Doctors say norovirus — also known as the stomach flu — is spreading around San Diego faster than it did last year. With holiday gatherings, they're bracing for even more outbreaks.
Three-year-old River doesn't even remember how rough she had it a few months ago. Her mom and dad had what could've been norovirus too, but not as badly as she did.
"She was kind of lethargic, and then started throwing up, and then it didn't stop for about two days," River's mom, Corrin Stotler, said. "We ended up taking her to the hospital because she couldn't keep anything down."
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The county’s disease registry reports there have been almost 400 norovirus cases in San Diego so far. This number has likely changed after holiday gatherings, and a local doctor said it's already trending worse than last year.
"September, we saw some cases," said Dr. William Tseng, assistant area medical director at Kaiser Permanente. “October, we saw more. November, we saw more. So, we're thinking, 'Is December going to be worse,and where is the peak going to be?'"
The virus spreads through bodily waste and the surfaces it touches.
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“You get the abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, cramping, diarrhea,” Tseng said.
If this is the case, doctors advise against taking medications that stop diarrhea because this is body’s way of clearing the virus. Taking meds can cause the illness to stay in the digestive tract longer.
There is no specific cure for a norovirus infection either. Most people get better on their own within a couple days if they increase their fluids.
“If they're around a lot of kids, one of my friends gives her kid a vitamin C pack every time he gets home from daycare, and I've never seen that kid sick,” Stotler said.
An immunity boost can’t hurt, but Tseng said washing your hands is the best way to get the surging virus to slow down.
It can be easy to confuse norovirus for food poisoning. Tseng said pay attention to how soon after eating you start feeling sick. Food poisoning symptoms are almost immediate while norovirus can take a couple days to develop.
