Unfortuantely, you'll just have to accept it. There is no avoiding a virus like that...stomach viruses are EXTREMELY contageous. Exposure to it usually causes instant infection...no more than a few minutes worth of direct contact with someone who is infected with the virus will spread the virus to you. Since it is an airborne virus, even avoiding contact with infected family members does not gaurantee that you will not get the infection. If it happens, you'll just have to deal with it. The virus should come into full effect within 12-48 hours of initial exposure...there is no preventive measures you can take for a stomach virus because the virus forcefully causes vomiting and diarrhea...aids such as pepto-bismol and tums simply will not prevent that. Here are some signs that you are contracting the virus. If you seem to experience any of these, then stay away from other people to avoid spreading infection: Fever: As with any virus, the stomach virus will cause you to get a fever. This is usually the first sign of things to come. Restlessness/insomnia: No matter how tired you are, you simply will find it impossible to get to sleep. If you do manage to get sleep you will probably find yourself suddenly jerking out of sleep and waking up, more than likely accompanied by nausea. After a while you may find it impossible to get to sleep lying down, in which case you should sit upright in a chair. Heavy Nausea: We all get nausea from time to time, but the nausea you feel when you have a stomach virus is unbeleivable. It can wake you up from sleep, and often makes you feel miserable. Your entire belly area will probably be very tender. Laying prone on a bed usually exacerbates this feeling, and it is recommended that you sit upright in a chair to releive this feeling. Fullness: Even if you didn't eat much of anything, the very thought of food will make you gag. Your stomach may feel very heavy, as if you swallowed a brick of lead. This usually is accompanied by extreme nausea. Strange gurgling: You may notice your stomach is making unusual gurgling and bubbling sounds...a definite indicator of acid and bile filling up into the stomach. Throat tenderness: You may notice a sudden tickle at the back of your throat, excessive dryness and gagging, and a sudden onset of cough. This is usually a result the esophagul reflex action that causes vomiting. Sudden onset of Mucous: If you feel your throat suddenly filling up with mucous, making it difficult to swallow, then be prepared to get sick. If this is accompanied by the other symptoms it is usually the precursor to the stomach virus taking hold. This may cause difficulty breathing, sore throat and more stomach pain. If you vomit later, you will probably notice that it is followed by mucous. Imflammation and Tenderness: Your stomach will probably become very tender due to inflammation of the intestines and stomach. Inflammation usually occurs after the virus manifests itself and you will probably notice severe bloating and pain in your stomach area. Inability to expel gas: Whether by flatulence or burping, you may find it extremely difficult to expel gas. This will lead to both severe heartburn feelings and bloating. Your stomach may jut out up to 5 or more inches than it normally does when your abdomen is rested, and this will be very painful. Constipation: Inability to defecate is usually the tell-tale sign that you will be getting a stomach virus, especially if you have the other symptoms. Everyone should go at least once a day as normal, but if you feel that you have to go and simply cannot, combined with the pain and inflammation of the other symptoms, then chances are you have been infected with the virus. The inflammation of the intestines will make it difficult to pass waste, which is why constipation will occur. Acidic Diarrhea: A very, very painful expulsion of stomach acid accompanied by diarrhea. This can cause anal inflammation, tearing, and severe burning. It usually occurs in very small amounts, but is very painful. Urinary retension: The inflammation of your stomach and intestines will often put a strain on surrounding organs, including the bladder. This may result in you being unable to expel urine for quite some time. The following are signs that you will probably NOT get the virus: Hunger: If you feel hungry, its a good sign. Stomach viruses usually suppress the receptors in your stomach that send hunger signals to the brain. If you feel like you need to eat, then chances are you will NOT vomit. However it doesn't gaurantee that you won't have diarrhea, another common result stomach viruses. Ability to defecate: If you can go to the bathroom, that means your processes are still functioning normally. As long as you can expel waste it should prevent you from vomiting and it indicats that the virus, if you have contracted it, is not wreaking havoc on you. Expulsion of gas: As long as you can expel gas, you should be ok. Expulsion of gas releives the pressure and tension inside, and if you are able to continue to do so, it probably means that the stomach virus has not taken effect. There's really no way to prevent it...if you've been exposed, you will get it. If you don't get it, then you are VERY lucky, since very few people who are exposed to such a potent virus actually get away with it not bothering them. If you feel any of those symptoms, and one or more people in your household is infected with the virus, then be ready. If you think yo uare going to throw up, don't fight it...that's the worst thing you can do when you have a stomach virus. Let it come out, and stay within the vicinity of the toilet, or if necessary keep a garbage can by your bed while you rest. Stomach viruses usually cause excessive vomiting for up to 24 hours, but usually no more than 12-14 hours.

