If you frequently wash your hands and avoid constantly touching your face, then you have a good chance of not contracting norovirus. Earlier this month, officials from the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department said that cases of norovirus—the gastronintestinal virus that makes you vomit and gives you diarrhea for up to three days in a row—spiked in the month of November.
Susan Klein-Rothschild, the department’s public information officer, couldn’t give exact numbers, but said that reported cases of norovirus tend to increase during the holidays.
“It’s not uncommon this time of year,” Klein-Rothschild said. “It’s just a really important reminder to people to people to wash their hands with soap and water.”
Not only that, Klein-Rothschild said, but try to avoid touching your face as much as possible.
The norovirus, also known as the winter vomiting bug, is highly contagious and is spread through human contact with infected surfaces and causes diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, abdominal cramps, and could cause a low fever. The young and the elderly are most affected, Klein-Rothschild said.
Because of these factors, Klein-Rothschild said the virus can spread quickly in facilities where people gather in close quarters, such as schools, nursing homes, and even restaurants.
The best way to prevent the spread of norovirus is good hand and face hygiene, such as washing hands after using the bathroom and before eating and preparing food.
If prevention doesn’t work, the only way to weather the storm is to deal with the symptoms, Klein-Rothschild said.
Symptoms usually begin 24 to 48 hours after exposure and typically only last a couple of days, after which most people get better. The good news is that there doesn’t appear to be any long-term health effects associated with norovirus, according to the department.
However, those afflicted are at risk of becoming dehydrated because of vomiting and diarrhea. The best way to deal with this is to replenish liquids while sick.
This article appears in Dec 31, 2015 – Jan 7, 2016.