It was about 2:30 a.m. March 7, when I woke up and realized something wasn’t right. And it was about 2:31 a.m. by the time I made it down the hallway and began to do my best “Linda Blair in the Exorcist” routine in our washroom. Splashing cold water on my face, I eyed our bottle of Gravol, but was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to keep one of the tiny pink pills down. As it turned out, my instincts were dead on and I barely had time to turn around before hugging the toilet once again. I shouldn’t have been surprised — my husband, whom I’d only seen vomit once in 16 years, had spent all day Sunday “feeding the fish” (as some call it).
After spending 36 hours in bed, I was finally able to drag myself downstairs and turn on my computer, where I noticed from comments on Facebook that we weren’t the only ones suffering from this stomach bug, so when I made it back to work I reached out to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control for information. And as it turns out, “late-season influenza B activity has been increasing in recent weeks, as has typically been observed in recent seasons, but remains at low levels.”
Here are a few tips from the BCCDC to help you avoid getting or spreading this bug:
· Stay home from work or school for two days after your symptoms stop.
· Wash your hands often, especially after using the washroom and before handling food.
· Wash fruits and vegetables and steam oysters before eating them.
· If you suspect your drinking water is contaminated, boil water for one minute, then cool and refrigerate it. Water filters will not remove noroviruses.
· Clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces immediately after vomiting or having diarrhea by using a bleach-based household cleaner.
· Immediately remove and wash soiled clothing or linens after vomiting or having diarrhea. Use hot water and soap.
· Do not prepare food if you have symptoms of food-borne illness and for three days after you recover.
@sthomas10