Colloidal silver often works to kill viruses or bacterial infections. There is some great information out there on silver and its benefits if used properly. Even hospitals use silver with burn victims and I have heard some pretty amazing stories surrounding it...from curing syphilis to pnemonia. It has killed a sore throat for me personally in less than a minute. So, you may want to try this. Just get a reliable colloidal silver. Like Mary says, it is easily available at healthfood stores or on the web. Something that N.A.S.A. uses: Another thing that has knocked out some stomach (viral or bacterial, such as salmonella) infections for me personally and for others is an oxygenated water product, a stabilized oxygen. There is a product called "Oxy Boost" sold by www.vites.com. I have seen it knock out a sick stomach (vomiting, etc.) in five minutes. I have seen this occur with over five different people and situations. I was amazed. The activated oxygen, stabalized in a water solution, really does a trick. Dr. James Berg has some intersting research on the subject. The Robert W. Bradford Research Institute, (report by Rodrigo Rodriguez, M.D.) has even more information. Some other researchers are Brian Goulet, Ed McCabe, Zane Barnowski (report in Health Freedom News). Of course there is Dr. William F. Koch, M.D./Ph.D. who pioneered a lot of development. Stabalized oxygen has been used by N.A.S.A. for their space research program. It was designed to destroy any known bacteria or virus and not harm the host when taken internally or used externally. Some very effective and incredible stuff. Unfortunately, vested drug interests and their cronies suppress this kind of valuable information. A sidenote here: I receive a fair amount of bad ratings, often from those who do not want to see more natural and simple alternatives towards balanced health. If you have read my statement on "ratings"...I am not motivated by ratings nor do I seek approval from others. Rather, I think that it is important to relay valuable, natural, and often alternative approaches towards a healthier and happier life. I always encourage people to do their own research and find out first-hand by direct test and observation. Here is more data on an oxygenated water product. Developed by Oculus Innovative Sciences in Petaluma, the super-oxygenated water is claimed to be as effective a disinfectant as chlorine bleach, but is harmless to people, animals and plants. If accidentally ingested by a child, the likely impact is a bad case of clean teeth. Oculus said the solution, called Microcyn, may prove effective in the fight against superbugs, crossover viruses like bird flu and Ebola, and bioterrorism threats such as anthrax. The company has just been granted approval in the United States to test the solution in the treatment of wounds, and already has government approval in Europe, Canada and Mexico for diverse uses, from disinfectant to wound irrigation. Doctors conducting trials in Mexico and India are recounting stories at international conferences of their surprise at another feature of the solution: it speeds the healing of severe burns and diabetic ulcers. Physicians in Mexico using Microcyn observed rapid healing of burns and ulcers that the body could not repair for a decade or more because of infections. Also, GSE or Grapefruit Seed Extract is excellent. It will sure knock out some of the parasites that are in a person's body. It can "purify" water for drinking and does a whole host of remedies. I mention parasites some in other posts. There is a correlation with parasites and cancer along with other ailments. Ha! Something which is often overlooked, (but any true organic gardner will tell you), is that weekly you consume all kinds of live critters. You eat a lot of bugs. Many are microscopic, but many can be seen with a strong magnifying glass. You would be amazed at the bug activity on plants and vegetables and that garden salad you had the other day. If you ever buy beneficial insects, you know that many thousand of some species can cover a square inch. The bugs may be dead or alive, and even the bugs may have a variety of microbes or parasites working in them. Meats and fish also are filled with critters. Nowadays, with all the antibiotics and hormones and chemicals which are being fed to livestock and poultry, we are having unusual problems with a variety of critters which invariably we eat. Ha! It is really something most people tend to ignore. I mention this, because it can effect a person and their digestion or health, and make them more susceptible to stomach virus (or similar symptoms). There may be something which you could do using these or similar products. It is always worth trying to do something about an undesirable condition. By the way, Bob's referenced website is lead by someone who does work for the government and vested commercial drug interests and is also retired psychiatrist...certainly credentials which actually have little validity. The above products which I mentioned can cost-effectively and non-toxically help a lot of people, they are very safe and more natural, and any individual can find out for themselves from direct observation how effective they are. Another preventative measure which you could take is to handle exposure to and/or the accumulation of toxins in the body. Toxins accumulate in the body. Click on my name or do a search to find out more about this. Of course, toxins are not healthy for a body, and any scientist or person with common sense will tell you that chemicals not made for the body are unhealthy for the body. This easily can affect the body's natural system. It also can affect a person's general disposition and personality because of the "drug" affects altering the body's system. This is a cool report and you can click on a person's picture to find out how an average person or a high profile professional has been accumulating some chemicals...there are more than what was found. "In a study led by Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, in collaboration with the Environmental Working Group and Commonweal, researchers at two major laboratories found an average of 91 industrial compounds, pollutants, and other chemicals in the blood and urine of nine volunteers, with a total of 167 chemicals found in the group. Like most of us, the people tested do not work with chemicals on the job and do not live near an industrial facility. Scientists refer to this contamination as a person’s body burden. Of the 167 chemicals found, 76 cause cancer in humans or animals, 94 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 79 cause birth defects or abnormal development. The dangers of exposure to these chemicals in combination has never been studied." http://www.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden/es.php I should mention that the probiotics of fresh vegetables alone can help a person. In other words, when eating fresh greens, you can obtain beneficial microbes in a way that is similar to yogurt's beneficial microbes. Of course eating yogurt is a good idea with a stomach virus. You want as many beneficial microbes in the system as possible to help overwhelm the antagonistic ones.

