Vomiting (Norovirus) bug in Gran Canaria

Sammy85_2

Please think of money! I mean in respect of handling it, its something which is often overlooked.

Everytime you handle coins and notes you handle bugs from others who had the money first. With cleaner currencies (Euros and sterling), it tends not to be thought of so much as if you were handling say, egyptian notes and others like that which tend to be quite grubby looking.

Just think about where the things you touch may have been and who else may have handled them.

charis18uk

Two options when trying to avoid a norovirus infection:

* Good hand hygiene. Which means using soap and water. Above posts are spot on, no hand gels will work. Hand WASHING is the only option.

* Avoidance, in other words don't go anywhere near an establishment with an outbreak.

Norovirus, also known as winter vomiting bug is a cyclical illness and it's pretty much impossible to predict or prevent outbreaks. It appears in any place where there are large groups of people living/working together.

Schools tend to have outbreaks each year as most parents will already know. Hospitals too.

Younger children and the elderly are most at risk due to lowered immunity.

On a positive note, my son and husband had norovirus last winter which coincidentally coincided with an outbreak on the ward I worked on (they weren't linked). I never got infected. Basically I washed my hands very regularly and always before putting them on anything going in my mouth.

Carry your own cutlery and clean before use
Avoid foods such as salads
Regularly clean childrens hands and always before meals.

You could cancel your holiday but being realistic you could go anywhere on holiday and be confronted with the same problems even if they don't currently have or had an outbreak.

If you or a family becomes infected it is self limiting and usually passes in 24hrs. Have plenty of fluids. Flat cola and lemonade (not NAS variety) are good. You could use something like dioralyte with replacement electrolytes. Keep a careful watch on the elderly and young children for dehydration. Avoid the heat to reduce chances of this.


http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Norovirus/Pages/Introduction.aspx

pilates39

This is an old article but still applicable

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-491996/We-bug-busting-hand-washes-test.html

Just one note about using soap and water - always use your own. I carry a small pump action bottle of liquid soap and paper towels (in case there is none in the wash room) and also use a paper towel to open the door. Amazes me how many people do not wash their hands after using the loo.