Spring/Summer Norovirus Facts

Spring is here, summer is coming, and people with emetophobia are far less anxious about catching the dreaded norovirus (also known as “stomach flu” “stomach bug” etc.). Although everyone knows that these viruses can be hanging around at any time of the year, it’s generally true that summer is a much calmer time of year for people who have a fear of vomiting (emetophobia).

So, I thought it might be a good time to talk a little bit about noroviruses: what are they, how are they spread, what prevents them, and so on. A few years ago, I had a microbiology major write a piece about noroviruses on my website and I edited it to keep the facts but present them in a less scary way than the CDC does. The CDC and other public health sites write their articles for the people who don’t take the necessary precautions to stop the spread of disease. People with emetophobia are the opposite of that – they take too many precautions and never spread around disease!

First of all, it’s important for people with emetophobia to remember that if you don’t have kids in daycare or school, or you don’t work in a daycare or school or nursing home then it’s very rare to catch a norovirus. Kids don’t wash their hands properly at school, and touch surfaces where infected kids have touched all the time. No amount of coaching, teaching or threatening them will really help so if you’re doing that with your kids you could maybe lay off that unless you want them to also get emetophobia.

Noroviruses are spread through the fecal-oral route, which is a nice way of saying that you must literally swallow someone’s bodily fluid (poop or vomit particles) in order to get norovirus. If someone vomits in the room with you, it may splash and tiny, microscopic particles of it land on your lips or on surfaces. You may sniff them up your nose and down your throat as well, although this is less common. If someone has diarrhea from norovirus and flushes the toilet without closing the lid, the particles can circulate in the air and have the same effect, landing on surfaces like countertops, taps, light switches, doorknobs or even cups and toothbrushes. Sitting beside a child in the bathroom when they’re sick is often a way to contract a norovirus from them. Wearing a mask will stop this from happening, as it also stops you from putting your hand in your mouth for some reason (biting nails, picking at teeth, absent-mindedly). You can get norovirus on your hands directly if you’re in that bathroom and then go eat a sandwich before washing hands as well.

The best prevention for catching norovirus is to wash your hands with plain soap and water. As well, if someone is sick with a virus try to keep them using the same bathroom and don’t have anyone else go in there. Once they’re well, a simple solution of bleach (1 Tablespoon to a quart/liter of water) sprayed on surfaces and left for two minutes will kill everything. Throw out the toothbrushes and get new ones if they were on the counter, and don’t store toothbrushes there anymore.

If you’ve swallowed norovirus particles the incubation period is 24-48 hours depending on viral load. The particles can stay on surfaces and infect people for 9 or 10 days so think about two weeks. That is the same amount of time that people shed norovirus in their stool which can still infect people. Diapering is a common source of catching a norovirus after it appears to have left the house.

This whole blog may sound quite frightening to someone with emetophobia, but if you really think about it, it’s pretty much impossible to catch a norovirus as long as you wash your hands before you put them in your mouth or before eating something with your hands.