Good hand hygiene
The norovirus is difficult to completely protect oneself against, but there are things to consider. The most important is hand hygiene.
It is a virus that tolerates the most common forms of hand disinfection, such as hand sanitizer, which makes washing your hands - good hand hygiene - the best. Especially before putting something in your mouth or preparing food for others, says assistant state epidemiologist Erik Sturegård.
The virus also tolerates drying out, so a surface can be contagious for days.
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Keep children at home
If you become ill and start to recover, it is enough that you no longer feel sick when you meet others. Children in preschool age, however, should be kept at home for at least 48 hours after the last symptoms, as they have difficulty maintaining hygiene. When the children feel better, it is important to start with regular but small portions.
There is a great risk that they will become hungry and then eat or drink too much at the beginning, and continue to vomit even though the disease is subsiding.
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Special routines for healthcare
It is not only in preschools that the spread of infection is difficult to stop, it also applies to healthcare and elderly care, where many people are close to each other and need help from different directions.
For very fragile individuals, this disease can also be dangerous. But there are special routines to maintain protection and minimize the risk of infection. However, it is not always possible, and one will see some spread of infection.
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Do not prepare food for others
Erik Sturegård describes the winter vomiting disease as an "unfortunate combination" of sick individuals producing enormous amounts of virus and the dose required to become sick being very low.
Each person's actions are therefore crucial to slow down the spread of infection when many gather and eat together. He emphasizes that many during the holiday season meet elderly people who may have medical conditions that make winter vomiting disease dangerous. If you are sick or have met sick people, you should avoid handling food that others will eat, as well as preparing food for others.
Most of us will experience winter vomiting disease several or many times in life. Each time, you think you never want to experience it again. Then you can do your best to not spread the infection further.
