How does infection occur?
The virus is transmitted through the fecal-oral route: through dirty hands, contaminated food and water, surfaces, as well as through airborne droplets when particles are sprayed during vomiting. Particularly common sources are prepared meals, salads and seafood. Norovirus is resistant to drying, freezing and conventional alcohol antiseptics, so you need to wash your hands with soap and water. The incubation period is short - usually from 12 to 48 hours, which explains the rapid development of outbreaks, when several people fall ill per day.
- Dirty hands and contaminated surfaces
- Ready meals, salads, seafood
- Water from unreliable sources
- Aerosol particles from vomiting
- Resistance to alcohol antiseptics
- Incubation period 12–48 hours
Symptoms
The illness begins suddenly, often at night, with nausea and repeated vomiting. Then comes profuse watery stools without blood and mucus, cramping abdominal pain, severe weakness, body aches and headache. The temperature is usually low or absent. Vomiting often predominates in children, and diarrhea in adults. No appetite, but you need to drink. Symptoms last from one to three days, after which they quickly subside, although weakness may persist longer.
- Sudden nausea and repeated vomiting
- Watery stools without blood
- Cramping pain in the abdomen
- Weakness and body aches
- Low or no fever
- Headache
- Rapid improvement in 1–3 days
How to properly replenish fluid
Plain water does not replenish the loss of salts, so the basis of treatment is ready-made solutions for oral rehydration from the pharmacy. You need to drink often and in small portions: one or two teaspoons every few minutes, and not in glasses, otherwise vomiting will recur. The child is given liquid with a spoon or syringe without a needle. The benchmark for sufficiency is regular urination and light-colored urine. Sugary sodas, juices and coffee make diarrhea worse. If the fluid is not retained at all, you need a dropper in the clinic.
- Oral rehydration solution instead of plain water
- Drink a teaspoon every few minutes
- Continue drinking even after vomiting, after a pause
- Don't stop breastfeeding
- Avoid sugary sodas and juices
- Control the frequency of urination
- Intravenous rehydration for severe dehydration
Nutrition and medications
There is no need to starve: as soon as the vomiting subsides, return to eating in small portions. Porridge with water, boiled rice, potatoes, crackers, banana, lean meat, and later fermented milk products are suitable. It is better to limit fatty, fried, very sweet and milk foods in the first days. Antiemetics and antidiarrheals are used only as prescribed by a doctor, and many of them are not used in children. Antibiotics are useless for viral gastroenteritis. Sorbents and probiotics do not replace drinking water, which remains the main thing.
- Returning to food immediately after vomiting stops
- Water porridge, rice, potatoes, crackers, banana
- Limiting fatty, fried and milk foods in the first days
- Antidiarrheals only as prescribed by a doctor
- Antibiotics are not needed for viral infections
- Sorbents and probiotics - auxiliary means
- Gradual expansion of the diet over several days
Prevention in the family and team
Good hygiene helps stop an outbreak. Hands are washed with soap for at least 20 seconds, especially after using the toilet and before eating; Alcohol gels are ineffective against norovirus. Surfaces, toilet bowls, door handles and taps are treated with chlorine-containing products. A sick person should not prepare food for others for at least two days after recovery. Linen and clothes with traces of vomit are washed separately at high temperature. Children do not attend kindergarten and school until they recover, adults in public catering do not go to work.
- Washing your hands with soap, not just sanitizer
- Treating surfaces with chlorine-containing products
- Separate towels and dishes for the sick person
- The sick person does not prepare food for the family
- Wash clothes separately at high temperature
- Isolation until recovery and two more days
- Thorough washing of vegetables and fruits