Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

General health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

are people really buying into this novovirus panic?

115 replies

Twiglett · 04/01/2008 12:14

ok I can understand emetaphobes being concerned at it hitting the news

but I can't help looking at the news and thinkging 'slow news day is it?'

bugs always go round, isn't novovirus just a catch-all for these types of gastric bugs (much as rhinovirus is for colds)

mild winter means more bugs go round

it's a mild D&V bug normally (any illness can be dangerous for the very young, very old and imuno-impaired)

what am I missing?

OP posts:
Snowmam2Jamie · 04/01/2008 13:44

I feel for you Belgianbun. I was in a hospital on the 2nd, although thankfully was only there for about 20 minutes (shortest consultation ever!) and I antibac'd my hands as soon as I got in the car and washed my hands as soon as I got home (obsessive? me?!)

My hubby will be coming home late tonight from a 2 day work conference in a hotel and naturally I am worried he could have picked it up from there. With ds2 having some health issues, I really don't want him catching it, more scared for him than for myself and also worried that we only have 1 bathroom between 4 of us!

Snowmam2Jamie · 04/01/2008 13:46

groan Thanks Noonar, just as I suspected!

I really need to go and pick up a prescription to take to the chemist for ds2, but I really do NOT want to go to 2 of the most germ ridden places right now!

StarlightMcKenzie · 04/01/2008 13:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

corblimeymadam · 04/01/2008 13:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

AttilaTheMeerkat · 04/01/2008 13:47

Having had this myself during the last major outbreak in 2002 I would totally concur with the following:-

"Some of us had it last year - it is an absolute bastard, one of us (not me but won't idenitfy victim to spare blushes!) had it the worst and was occasionally (TMI alert) on the loo with diarrhoea and puking into a bucket at the same time.

And it's absolutely volcanic when you do puke - not your ordinary hughie at all.

So worth avoiding if you don't have it, and keeping it to yourself if you have. And wipe everything with disinfectant - doorknobs, loo seat, bucket, loo handle etc every time they are touched".

This is not a mild bug at all. I was ill with this from Sunday night to the following Thursday morning (even then I felt completely washed out). I remember it being a real effort to get up and down the stairs.

Snowmam2Jamie · 04/01/2008 13:51

Belgianbun, I keep thinking that this would be the opportunity to confront my fear too, but just thinking about it makes me feel ill

I homeschool so no worries about bugs from that area, most likely person to bring it home would be dh who is in and out of various offices all day. I ghuess this is the time to supply him with his own bottle of alcohol handwash!

Dinosaur · 04/01/2008 13:55

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

KrippledKerryMum · 04/01/2008 14:00

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bookwormmum · 04/01/2008 14:06

It only adds to the cleaners work as well . Although if someone is getting dehydrated through puking and so on, they do need medical attention.

Flllightattendant · 04/01/2008 14:09

I tried so hard not to catch our bug from Ds1 in December, and to wash everything and all that but a four year old boy is possibly the most thrilling vehicle for a germ that wants to procreate and spread.
Refusal to wash hands, touching everything on his way back to wash them after being screamed at by me and just general inability to keep his mouth covered when coughing, well you are fighting a losing battle really.

I had it within hours of him anyway, but then my poor mum came round as I needed her to look after the baby, and she ended up with it the next day too.

Even as an emetophobe I have to admit that with this one, I was actually sticking my fingers down my throat because I felt so sick. I still couldn't throw up.

nd now he is back at school, sharing the toilets with a hundred other four year olds and doubtless nobody washes their hands.

Aarrrrggggggghhhhhh

bookwormmum · 04/01/2008 14:11

Or flushing the loo

TheIceQueen · 04/01/2008 14:12

"there were so many sneezing coughers who didn't cover their mouths\noses"

ahh yes - that would have been me at the dr.s this morning - usually I'm neurotic about covering my mouth/nose - but when coughing currently gives me an excruciating pain in my lower back/hip I'm afraid my natural instinct is for my hands to fly down and "hold" where it hurts instead of covering my mouth

barcelonababe · 04/01/2008 14:15

I think that this bugs is happening across the continent as my husband got it in barcelona. I must say it was pretty espectacular vomiting and non stop diarhoea for hours... never seen anything like it! He couldn' stop for 5 hours one evening and got severly dyhadrated!

KrippledKerryMum · 04/01/2008 14:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

DaphneHarvey · 04/01/2008 21:05

I think I generally agree with Twig. Every winter there are d&v bugs. At my dcs school there seemed to be a lot of people off before Christmas (about a third of the school population) with some stomach bug or other.

