how long does it last?

Or more so - how long is a stomach flu contagious? DH's sister is sick, I'm being induced Monday morning, and I want to make sure I'm making an informed decision by telling her she will have to wait until we are home to see new.

His other sister's kid has had a cold since Thanksgiving.. but that should be okay by Monday, yes?

<blockquote><b>Quoting Vindictive:</b>" Or more so - how long is a stomach flu contagious? DH's sister is sick, I'm being induced Monday morning, ... [snip!] ... we are home to see new. His other sister's kid has had a cold since Thanksgiving.. but that should be okay by Monday, yes?"</blockquote>




As far as the stomach bug...usually a school's rule is 24 hours free of fever/vomiting.
It should be pretty much common sense that they not visit with the baby if they aren't healthy.

I would have anyone sick or exposed to the flu to stay away. At least 48 hrs after they are better.

Quoting Big'n:" <blockquote><b>Quoting Vindictive:</b>" Or more so - how long is a stomach flu contagious? ... [snip!] ... hours free of fever/vomiting. It should be pretty much common sense that they not visit with the baby if they aren't healthy."

Common sense for us.  

The norm is 4-10 days from the time it was contracted. A cold is a week either way I wouldn't let them see the baby until they've been over it for a few days.

The pediatrician at the hospital told us not to let any one near our nb until they had been over any sickness for two days. He said if there was any coughing, sneezing, runny nose, fever, or stomach issues to make sure they were totally over it, but he also said nb's typically don't get sick from people for a few months because of your antibodies they get. My son had lung issues from menconium aspiration so I didn't let many people see him for the first few weeks and people thought I was a bitch, so unfortunately its not common sense to some that nb's need protected.

Quoting TmA's mommy:" The pediatrician at the hospital told us not to let any one near our nb until they had been over any ... [snip!] ... the first few weeks and people thought I was a bitch, so unfortunately its not common sense to some that nb's need protected."

I'm mostly concerned about one of us or my 3 year old getting sick. The last thing I need is to be puking, or DH being sick, or DD.. all while taking care of a newb.

Thanks ladies! Hopefully DH is understanding, and his sisters don't get pissed.

If it's norovirus it can still be spread through stool and saliva for up to 2 weeks after though the school's recommend 24-48 hours (thus why it gets spread so often). It can live on surfaces up to 30 days at least (bleach is the best bet there).

I am phobic about stomach viruses and have done a lot of research on the matter and luckily have several friends with similar outlooks who are awesome about keeping their germs to themselves when these things do come up.

Good luck avoiding it! Definitely ask the sister to stay away a week or two.

A friend of mine shared this article on FB about it going around in her area and I quoted and shared the following 2 big points made in the article (plus some other helpful info) in hopes of educating some of my friends who'd been dealing with it recently.

-"people who have had norovirus are still contagious from three days to two weeks after their symptoms go away" *Norovirus can also live on surfaces for up to a month so please try and keep your child out of school and high traffic kid play areas "ideally for 2 to 3 days" and avoid play dates and parties for a couple weeks as well and make sure your house is thoroughly cleaned (going to the next point)

-"Norovirus can live on hard surfaces for several days if they aren’t properly disinfected. It’s important to use cleaning solutions that include bleach to ensure that the virus is killed......Popular cleaning supplies like disposable wipes often don’t include bleach and won’t be effective in killing norovirus" *Also many hand sanitizers do NOT kill norovirus either, you need to check if yours does though hand washing with soap and water is your best bet