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If there’s one thing you don’t want to endure, it’s the symptoms of norovirus, a brutal stomach bug that tends to cause relentless diarrhea and vomiting for roughly one to three hellish days. And it may be especially difficult to avoid right now, as surveillance data from the CDC shows the gnarly illness is surging: 91 cases were reported in the first week of December 2024 (the most recent data available). For context, that’s the max number of norovirus cases we’ve seen in any week in December from 2012 until now. (COVID protocols likely helped limit the spread during the years people were locked down or social distancing.) And that’s only including data from the 14 states that are part of the CDC’s NoroSTAT reporting program, so the countrywide total is likely even higher.
Generally, norovirus—the most common cause of viral gastroenteritis (a.k.a. the stomach flu)—tends to spike this time of year. “It’s a year-round [virus], but we hear about it more in the winter,” Christopher Cao, MD, an assistant professor of gastroenterology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, tells SELF. (Research suggests the pathogen fares better at lower temperatures, so it makes sense that outbreaks tend to happen between November and April.)
And it’s extremely contagious: Norovirus spreads like wildfire, often through direct contact with someone who’s infected—say, by caring for a sick person, or by sharing food or eating utensils with them. You can also catch it by touching contaminated surfaces, like a door or toilet handle, and then touching your face with unwashed hands. Separately, norovirus outbreaks can also spring from food that was contaminated at the source and that’s often eaten raw, like shellfish harvested from virus-laden water or produce washed with it.
Again, norovirus symptoms are pretty intense. Chances are, you’ll quickly know something’s up once they hit. Here’s what this stomach flu feels like—and when it’s time to see a doctor if you’re can’t-risk-leaving-my-bathroom sick.
It’s easy to write off an upset stomach, but the abdominal cramping and pain typically caused by norovirus will be hard to ignore. Many people also experience uncomfortable nausea, per the CDC.
Norovirus often causes persistent diarrhea and vomiting—sometimes both at the same time, Rabia A. De Latour, MD, gastroenterologist and assistant professor of medicine at NYU Langone, tells SELF. Per the CDC, it isn’t unusual to feel “extremely ill” and deal with diarrhea or vomiting multiple times a day with the stomach flu. (That said, norovirus shouldn’t cause any blood in your poop.)
Your GI tract may not be the only part of your body that’s in pain: Norovirus can also cause muscle aches (similar to those caused by the flu), fatigue, and headaches. These are common symptoms of a lot of infectious illnesses; when your immune system jumps into action to fight the bug, your protective cells trigger inflammation, which can lead to soreness and make you feel completely wiped out.
A low-grade fever—meaning your temperature is somewhere between 99.6 and 100.3 degrees Fahrenheit—is a common symptom of norovirus, as are the chills. Like muscle aches, a fever can be a sign that your body is fighting an infection, and it can make you feel clammy or sweaty.
Because norovirus can set off seemingly nonstop diarrhea and vomiting, it’s essential to be aware of your fluid intake once symptoms hit, Dr. Cao says: “One of the most frequent symptoms we see in patients is dehydration.” This, in turn, can lead to muscle cramps, headaches, dizziness or lightheadedness, dark-colored urine, dry mouth, exhaustion, or feeling confused.
When to see a doctor about norovirus symptoms
If you have any combo of the symptoms above and they don’t settle down after 48 hours—or you just feel really unwell and can’t keep food or liquids down—it’s time to seek medical help, Dr. De Latour says. Getting in touch with a primary care doctor is a good place to start, whether they’re a provider you see regularly or one at an urgent care center.
You should also seek immediate help—even before the two-day mark—if you notice any symptoms of severe dehydration, like a rapid pulse, confusion, fainting, or muscle twitching. At this stage, you may need to be quickly rehydrated through IV fluids, the CDC notes. Seeing blood in the toilet, either from diarrhea or vomiting, should also prompt a doctor’s visit, since this isn’t normal with the stomach flu, Dr. Cao says. (Blood could be a sign of a different problem, like a parasitic or bacterial infection, hemorrhoids, or anal fissures, for example.) You may want to get checked out if you have a temperature above a low-grade fever too, since this is a common sign of all sorts of infections, including COVID. The sooner you know what’s causing you to feel awful, the sooner you’ll be on a path to getting better.
There’s no specific treatment for norovirus, but the good news is that it shouldn’t last too long (even though it might feel like forever). Most people make a full recovery within three days. You’re absolutely going to feel like crap during this time, but you can take comfort in the fact that it should be over fairly quickly.
The intensity of the symptoms, coupled with the fact that the virus is making its rounds, serve as one more reason to wash your hands well and often. Lathering with soap and water—and scrubbing for at least 20 seconds—is definitely easier than feeling chained to your toilet.
Related:
- Is Food Poisoning Contagious? Here’s How It Actually Spreads
- Walking Pneumonia Is on the Rise. Here Are the Symptoms to Look Out For
- A Drug-Resistant Stomach Bug Is Becoming More Prevalent—Should I Be Worried?
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