I Got Norovirus! Vomiting, Cold Sweats...What Can I Do to Feel Better? A Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Approach

Norovirus is highly infectious and there is no specific drug for the time being. The peak period for Norovirus outbreaks is from November to April of the following year. It can be spread through hands, mouth, feces and even droplets. If you have symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc., please seek medical attention immediately!

Norovirus is highly contagious, and the epidemic strains of the virus mutate rapidly, with new variants appearing every 2-3 years.

Even if a person has recently been infected with norovirus, he or she may be infected again with the same or different strains of norovirus.

The transmission routes of norovirus include person-to-person transmission or eating food and water contaminated with norovirus. Shellfish such as oysters and raw fruits and vegetables are common foods that cause norovirus infection outbreaks.

There is currently no specific drug, and symptomatic or supportive treatment is the main treatment.

What happens if you are infected with norovirus?
The main symptoms are nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, abdominal pain, diarrhea, etc. The symptoms last for an average of 2-3 days, and it is often called "winter vomiting disease."

Norovirus, how to prevent it!
1. Maintaining good hygiene and eating habits is the most effective measure to prevent norovirus infection and control its spread.

Process and prepare food in accordance with the "Five Key Points for Food Safety", namely:

Keep food and hands clean, separate raw and cooked food, cook processed food thoroughly, keep cooked food and ingredients at a safe temperature (below 5°C or above 60°C), and ensure the safety of water and food raw materials.

This can effectively prevent the infection or spread of norovirus.

2. Parents should educate their children to develop the good habit of washing hands carefully with soap before meals and after defecation. At the same time, they should strengthen physical exercise, eat a balanced diet, and improve their body resistance.

3. Remind your children that if a classmate vomits in the class, they must leave the scene under the guidance of the teacher to reduce the possibility of infection with the norovirus.

4. If your child has symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc., he must be isolated at home and not go to school while sick.

5. If your child has been infected, please be sure to cooperate with the school and medical and health departments, send your child's stool sample to the designated location for pathogen testing, and let your child rest at home until 72 hours after the symptoms disappear completely before returning to school.

6. Because the Norovirus is highly contagious, the patient's home environment should be disinfected frequently to avoid infection to family members.

7. Don’t worry too much if your child becomes sick. Norovirus acute gastroenteritis is generally mild and has no sequelae.

What you need to do is to let your child get enough rest, eat a light diet, avoid high-oil, high-fat and spicy foods. You can prepare oral rehydration salts for your child as prescribed by the doctor. If the symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea are severe, medical treatment is required.

Traditional Chinese medicine has good remedies for prevention and treatment

You can apply acupressure to the Tian Zhu ("Sky Pillar") Bone to reduce nausea and vomiting.

Location: From the middle of the back of the neck, one inch into the hairline, to the seventh cervical vertebra.

Method: Push from top to bottom more than 800 times with your index finger or thumb.

Indications: It has a good antiemetic effect on vomiting caused by various reasons.

The following is a set of dampness-removing and spleen-strengthening acupressure points that are mainly used to treat diarrhea caused by norovirus:

1. Apply the Inner Bagua 100-300 times


Location: The Inner Bagua is located on the palm. With the palm as the center of the circle, draw a circle from the intersection of the inner 2/3 and outer 1/3 of the middle finger horizontal line as the radius.

Technique: Starting from the black dot in the picture, draw a circle in clockwise direction. The feeling of movement is like touching the skin without generating pressure, and the movement should be soft and gentle, as if the finger is suspended in the air. Imagine the flow of taichi.

Function: It can relieve stagnation of appetite and is often used for symptoms such as loss of appetite.

2. Rub the Banmen 300 times

Location: The Banmen is an accupressure point under the thumb.

Technique: Press hard on the midpoint of the thenar muscle on the palm, and you will feel a tingling sensation, which is the holographic reaction point (or one of the meridian points) of the stomach.

Function: Clears stomach heat, stops vomiting and diarrhea, strengthens the spleen and stomach, helps digestion and eliminates stagnation, and regulates the Qi of the three burners. It is mainly used to treat food accumulation and indigestion caused by insufficient spleen and stomach function, and helps children solve the problem of insufficient gastric motility.

3. Clear and nourish the spleen 300 times

Location: The spleen meridian is located on the radial side of the thumb, at the junction of red and white flesh.

Technique: To clear and nourish the spleen, push it back and forth. (It is best to bend the child's thumb slightly before operating)

Effects: Strengthens the spleen and stomach, replenishes blood and qi, and is often used to relieve symptoms such as loss of appetite and indigestion caused by spleen and stomach weakness and insufficient qi and blood.

4. Clear the stomach meridian 300 times

Location: The stomach meridian point is on the first section of the thumb near the palm end. Note that it is not the entire thumb.

Technique: Push from the transverse wrist line to the base of the thumb to clear the stomach meridian.

Function: Clears dampness and heat in the middle burner, harmonizes the stomach and reduces reflux, drains stomach fire, relieves restlessness and quenches thirst, etc.

5. Clear the large intestine 100-300 times

Location: on the radial side of the index finger, with a straight line from the index finger to the base of the thumb.

Technique: Hold the child's palm with one hand to expose the radial edge, and then use the spiral surface of the thumb of the other hand to push from the base of the child's palm to the tip of the index finger.

Function: Clears the intestines, removes dampness and heat, and guides away stagnation or chi and toxins in our system. It is mostly used to treat constipation, food accumulation and other symptoms.

6. Push the small horizontal lines (four horizontal lines) across your palm for 1-2 minutes

Location: The four horizontal lines are located at the horizontal lines of the metacarpophalangeal joints of the four fingers.

Technique: Use the radial edge of the thumb or the spiral surface of the index and middle fingers to push in a straight line on the acupressure point.

Function: Relieve bloating, reduce fever (mouth sores, heat in the spleen and the stomach), and disperse nodules.

7. Abdominal massage for 1-2 minutes

Technique: Generally, use a clockwise method to make the stool move along the ascending colon, transverse colon, and descending colon. If you persist in the operation, you will get unexpected results. For older children, you can use the abdominal massage method, which has a certain degree of penetration.

There are also essential oils that can help you relieve your symptoms. Reach out to us for more info at wellrose.co@gmail.com or send us a message on Instagram at  https://www.instagram.com/wellrose.co/

We wish you well and feel better as soon as possible.

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