# Winter bugs



## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

I’ve just spent the last 36 hrs on the loo

Stomach cramps etc 

Felt like gastric flu 

Is it a bug going around ?

If so I’m not sure how I’ve picked it up

I’m very careful not to come into contact with anyone with colds flu etc as I am taking immune suppressant drugs 

Sandra


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

One of my grandsons has been similarly affected except not a resident of the loo.

School's are showing a high level of absence due to sickness, the commonly encountered Noro virus aka Norwalk I believe, is certainly around, my son in law's hospital has three wards c,ones due to it for deep cleaning.

It doesn't take much contact to pick up such a bug when immuno-suppressant drugs are being taken.

I hope you feel better soon, remember to drink as much as possible - that does not mean "water diluted with alcohol", but virtually any other drink to keep fluid levels high and keep the kidneys working hard.

Best wishes to you and Albert, hopefully he has not succumbed to the same thing ?


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## caulkhead (Jul 25, 2007)

aldra said:


> I've just spent the last 36 hrs on the loo
> 
> Stomach cramps etc
> 
> ...


No matter how careful you think you are, you've only got to touch something like a door handle and BINGO! If someone with a bug has been less than scupulous with their personal hygiene then they will pass it on to the unwary. We barrier nurse clients at work with Norovirus and similar bugs but some of us still fall prey, and it ain't pleasant:frown2:


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Fortunately I seem ok now

Tender to the touch around the lower abdomen 

Not that interested in food, the odd slice of toast with MARMITE goes down well

As does a green oxo drink 

Coffee, strange taste at present 

Just crave salt it seems

Alberts fine so far 

And I’m hoping he won’t get it 

My kids are on alert

Don’t come near if you are vaguely sick >

I think I might be over reacting 

Albert recently had a cold

I viewed him from a distance :nerd:

Would the garage be warm enough ?:grin2:

Sandra


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

aldra said:


> Would the garage be warm enough ?/images/MotorhomeFacts_2014/smilies/tango_face_grin.png
> 
> Sandra


For whom?!?


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

Come on Jean

For him 

Who else ?

I’m not a threat to his immune system :nerd:

Anyway he’s a macho male >

But it’s probably too cold

Ideal for Christmas storage though

So I’ll keep him indoors:grin2:

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Yes, Norovirus is doing the rounds. I blame this new fad for washing everything at 30 deg. I wash everything that will take it (sheets and towels etc) at 60 deg. I never touch a toilet door handle with my bare hands when out and about and always wash my hands thoroughly when I get home from shopping etc.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

It's those shopping trollies handles I always worry about seeing some of the 'clients' draped over them. Bugs and grime all over them.!!

Ray.


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Hand washing, or lack of it, is a major reason for such bugs. Sadly you have only got to be aware of how few people actually WASH their hands properly using soap and water. Many people after a loo visit, probably involving something more solid than pee, only give their hands a cursory rinse without any pretence of using soap.

I wonder how often we have followed someone else into a loo and found the basin(s) bone dry - clearly the tap has not been touched and of course, those self-same hands have operated the door handles or push ........

Shame on people for not bothering - sadly that may well be the cause of many such bug spreads.... it is poor often, even in hospitals where a cursory spray of an alcohol gel is deemed adequate - which it is not. Doctors and nurses going from one person to the next may well aid the transmission, or even the auxiliaries taking food around and moving the table of one person before doing the same for the next or possibly helping them to sit up more....


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

Years ago my BIL had TB. His elderly Dr blamed many of the infections on bedding not being given a chance to air before the bed was neatly made.

I've made that my excuse over the years!!


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

I’m contacting the GP tomorrow

Although I’ve no longer got the runs I’m not feeling that well

Don’t feel like eating at all

Even my go to comfort food, hot tinned tomatoes with salt doesn’t appeal

Still got lower abdominal tenderness

Not keen on attending a gp surgery if people with flu are also attending , so maybe I should give it a week to settle

I never make beds Jean , well I do but leave them folded back to air 

When the grandkids stay for a night I shake everything up then fold the duvet back until their next visit 

Next best thing to Israel, well the Arab sector, where bedding is hung out of the window each morning for the sunshine to get to it 

Did the same when we first came back to England until I noticed the neighbours giving me funny looks 

Sandra


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

You could try just ringing for advice, Sandra?


