The Real Deal on the 24-Hour Flu

Is there really such a thing as a 24-hour flu? I've always had my doubts, that was until...well... about 24 hours ago. On New Years Day -- actually the evening of New Years day -- my family and I had dinner with my sister-in-law and her family. We ate broiled rabbit. In Italy, rabbit is one of those things you eat on New Years and Easter and its cultural significance escapes me at the moment. All I know is I wasn't too keen on eating rabbit that particular evening. Something abut what was staring back at me from my plate just didn't look right. Now maybe it was coincidence or maybe my mother-in-law was trying to poison me, but by the time I woke up the next morning I was feeling seriously sick. So was my daughter and so was my wife.

Not that it made me recover any faster, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov) points out that there isn't any such thing as a 24-hour flu. There is however, food poisoning -- better known as Clostridium perfringes - which can strike several hours after ingesting poorly prepared food and which will underscore itself by blessing you with intense abdominal pain and diarrhea (begins 8 to 22 hours after eating foods that contain these bacteria). The CDC goes on to say that the illness is usually over within 24 hours but less severe symptoms may last longer for some people - especially very young or older people.

Needless to say - all the symptoms hit home - severe stomach cramps, body aches from head to toe, constant vomiting and a high fever. Did I leave anything out? How about my kidneys feeling like someone was pounding on them all day. But sure enough, about 24 hours later -- which would mean earlier this morning - my fever as gone, the aches and pains are pretty much gone, I wasn't spending all my time curled up like a fetus in front of the toilet and to top it off, here I am writing about my exploits with the 24-hour flu.

Except as we al learned in paragraph one - there's no such thing as the 24 hour flu.

The Minnesota Department of Health (www.health.state.mn.us) on the other hand takes the 'ol stomach virus/24-hour flu myth one step further and say that most of the 24-hour flu cases are really outbreaks of the Norovirus. The MDoH says that the Novovirus "...is by far the most common cause of foodborne disease outbreaks in Minnesota and the rest of the United States and causes vomiting, diarrhea, and aches that can incapacitate people for up to two days..."

I've never been to Minnesota but the advice for preventing the spread of norovirus is basic stuff no matter where you live: wash your hands often, especially after using the bathroom! Wash your hands after changing diapers; before preparing foods; before eating. Also, if someone in your household is sick, wash your hands more often and clean and disinfect surfaces with household bleach immediately after vomiting or diarrheal accidents.

Meanwhile my good buddies at www.webMD.com echo much the same advice and say that the best way to prevent bouts of gastroenteritis, norvovirus or Clostridium perfringes is by making sure you wash your hands, drink plenty of liquids and keep clear of spoiled foods. WebMD points out one thing that I feel is significant - while many sites mention the importance of drinking liquids (i.e. water) webMD says that water isn't really what you need as much as a good re-hydration product like Gatorade or something similar. Why? Because the dehydration we experience while we're busy vomiting and pooping means we're losing electrolytes and those can only be replaced by drinking electrolyte-specific liquids. Just something to think about next time you bent over you toilet. (you can get all the gory details by clicking here).

Unfortunately there is no quick fix for getting better. Although for what it's worth, 24 hours can go by pretty quickly.

So there you go. The real deal on the 24-hour-flu. So maybe that's not what it's called, but I think I'd rather feel like crud for 24 hours and get over it than deal with several days/weeks of a runny nose and a sore throat.