Here is something I read a very long time ago, when you have a stomach virus you should be in a cool dark room....something about light makes the virus thrive....I can't recall the exact details but we have lived by this with our kids and it seems to cut down the time the virus takes it toll.....can't hurt to give it a try!!

Per the CDC, stomach viruses are not transmitted through the air unless one is near someone who vomits and they inhale the water droplets that contain the virus.

In this link there is some true info on stomach viruses that you may find helpful. They are things you can do to prevent getting the virus yourself. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/faq.htm

Move out for the week.

what can you take to make you feel better

I am in an online group that swears virgin coconut oil is great! of course some people when just jumping into it, they tend to get unwanted side effects due to the oils. Many of them have used it as aprophylactic or right when symptoms started and SWEAR they did not get it. I just ordered some. Hopefully it will prevent. You can take up to 3tblspns daily or just use it when u feel sick, but i was told daily is great! some have not need a DR in YEARS!

Well which seems to be the worse scenario: having a stomach virus or having no stomach? If the virus bothers you more, get a friend to surgically remove your stomach. I'm sure you don't ACTUALLY need a medical degree to do it (or a valid reason), just run a kitchen knife under a warm tap to sterilize it and you're good to go. If you don't feel like not having a stomach, though, i'm sure someone else has given one of those... what do you call it... oh yeah, "sane" answers.

1)wipe down shared surfaces with diluted bleach water. 2)don't share cups, dishes or silverware. 3) wash your hands and have your family members wash their hands Simple just follow them and eat an orange

I think it is pure luck. Washing hands and not putting your hand to your mouth and nose are good ideas but hard to avoid. I have been lucky and not so lucky and can't find the explanation.

Eat healthy, drink lots of water, get lots of sleep to try and keep your immunity up. Other than that you can only hope for the best.

By some gravol and get ready to spend some days with your head in the toilet because they were contagious before they got symptoms. Remember its just acouple days. Say it in your head as much as you need to ."It's just a couple days"

A person is infectious before they exhibit signs of having a stomach virus. By the time you know a stomach bug is "going around", you have probably already been infected. When you do get sick, I feel it's best to go ahead & let the virus run its course & get it out of your system. Ginger helps alleviate the nausea. My family & I have found drinking ginger ale & eating ginger cookies helps. (Check with your doctor if you're diabetic before trying this. Diet ginger ale is available. There may be a sugar-free alternative for the ginger cookies.) Try to drink plenty ginger ale to avoid dehydration & "dry heaves". If signs of dehydration do develop, seek medical attention without delay. After the virus has run most of its course & your appetite increases, add bland foods (gelatin, plain rice, saltine crackers, etc.) back to your diet. It's also a good idea to eventually add a daily multi-vitamin/mineral supplement and foods naturally containing vitamin C to your daily diet.

Make sure all eating utensils are BOILED in water, not just washed, and then allowed to become perfectly dry for about 10 minutes before being used. Wash your hands after every time you touch another person, or touch something they were using or wearing. Other than that, eating healthy and getting lots of exercise are about the only things you can do.

Just ask them to stop, it is a silly game and someone will end up getting hurt.

Passing around a stomach virus? You mean like pamphlets or something. Gee, I'd get rid of the family. Pass them around to some other people that you don't know and don't care that gets what their passing around.

Turn on the heater. Some viruses are less transmitable when the temp is higher. Like 82 and above. I'm going to look and see if I can find the research again.

My two kids just got it so now I get to play the waiting game with me husband and I. Wish me luck! :)

These viruses are very contagious but there is always hope. Please read http://www.stopthestomachflu.com.