If there’s one visitor nobody wants around during the holidays, it’s gastroenteritis a.k.a. ‘the stomach flu’. During these colder months, from October to April, we’re at higher risk of getting the dreaded stomach flu, especially with children in the house. As much as we try to keep their hands clean and out of their mouths, it can be a losing battle. At school or at daycare, or even at home, kids often wash their hands too hastily after using the toilet, and later their fingers stray to their nose or mouth.
That’s one way the virus spreads, but it’s also commonly spread by an infected person preparing food without properly washing their hands. This is called the “fecal-oral route” because the virus lives in the stool or vomit of the infected person and finds its way into the mouth or nose of its next victim through sloppy hygiene.
‘Stomach flu’ is actually not flu at all, but gastroenteritis. Viral gastroenteritis is an infection of the lining of the intestines caused by a virus such as rotavirus or Norwalk virus. (Similar symptoms may be caused by bacteria such as salmonella, E. coli, or campylobacter (‘hamburger disease’) or the parasite, giardia.) It’s extremely contagious, especially amongst people in close quarters—schools and daycares top this list—and it continues to be contagious for at least three days after symptoms stop.