Is this "norovirus" really a whole different thing?

And it hasn't been a specially mild winter has it? We've just had some spectacular cold snaps.

The last few times my DD has been ill with stomach bugs has been in the summer.

Or am I being hopelessly optimistic?

bubblepop · 04/01/2008 22:41

hi everyone. just saw this thread and just had to add to it.
the week before ds1 finished school for xmas he was off with d&v.nothing unusual there, a few kids in the class had been off with it.exactly one week later he got it again, after seemingly making a recovery inbetween.

a couple of days after xmas, i suddenly felt ill, with a rumbling, painful stomach and a general feeling of nausea. by tea time, i took myself to bed and was struck down with d&v myself. stayed in bed feeling awful, and drifted in and out of sleep inbetween rushes to the toilet with sick bowl. the evening passed, dh got kids to bed and he decided to sleep downstairs-perhaps thinking he did'nt want to catch it.
in the early hours of the morning, i awoke,thinking i might be sick again. i realised my heart was beating REALLY fast,like i had just run around the block.i could hear my heart beating loudly in my head/ears iyswim. i sat up in bed and realised i was about to faint.my ears were buzzing and my vision was fuzzy.then i could'nt see anything..my vision went completely. i called dh..he came upstairs and took one look at me,he said "oh my god, you are grey,whats happening"

i told him i could'nt see anything, and that my ears were buzzing,my hands and arms were tingling. he called the out of hours doctor for advice. luckily for me, dh is a first aider and he got me into the recovery V postion.my colour started to return. the doctor wanted us to go to the out of hours surgery for them to check me,but i was so weak i knew i would'nt be able to make it from the car to the clinic. so dh watched me all night to make sure i did'nt have another episode, he was ready to take me to A&E if anything else happened. later dh told me he was really scared, and that i looked just like a corpse. he is a very strong man, unflappable and quite collected at stressful times, he's not the dramatic type.

i think the point im trying to make here is that this bug is quite severe.ive had plenty of sick bugs in my time,but never one that affected me this bad.

Madoldcatlady · 04/01/2008 22:58

Bloody hell Bubblepop that's terrifying.

CarGirl · 04/01/2008 23:05

I've had a mild dose of norovirus, the stomach pains only lasted a week after the D&V stopped (2 days solid) I never want it again. MIL was so ill, honestly she was in pain for a couple of weeks and had D&V for 5 days it was confirmed norovirus she caught it on a holiday camp, MIL was on 50 so not old or weak or anything of the sort!

Misdee · 04/01/2008 23:08

i am absolutly petrified of this.

me and the girls caught it at the end of 2006, like WW said, some of us were on the loo and puking into a bucket all at once.

the girls caught it first, i had all three of them throwing up constantly for 24hours. then once they were feeling better i caught it. i followed the hospital rules and stayed away for a minimum of 72hour, yet somehow, peter caught it. and he had to go onto barrier nursing for ages as he was so ill and they couldnt risk anyone else getting it. that meant he had to use a commode and couldnt really leave his room untill he was clear of it.

louii · 04/01/2008 23:13

My ward had it, you wouldn't believe the amount of stupid fucking relatives that come to visit and say oh i was puking all night or they have a major chest infection and cough all over the place, hello it is a ward with frail elderly people. Some people are so bloody stupid.

I was not allowed back at work for 48 hours after last puke or diarrhoea. It took me about a week after having it to be able to eat normally again, was a rough time.

If people used common sense a bit more these bugs would not spread so rapidly.

curlywurlywee · 04/01/2008 23:13

A friend of mine is really poorly at the mo and one of the symptoms is a terrible migraine in her head and neck. Has anyone else had this?

nannyL · 04/01/2008 23:15

I dont wnat it

am off on a cruise ship in 6 weeks cause dotn particularly want anyone on thw plane to ahve it and certanily dont want it or for it to eb around while on cruise ship in carribean

got a similar thing in october.... given that my 4 eyar old charge threw up all over me it was pretty inevitable that i got it... and 48 hours later sure enough i did.

have never had anything like it before and hope to never have anything like it again

louii · 04/01/2008 23:15

You can get a headache from being dehydrated, so could be the cause if she is vomitting.

Twiglett · 04/01/2008 23:19

Just to round the thread off .. DS is now puking (joy of joys)

OP posts:
KrippledKerryMum · 05/01/2008 00:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Swipe left for the next trending thread