For the last few days, I’ve been fielding calls from patients asking what they can do to prevent getting the norovirus.   It’s all over the news lately – the norovirus has broken out in several states.  This time, though, it has changed into a different, more hardy, strain called the Sydney (out of Australia). In addition to the bad flu that’s going around the country, it’s yet another health alert to be wary of.  Allow me to share with you what I’ve been telling my own patients about lowering the risk of getting the norovirus.  First, let me give you a little background on the bug.

What Is The Norovirus? 

You may know of the norovirus as “cruise sickness” as it typically breaks out on cruise ships.  It is often mistaken for “food poisoning” as it can be acquired from eating virus-contaminated food.  Yet, norovirus also occurs on land infecting about 20 million people a year.

Norovirus can be a particularly nasty illness that lasts 2-4 days causing vomiting, diarrhea, with resultant dehydration.   It may even seem like the flu, as it shares a few similar symptoms and are both viral illnesses. They are caused by completely different bugs and behave differently.  Unlike the flu, though, there is no vaccine (yet) that can prevent it and no treatment like Tamiflu to lessen its symptoms.

How do you know if it’s the flu or norovirus?  The flu (though it does share similar symptoms with norovirus of nausea/vomiting, low grade fever, muscle aches, fatigue) is a viral respiratory illness accompanied by its telltale-nagging cough.  Norovirus is a digestive-system virus, usually associated with these symptoms:

• Rapid onset of stomach cramps, nausea/vomiting/diarrhea
• Can cause severe dehydration with complications

Although the norovirus is usually not serious in most people, it can become so in very young children and the elderly from dehydration.  It is a complication of the virus from losing fluids from vomiting and through diarrhea.

It is important – if you get the norovirus – to make every attempt to replace lost fluids by sipping water in small amounts, or taking tablespoons of chicken soup (or any soup you like, as the salt helps retain water in your body) to help keep liquids down.

Dehydration can have a domino-effect of other complications such as irregular heart rhythms from electrolyte imbalance. It can also result in fainting.  You may remember when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton fainted and hit her head? This was from the norovirus that she had the previous week.  Dehydration can bring you into the emergency room for intravenous replacement of fluids.  Symptoms of dehydration include:

• Dry mouth and throat
• Dizziness, loss of balance when standing
• Decreased urination with darker than normal urine

How To Lower Your Risk of Norovirus

The norovirus spreads quickly in crowded public places.  It is the leading cause of illness from contaminated foods.  Especially vulnerable are public salad bars, or buffet tables, with leafy greens, fresh fruits, and shellfish (oysters, clams, shrimp), where food is being handled by many people.  Wash your hands (and under fingernails) at least 30 seconds in hot water and soap.  Hand sanitizers have little effect on the norovirus, but they do work in killing the flu bug.

Norovirus may also come from your supermarket produce from people touching fruits and vegetables.  Be sure to wash your produce thoroughly when you get it home. Norovirus is often spread through touching contaminated foods, or surfaces, and then touching your hands to your mouth, nose, eyes, where the virus can enter your body.  People touch their face a few hundred times a day without realizing it. Try not to do this, at least until you wash your hands first.

People who have norovirus can be contagious the moment they get the bug and can stay contagious for several days afterwards. You can decrease your risk of also getting sick while taking care of a sick loved one by wearing gloves when handling their contaminated laundry.  Wash laundry with the hottest water.  Use a bleach-containing cleaner on surfaces where someone was sick with vomiting and/or diarrhea.

You can also boost your own immune strength in these ways:

1.  Optimum Vitamin D levels.  Be sure your vitamin D levels are over 30 ng/dL (you need a blood test to determine this). Take 2,000 IU of vitamin D₃ daily during flu-virus season.

2.  Optimum Vitamin C levels. 500-1,000 mg of Vitamin C, in divided doses throughout the day, helps guard against viral infections.

3.  Optimum nutrition diet.  Be sure that you get enough antioxidants, Omega-3 fats, antiviral herbs like garlic, onion and ginger, in your foods.  Also, supplement with a good multivitamin as well as extra vitamin D₃ and 1-2,000 mg of Omega-3 fats a day.

You don’t have to become ill with the norovirus.  Following the most basic of precautions, like simple hand washing and avoiding touching your face, along with optimizing your nutrition to boost your immune system, will go a long way in helping you stay healthy and virus-free all winter long.

Stay Well,
Mark Rosenberg, M.D.
Natural Health News

Prevent the Spread of Norovirus, http://www.cdc.gov/features/norovirus/

Boost Your Immune System Naturally, http://altmedicine.about.com/od/healthconditionsdisease/a/immune_boost.htm

photo credit: cdc.gov