and I bleached the toilet and bathroom within an inch of its life after DM had been in there. Now poor DM feels awful about it and I feel awful that she feels awful!

ds2 had left his toothbrush on the windowsill so I changed the head for a new one but we usually keep in bathroom cabinet.

Sick bugs are airborne for about 20 seconds after vomiting if I remember right. They land on all-sorts. When you bleach you have to do all touch points regularly as well as the bathroom. Handles, lightswitches, taps, remote controls etc. Noro though can live on a surface or still water for a pretty decent amount of time. I quarantine whoever gets it and when it's over, gloves are on, beds are stripped, curtains down the lot and the room properly aired and cleaned, then clothes off and straight in the washer. But you have to look at cash points, touch screens in supermarkets or prepared food. The list is endless I think.

Fascinating bug though, clever little bugger how it works.

It’s kind of basic common sense hygiene not to mix with others whilst you have diarrhoea…why do you think they have the 48 hr exclusion rule after last episodes for school and workplaces,I’m really surprised people don’t know this and would knowingly take a child to visit someone with diarrhoea. If someone on a ward has Noro you can generally smell it as soon as you walk into their room / bay.

Hope you feeling better soon.

My DS are virtually adult. We made a choice and are now paying for it and learning from it. I did know this but obviously thought we could beat it with good hygiene and extra precautions- we were wrong.

Take no notice OP
Some posters on here are so smug and up themselves and "don't understand" how not everybody is like they are. ie Perfect , Not.

she shouldnt have come over if she was still ill-thats usually how it works

It is a clever little bug - wish it wasn’t!

Now husband has it I have to step up despite feeling grotty still. I last vomited 12ish last night. I just unloaded the dishwasher and now I’m paranoid I’ve infected all the plates 😭 It’s like the never ending spread.

Yes you need to ingest the droplets to pass it on. So for example if your little one is vomiting and you are helping them you are likely to catch it as you could breathe it in. And anything you have contact with as you could put your hand to your mouth.

Sounds awful. There really are some
selfish people out there. Unbelievable really that they are that selfish.

It's a horrible virus, I remember DP and both DC getting noro within hours of each other, both ends, and me running about getting the most pressing housework done while I could, before I went down too... and nothing - didn't catch it! Weird how some of us, like your DS OP, somehow avoid it!
Hoepfully it passes soon, luckily the rest of my house only had it for around 24 hours.

I hate vomiting bugs.
I Clinell wipe switches and handles.
Wash hands loads.
Eat things with cutlery as much as possible as you are constantly touching things with your hands.
Never share drinks or food, even when no one has a bug.
Swap towels ++
Keep toothbrushes locked away.

I rarely get them when the kids have them.

Yes they can be airborne but not from breathing, it's from the particles of v or d.

I thought it was well known to shut the toilet lid after an episode of either before flushing as the act of flushing causes particles from the toilet to go into the air.

Some noro viruses are so contagious they have to seal off rooms and decontaminate them with chemicals. Other bugs are less contagious and you have to have quite a high viral / bacterial load to actually get ill.

No disrespect to your mum but if someone has diarrhea there is no real way they can't get germs on their hand from wiping. And then everything they touch is contaminated. I think the only way to avoid bugs spreading is complete isolation or obsessive hand washing and at least no sharing a toilet, and the infected person not touching anything

We had it mid December, me and dh. 2 days later, our 2 adult sons got it. They use a different bathroom to us and stayed away from us whilst we were ill. Our 2 other adult dc were told not to come home from uni for Christmas until I had recovered enough to clean everything as I had read that noro can live for 2 weeks on surfaces. I cleaned all the bathrooms, all the hard surfaces in the kitchen, washed and bleached the floors, cleaned every door handle, cupboard handle, and light switch in the entire house. 2 days after coming home (and a full 9 days after the last of us who live in the house had been ill) my other 2 children started with it.

We are not a sicky type family. The last bug to go through all of us occurred 18 years ago. We all agreed this one made us the most ill we have ever been. What I am trying to say is, there is one hell of a sickness bug going round this year. I am not at all surprised you caught it from your parents, airborne or otherwise.

All smells are particulate. So if you can smell something then you are breathing in particles of whatever it is.

Yes OP
it's a real nightmare

when I last had it, after recovering i bleached everything possible, but still wouldn't allow elderly parents into my flat for two weeks. I shudder to think if an elderly person gets it.

I always did a lot of bleaching surfaces when I worked in an office.

you say your DM was still symptomatic? No way would I knowingly mix with someone then.

a previous poster on a different thread accused me of being dramatic. I asked if she'd cone by to clean the walls if I got that ill again. Noro is horrendous.

Was going to ask this exact question. If it's been norovirus the trots can well outlast the vomiting so your mum will still be shedding virus particles. If she's prepared food then that's likely how you're all sick. Fingers crossed the 'but one' escapes it and you're all better soon.

This makes me feel better and worse. I feel worse that there really is no escape and better that there probably wasn’t any escape no matter how careful we were. Anyway lesson learned big time. We’ve not had anything like this for about 8 years and I hope to not again for some time yet!

Just read your update that your mum didn't prepare food, OP, sorry, it's a nasty virus, get well soon.

The respite place I worked in do a double deep clean the whole building if a guest comes down with noro. It's time consuming but cuts down on an epidemic.

Grandchildren had the tummy ache and diarrhea I had to care for one on the Sunday before Xmas. By the morning I was on the loo for two full days. Completely cleaned out. Lived on bland food the next three days we were hosting Xmas Day Sunday. Monday night following a visit from other recovering grandchildren I woke up and was Sick three times awful pains. Felt ropey for a couple of days. OH didn't catch either bug.

I've never had it before so to be ill twice was taking the Mick 😭

not that it matters now but I missed a door handle. I remember instead of me opening the front door my DM just appeared in hall. She’d touched outer handle. Then I locked up and went out using outer handle as did husband the next day. It’s now been sprayed down but too late. Never crossed my mind. Still I will be strictly adhering to the 48 hour rule now no matter the occasion!

It happens OP, don't beat yourself up. We tend not to think of touch points in general day to day. But when we think about it the sheer amount of them is boggling.

You could use a self serve in a supermarket or a cashpoint and pick something up, which then you transfer to your car, carrier bag handles, door coming in. So even though you wash your hands immediately from coming in from outside, you don't teach your steps with the cleaning stuff do you?

Mostly our immune systems do a sterling job, just sometimes one of those little bugs has big sharp teeth.

Hope you're on the mend.

*retrace