I had what I thought was a stomach bug 2 weeks ago, now I have it again. Is this a stomach bug?

Question

Two weeks ago I was sick up all night vomiting. I was fine the next day and until last night around midnight I was up vomiting again. Is this a stomach virus? What should I do?

Answer 1

Well really, you should see a doctor, but think about what and where you have ate...are there any similarities. Do you have any food allergies? Have you been around others with the stomach bug? Counld you be pregnant? This time of year a lot of viruses get passed around, hopefully its no more than that.

Answer 2

As a rule, if you have a bacterial infection of the gut, vomiting will happen as long as there is something in the stomach to vomit. It's also accompanied by diarrhea, as the body tries to rid the system of the offensive bacteria or virus. It's hard to say exactly what prompted the vomiting, but yes, you can get it again, multiple times as a matter of fact, if you don't isolate and eliminate the source. It could be from the food itself, improperly washed, stored, or prepared. It could be from cross contamination in your kitchen, where bacteria/viruses from raw or partially cooked meats are moving from your hands or the cutting board into other foods. It could be from your own hands, if you did not wash properly before preparing the food. Sanitation and safe food handling practices are the best ways to prevent such infections.
It sounds like you have been reinfected. It might be a different critter causing it, or it could be the same one. If you touched things while sick the first time, and didn't get them sanitized, you could reinfect yourself again later, even weeks later- when you pick whatever the contaminated object is again.
I advise you to do a good deep clean, sanitize clean of your kitchen and bathrooms. Pay close attention to things like the cutting boards, garbage can, and the refrigerator. If you use a kitchen sponge- toss it and replace it. Sponges are not good choices in kitchens because they pick up bacteria like magnets, and then provide a nice moist place to grow. If you really want to use one, I suggest a trip to the microwave after each cleanup is finished. You don't need a fancy cleaning solution, a bleach based cleaner or one of the normal kitchen cleaning solutions will work just fine. And think about where and what you ate in the 12-24 hours prior to the illness. If it was in a particular restaurant, I would avoid it in future, since the bug is your evidence they aren't following good safe food handling practices.
When you have vomiting, the first rule is to stick to clear liquid only- water, preferred. After a day of that, you can start eating BRAT- bananas, rice, apples/sauce, and toast/bread. No dairy, no nothing else, except the clear liquids. After 24 hours of BRAT, you can progress to nice bland, neutral things like veggie soup, but nothing really spicy. If after 3 days you seem to be doing okay, you can have a small serving of your choice of a fruit based live culture yogurt. That will help replace the bacteria balance in your intestines, which you need for proper digestion. That needs to be the only dairy you eat, though, until you are a full 7 days post vomiting/diarrhea. During your recovery time, you need to do the clean and disinfect of the kitchen and bathroom, to ensure you kill off the bacteria/virus that caused the problem to start with. Oh, clear liquids can include sports drinks, but not alcohol in any form. Diarrhea will stop itself if you quit eating and just drink, so long as you can drink that is the best way to go. If you can't hold liquids due to excess vomiting, though, you need ER attention to prevent dehydration. Diarhea can continue a day or two, without being a worry, so long as you are still drinking plenty. It's better not to fight the process, and let the body empty the offender out, than to take medications to stop it. That usually makes things worse, since the bacteria can really have a good spot to multiply in.
It's a real nuisance to get a stomach virus, or food borne illness. I hope you get better quickly, and in the meantime- clean and disinfect your home to prevent reinfection in future.

Answer 3

It sounds like classic food-borne illness.
Could be bacteria or virus, but remember, with things like Salmonella, you don't have immunity to it once you get it once.
So the fact you had it once, even just one day ago, doesn't in any way mean you can't get it again.

What I would like to know, is where you were likely to have gotten it. Did you eat at home?
Some people don't realize how important cleanliness in the kitchen is.
I always put about 2 caps of bleach in with my dishwater, and let it soak for a while before I wash, and use very hot water.
I haven't gotten sick from food at home for years since I started doing that.