It wasn't Butterflies

[Phincer]

It's been a few weeks since the end of Summer Nationals. I just have to ask everyone-did anyone else pick up a stomach virus?

Last day of competition my family, one of our coaches and one other kid on another strip were sick. After doing a quick survey the symptoms were one or all of these: fever, nausea, diarrhea.

We all ate at the same place the night before, but my husband's and my symptoms came on later in the day so I'm assuming it was viral instead of food poisoning.

My fencer does not go around hugging or sharing food/drink, washes his hands frequently and in general does a good job of being health conscious without going overboard...anyone got any virus-avoidance techniques out there other than the usual?

[the ancient one]

Yikes.

1. Never get sick with your mask on; It is a strainer.

2. Seriously, in my club, after a particularly bad flu season it was decided to dispense with the handshake in favor of bumping forearms. Gently, of course.

[dridge]

Sometimes the onset and nature of symptoms from food poisoning is determined by how much of the offending agent one has eaten. Therefore, some people may sicken sooner than others, or with a different constellation of symptoms. Hence, this may have been something you (all) ate.

Drew

[RebelFencer]

Originally Posted by Phincer

It's been a few weeks since the end of Summer Nationals. I just have to ask everyone-did anyone else pick up a stomach virus?

Last day of competition my family, one of our coaches and one other kid on another strip were sick. After doing a quick survey the symptoms were one or all of these: fever, nausea, diarrhea.

We all ate at the same place the night before, but my husband's and my symptoms came on later in the day so I'm assuming it was viral instead of food poisoning.

My fencer does not go around hugging or sharing food/drink, washes his hands frequently and in general does a good job of being health conscious without going overboard...anyone got any virus-avoidance techniques out there other than the usual?

It's probably bacterial. There's usually a reasonably large time range when symptoms kick in (mostly dependent on how much bacteria you get in you, how long it takes to produce the toxins, and strength of immune system). My guess is that the food was contaminated since that's the common thread. Since you're posting about it and not at the doctor, I'm assuming it went away fairly quickly or wasn't too serious. Besides the typical "wash your hands, make sure the food is cooked, etc..." there isn't much else to do to prevent infection. But since I just had a diagnostic Microbiology class last semester, here are some steps to preventing the selection of resistant bacteria:

1) When prescribed antibiotics, take the entire prescription... even if you are feeling better and symptoms subside. Failure to do so could leave bacteria left, which are inherently more resistant than the weaker strains that were killed. They will multiply and be harder to kill.

2) Don't ask for antibiotics. Let the Doctor prescribe them if needed. The more you expose your resident bacteria to antibiotics, the greater the chance of resistance building up. They are necessary in some cases, but there are sometimes when you just don't need them.

3) Avoid using Antibacterial soaps. Unless someone in your house is immunocompromised, regular soap gets the job done. Antibacterial soaps do kill more bacteria, but it is unnecessary as your normal flora is harmless in most cases (there are exceptions). The end result, again, is it selecting for more resistant strains which causes more of a pain in the butt down the road.

Hopefully this helps. Also, I'm not a doctor... just a Microbiology student relaying information.

[RITFencing]

Originally Posted by the ancient one

Yikes.

1. Never get sick with your mask on; It is a strainer.

EWWW.

2. Seriously, in my club, after a particularly bad flu season it was decided to dispense with the handshake in favor of bumping forearms. Gently, of course.

Yeah, our club too. Wait, maybe it's the same one?

[Peach]

Clearly food poisoning. More common than most people realize.

[Phincer]

Originally Posted by dridge

Sometimes the onset and nature of symptoms from food poisoning is determined by how much of the offending agent one has eaten. Therefore, some people may sicken sooner than others, or with a different constellation of symptoms. Hence, this may have been something you (all) ate.Drew

Ewww. We all ate at the same place, not the same thing. Which is just gross when you think about it. Someone at Carraba's was sick.

Originally Posted by the ancient one

2. Seriously, in my club, after a particularly bad flu season it was decided to dispense with the handshake in favor of bumping forearms. Gently, of course.

Great idea, I will suggest to coach this winter. I don't think the NAC officials will go for it though. Our son has brought home some kind of illness from every NAC, either from the plane or all that hand-shaking.

Originally Posted by Peach

Clearly food poisoning. More common than most people realize.

Awww-I already had major bad ugly food poisoning at the NAC in Atlanta! I think once a year is enough.

Well, thanks for all your responses. I'm glad it was more food-related than a bacterial or viral infection going around the convention center. I wouldn't wish it on my enemies. It was just a shame that our kiddo was standing on the end of the strip ready to heave and/or other lovely symptoms.

I can't stand it when they're so pale you can't tell where the uniform stops.
And no, even though we told him to withdraw, he refused.

Everyone was back to normal within 36 hours.

[the ancient one]

Originally Posted by Phincer

"... I don't think the NAC officials will go for it though. Our son has brought home some kind of illness from every NAC, either from the plane or all that hand-shaking..."

I guess some brands of hand sanitizers are OK, others not so useful:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no03/05-0955.htm

note that CDC says: "...Hand sanitizers were effective in reducing gastrointestinal illnesses in households..."

[Nicksmom]

Food born illness are more common than most people think, can be either bacterial, or viral. Buffets are very nice hosts for food born illness. A few tips...sneeze into your elbow, not your hand. Wash hands with soap and warm water. Keep skin moisturized, this will help prevent cracks where infection can get in. DON'T pick zits or boils unless directed by a medical professional (reason-there is a little bug called MRSA that is running rampent in the community BIG problem if you get it) If it dosen't belong to you leave it alone, esp if it's wet. (had to throw that one in I'm a mom).

[Peach]

Restaurant food, taken in sufficient quantities by mouth directly into your gastrointestinal system, is most often the culprit, as others have noted.

Don't be too worried about other sources. Scaremongers love to harp on the amount of bacteria around, but the greatest proportion of those are harmless and most of the rest you're protected against. Keep in mind that you are exposed to many bacteria all day long and always have been, and most of the time your immune system handles it happily. Don't worry about hand-shaking (or breathing ) unnecessarily. Hand washing (when done correctly--sing at least a stanza of "Happy Birthday" while scrubbing) is sufficient to take care of any bathroom germs, and fergawdssake if you're one of those people who thinks your skin isn't sufficiently protected against contact with a toilet seat, please either use a cover or wipe the darn thing. In order to contract one of those dire diseases people are afraid of, you'd have to insert the toilet seat into an orifice not designed to accommodate it.

[Phincer]

Originally Posted by Peach

Keep in mind that you are exposed to many bacteria all day long and always have been, and most of the time your immune system handles it happily. .

Yeah, I'm one of those moms who always had a good supply of outside dirt, house dust, animal dander and pollen on hand to booster her kid's immune system. And he spends lots of time in the shower... He should have the immune system of a rock.

As he says "Mom, I don't go around licking doorknobs..."

[Phincer]

Originally Posted by Peach

Restaurant food, taken in sufficient quantities by mouth directly into your gastrointestinal system, is most often the culprit, as others have noted.

And after eating at Carraba's (b/c we were at that hotel) so many times, it could have be we were just truly sick of eating there...

[sleepyweasle]

Ooooo - nothing was worse than the Camphylobacter colitis I contracted at the SN in Atlanta last year. I was sick as a dog for weeks and lost about 7 lbs. (which doesn't sound like a lot but on me it is).

Suffice it to say our local Health Department was delighted to hear I hadn't contracted it locally.