A question for anyone who's had the Norwalk virus..

[Amzey]

Eeek! I live in a dorm and it has been spreading like crazy around here, and I'm scared. For anyone who had it on the cruise - how bad was it? Would it put me out of commision for the week? I really can't miss any classes, it's only the second week of the semester. My family has a "vacation apartment" uptown that I could live at for the next few days - would that be a logical choice? I know some people from my floor have been hospitalized and I totally don't want to have to deal with that..

 

[tbuot]

My son (2 yr.) got it on the cruise and he had a fever, vomiting and a bit of diarrhea. He didn't feel well for about 3 days. I would say he had a mild version of it because one person I talked to on the cruise said that his child (2 yr. old)vomited for 14 hours straight and had 4 bags of IV due to dehydration. My son only had one bout of diarrhea and a few episodes of vomiting. I will say that his fever was fairly high one day. My son really had no appetite and of course our main concern was dehydration. Supposedly it is a "stomach flu" that usually runs it's course in a few days. Hope you stay well. Just wash your hands a lot and don't touch your face.

 

[AnnMorin]

Dh (40)had to do some hearings in Boston and must have brought it home with him. (they have had HUGE outbreaks there) DH had terrible stomach pains, fever diarahhia (sp) and vomiting for two days, weak for an additional day with intermittent nausea but no more vomiting or loose stools. DS (9) had vomiting for one day and then bounced right back, no lingering problems. I got off the easiest- just a terrible headache that would not go away for two days and the feeling of acid or sour stomach. (of course I wash my hands all the time and use hand sanitizer a lot- a practice I picked up once I started teaching preschool) We were on a cruise where some people were getting sick but were very conciencious about hand washing/sanitizer and did not get ill. I think DH let his gaurd down while in Boston and my guess it did not wash his hands before lunch. Don't panic just wash your hands a lot. Also you could end up with symptoms like I did which were not too bad at all.

 

[tezb]

It's hard to predict each persons symptoms for the same illness. Flu bugs always affect everyone differently ..some get hit harder than others...even w/ colds and influenza. A lot depends on your immune system before you got sick, your eating habits, enough rest, etc. Just practice good hygeine, get plenty of rest, good diet and hope for the best. Just because everyone around you seems to be ill, it doesn't mean that you will get it. Good Ludk and Stay well.

 

[ducklite]

I have no idea where I got it from, but I had it back in October. DH and I went out to dinner and to a show. I had a couple glasses of wine. We got home, I got out of the car and promptly had a protein spill all over the front yard. Thought I was just really hungover (it was cheap wine), until the next afternoon when I was running a fever. The day after that I was well enough to go to a rock concert and eat a stadium hamburger

So basically it lasted just short of 48 hours. The first 24 I was sick as a dog, once I started feeling better I recovered quickly.

Anne

 

[Dani's mom]

My DD was quarantined on the 1-4-03 Magic, suspected of having the virus. She threw up twice, with no other symptoms.

After getting home, I talked with her oncologist. This doctor had had the virus and was very sick for 24 hours. She said from my description of my daughter's symptoms that she highly doubted it was the virus. She said she could not move out of bed, had severe vomiting and diarrhea and general flu-like symptoms. But they only lasted 24 hours.

If you don't anything that has compromised your immune system, I don't think you will be out for a week. As simple as it sounds, hand-washing is the best precaution.

Good luck,
Laura

 

[Amzey]

Thanks for the responses everyone - my roommate and I ended up moving uptown to my family's apartment just to be safe, since neither of us can really afford to be sick at the beginning of the semester. We've made it kind of an adventure and it's nice to have a full kitchen and living room instead of just our little dorm room. Thanks again to everyone for responding so quickly!