Rotavirus has arrived.

Longneck and Millsboro have fallen victim to the dreaded Rotavirus, a potentially life threatening illness for infants and the elderly. It is highly contagious and for some babies, can last up to 9 days. My friend's baby, and my grandson are both sick with it right now. My son, who is 12 started getting sick last night. My oldest daughter was sick last week. I'm not feeling well right now. This stuff is wicked. For adults, it's a basic stomach flu with vomiting and diarrhea that lasts as long as 3-5 days. There can be fever, and arms and legs can feel cold. For the little ones, it's pretty harsh. Projectile vomiting, copious amounts of diarrhea, fever, and constant crying are the main symptoms. My grandson has been on Pedialyte exclusively for 2 days now. He did so well on it by keeping it all down, that we tried to introduce formula back into his diet. NOPE! Kaploowey---he shot it across the room. So back to square one...a couple of teaspoons of electrolyte solution every 15 or 20 minutes. You have to be vigilant and baby will NOT be a happy camper. Unfortunately, there are 3 more adults here that have not become ill yet. They will, most certainly. The good thing is, even though we feel like hell with it, it is much shorter lived for us. Put in place as many preventive measures as you can...handwashing anytime you handle anything from a sick baby, use the Lysol alot on surfaces and bedding, hot wash and dry soiled sickroom stuff by itself...you know the routine. Also keep in mind that this virus can live on surfaces for days. Use the same nipple on baby's bottle until he is well, then throw it out..pacifiers too. Just throw them out and get a new one. What can I expect as a RNY post-op if I get this thing? Is it worse because our tummy is smaller, or not as bad? I rarely would get this stuff when the kids had it but I suspect since the whole household is getting it one after the other, I probably will too. Anyone else having trouble with Rotavirus in their family? KathyG

Kathy, My daughter's family had it last week. 1st my son-in-law, then the gradson that is 7 then my daughter. She works at Christiana Hospital and has been using alot of Lysol spray. Praying my 2nd grandson, 5, won't get it. Unfortunately with school and daycare it's hard for people to contain these sickness bouts. She lost several days of work due to the kids being so sick. I made chicken soup and left it on their doorstep 2 nights. It helped make them warm inside, but didn't help with any of the other symptoms. My hubby, my Mom & I got the flu shot. Since I work in a nursing home I think it's a good idea. You are right, Seniors are soooo suceptable to these viral infections. I hope to ward off some of the viruses. I guess there is always 1 more waiting to wreak it's havoc on us. As far as the post-gastric population, my advice is to try to get in as much liquid's & protein's as you possibly can tolerate. Keep up on your vitamins. A healthy body will ward off a certain amount of these illnesses. Use safe food handling methods and keep those hands washed after handling kids. Keeping yourself healthy is a priority. Stay warm and safe. ((HUGS)) Elissa

Elissa, Here's hoping we stay healthy. Unfortunately, the flu shot you mentioned does nothing to protect us from stomach viruses. It guards us against Influenza, the one that hits the lungs and respiratory tract. I asked my doc about this years ago because many people think if they get a flu shot, they won't get the tummy bugs that go around during the winter months. That was one of the few times I actually got sick with a tummy bug as an adult, and I'd had my flu shot. I was one of the people that thought I wouldn't get the "oopsie poopsies"..Boy, was I wrong! So folks, don't think for one second that you can't get the pukey-poops just because you had your flu shot! Take care everyone, and wash, wash, wash! Spray, spray, spray! KathyG