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

It is worth remembering that a single day with the runs can make you dehydrated as well as causing you to lose weight as you start to depend on your reserves.

It WILL take time to get over, I have always been recommended to eat "live" yoghurt so that the gut flora can be reestablished quickly, yoghurt is also very light and if you mix a little jam with it you can up its carbohydrate content - that wil also help you get back on your feet.

But, don't try yo do too much, too quickly - you are NOT the twenty something year old that is in your memory of fighting things off, it will take you longer to recuperate.

Be guided by what your GP says - you can request a telephone conversation as you are quite right NOT to want to go there - for the safety of others as well as yourself. If indeed it is Norovirus that you have had, and there I,s no way to prove that, or to overcome it other than letting your own body's immune response system do its job. As you said, you are taking immuno-suppressive medication, so it will take even longer - not exactly what you want to hear but hopefully a truth that you can recognise.

Your nurse training stressed that things take time to get over - nothing is as quick as we would wish and when we get older that is even more pronounced.

So, rest, drink and eat what you want, when you want and as much as you want - you will get there. A warm bath may also help your abdominal cramps a little - a relaxing bath is an excellent way to destress particularly if you are not then faced with being too hot in bed by having it last thing in the evening (with a glass of....... ?).


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## HermanHymer (Dec 5, 2008)

I've been drinking Kefir on and off for the last few weeks. Makes my dicky old tum feel good - lots of good bugs the cherry flavour is very more-ish.


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

I make my own kefir daily. I've been drinking it for quite a few years now.

Don't know if it does any good but I think I have the best gut of any of my friends!


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

How do you make it Jean

I used to make my own yogurt and soft cheese

Do you need to purchase a live culture to start it?

Sandra


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

aldra said:


> How do you make it Jean
> 
> I used to make my own yogurt and soft cheese
> 
> ...


Yes, Sandra. I was given my kefir by a friend years ago. Tho after a year or 2 and a bit of neglect it died. But I bought a live culture off the internet. It took a week or two to restore itself and has worked well since.


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## aldra (Jul 2, 2009)

I’ll have ago at that 

Sandra


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

Sandra, if you PM me your address I could send you a bit - mine is due for dividing.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Is it like a Ginger Beer plant?

Ray.


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## jiwawa (Jun 22, 2007)

I guess its behaviour is the same. But I seem to remember the ginger beer plant being more like sand, or mud. This is a bit like cottage cheese.

I assume the ginger beer was a bit alcoholic? And we, as kids, were allowed to drink it! (not much!)


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## peribro (Sep 6, 2009)

aldra said:


> Not keen on attending a gp surgery if people with flu are also attending , so maybe I should give it a week to settle


I made that stupid mistake a week ago. Phoned the GP's PA to get referred to the "knee people" again (have arthritis in one knee) and she wanted to see me in person. Went down which was a waste of time as she simply ticked the box and referred me but I've now got a very heavy cold. Was at the O2 last night feeling like "sh*t" and at a wedding tomorrow. Made the same mistake last year at the same time - visited a friend who was in hospital with pneumonia and I spent the whole of Christmas with an equally bad cold.

Apart from going to the GP / hospital the biggest mistake I made was not sanitising my hands on the way out - I do it on the way in but of course it's the way out when it's probably just as important but I keep forgetting!

I was told to do a DIY blood pressure test on my way out of the GP's which involved sticking my arm down a tube. Countless people had probably used it already and there was no apparent means of sanitising it so who knows what I caught!

God, I feel awful!


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Yes we always feel vulnerable in GPs waiting rooms. Especially when you can hear all the sniffing and gurgling going on beside you. The French seem incapable of understanding air borne infections. 

Ray.


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