On Tuesday morning at 2 am I had two of my children wake up vomiting in the middle of the night. It was very severe for the first 6 hours or so which my youngest (almost 2) threw up about 20 times. They seemed to be feeling a bit better in the afternoon but last night started throwing up again. Now we are going on 30 hours and they are still sick. I know typically the virus lasts 24 hours. My DH and ds came down with it last night (which is how I know its a virus and not food poisoning)
WHen will this madness end? I feel like I am loosing it! I've hardly slept at all in two days and of course cleaning up all this illness isn't helping me any. I just feel drained and overwhelmed and like I can't take much more.
Thankfully at the moment everyone seems to be feeling better. I don't feel great and hopefully have a milder case of this virus. When I said typically it lasts 24 hours I merely meant vomiting. I didn't realize the vomiting could last days like this. I am very fortunate that everyone is hydrated and able to keep liquids down. DH was only sick for about 12 hours and was able to give me a hand today so I could get a nap in. I've been using bleach when cleaning and have washed my hands every time I have had to clean something up or have had to touch a sickie. My outlook is much better and earlier when I posted this I felt like it was never going to end. (Plus you feel so horrible for the kids when there is nothing you can do for them)
It is not true that stomach bugs only last 24 hours.
It often lasts longer.
Be sure, your kids do not get dehydrated. This is very bad.
Have them checked by the Doctor.
We just dealt with this. It took 3 days for my kids to get over it. Definitely not a 24 hour bug. Even after they finally stopped vomiting, they just laid around for two days and slept. They didn't want to eat but I was able to get them to drink water, ginger ale or gatorade to keep them hydrated. We are on day 5 since it started for one of them and she still doesn't want to eat much.
I bleached everything they touched like sheets, clothes, etc. And went crazy spraying Lysol on EVERYTHING. I also cleaned thoroughly with bleach and other cleaners. This bug is HIGHLY contagious. It has been running through entire families at their school. :(
My youngest daughter had a stomach virus for 12 days when she was in 3rd grade. It does happen. Her pediatrician did not even want to see her because they can last weeks. I insisted however and they did stool testing which was normal. It really was just a virus.
The same thing happen to my oldest daughter when she was in 2nd grade only she required IV fluids 3xs during a 10 day virus.
I hope it passes quickly for your family!
unfortunately, it happens. you just have to do the best you can. my son came down with it on an early friday morning at about 2am, last until saturday around 2pm. everyone was fine until tuesday evening. my daughter puked at about 7pm, hers lasted until thursday. then my DH got it on Wednesday... all day. then i got it friday. no matter how much you disinfect or lysol your house, germs are airborne (obvioulsy) and the chances of you getting it are high. i mean, what do you want to do? walk away? it sucks and most families have been through it a few times. i know its tiring and draining but you gotta do whatcha gotta do! good luck!
It's been going around nation-wide lately, seen and heard it on numerous things and it's a nasty one. Heard of alot of people vomiting for a couple of days, diarrhea lasting a few more days and then taking 7-10 days to feel completely back to normal. It's just a nasty one that has to run it's course.
I would suggest getting probiotics, go to your pharmacy and ask them what they recommend, it will help the gut get it's natural flora back. Some people will tell you to go get yogurt that has it in it, but DO NOT do that. The last thing a stomach needs after this nasty of a bug is dairy products. Steer clear of that for a week since this is such a nasty bug.
My son had this stomach virus for 5 days. I had it 4 days. The average is 3-5 days. Hang in there.
More gastrointestinal bugs run 48 hours or 72 hours and are more typical than the 24 hr variety.
Break out the barf buckets.
When they hit the dry heaves they have nothing left to barf up.
Wash out mouths/noses, have them brush teeth (f they are old enough) to clear the acid/bile taste out.
A warm bath can be soothing to an upset stomach (they always help my son feel better).
After 30 min or so let them try to sip very small amounts of water (wait to see if it stays down - if not, then wait another 30 min before trying again) and if that's ok, then continue small sips of water, Pedialyte, warm ginger ale, soup broth, etc - clear liquids - stay away from dairy for a few days.
Keep them on fluids till they feel they can handle solids (it might be a day or two).
Pedialyte Popsicles work well, too.
You can go a long while without eating solids as long as the fluids and electrolytes are kept up.
You want to avoid dehydration.
You'll get through this!
This is why schools have the "24 hours without vomiting before you can come back" rule. My child once had a virus where she vomited just once, then...23 hours later, vomited again. The doctor said that is normal. Not all viruses act on a schedule and yes, they can last for a very long time.
Please be sure everyone is staying appropriately hydrated (water alone may not be enough but you also do not need to do electrolyte drinks unless it's really severe - call your doctor and ask rather than guessing! If your younger one does not want to drink, get a lot of popsicles, too.). Also be absolutely sure that anyone who is sick at the time uses only ONE bathroom so any second bathroom is not being used for vomiting; and clean all doorknobs, door handles, sink handles, spigots, toilet handles, and every other surface several times each day with disinfecting wipes; change bedclothes, pillowcases, etc. daily if needed and wash with a ton of hottest water etc. Preventing re-infection is key at this point. I also would have a bucket or basin or clean, small trash can next to each person all day long -- much easier than HOPING they can rush to the bathroom in time before they vomit. Good luck. And...don't forget to buy a ton of disposable plastic gloves for yourself for each and every cleaning you do. It's a pain but it is the only way to tamp it down. Viruses live on surfaces for some time and this could keep circulating unless you can isolate sick folks, clean handled surfaces constantly and keep kids from vomiting on floors etc. if they can't make it to the bathroom. Gross but true. I really feel for you and hope it runs its course soon, but -- no, it is not unusual for viruses to last longer than 24 hours or more.
Ugg, the stomach bugs have been going around really bad here. I am not far from you. I hate to say it, but we had it going around in our house for several weeks. First everyone got something that was just making everyone throw up for a day or two, then we got another virus a week or so later where the kids had a fever, vomiting, diarreha and very very lethargic. That one lasted much longer and really zapped everyones energy. They had very little appetite for a week or so. We ALL ended up sick, even sent it to Grandmas house and got them all sick too. The only way I got any rest was to put the baby down for a nap, and put my older kid in bed with me and put on a movie so I could rest while he watched a movie. Good luck, I know it is horrible! But it will pass, just gotta keep haning in there :)
