Services available to students:

• Care for illness and injuries
• Monitoring chronic health conditions
• Women's health services
• Men's health services
• Sexually Transmitted Disease services
• Contraception
• Cryo surgery (wart removal)
• Psychiatric Counseling
• Health education

Health Center: (607) 436-3573

Stomach Flu (Viral Gastroenteritis)

The SUNY Oneonta Health Center has started to see students with an illness commonly called “stomach flu”.  Viral gastroenteritis (stomach flu) is a viral infection that causes nausea or vomiting, watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and sometimes fever and lightheadedness. 
Since there's no effective treatment or cure for “stomach flu” (it just has to run its course), prevention is key. In addition to avoiding food and water that may be contaminated, thorough and frequent hand-washing is your best defense. 

Symptoms
Although it's commonly called stomach flu, gastroenteritis isn't the same as influenza. Real flu (influenza) affects your respiratory system — your nose, throat and lungs. Gastroenteritis, on the other hand, attacks your intestines, causing signs and symptoms such as:

• Watery, usually non-bloody diarrhea — bloody diarrhea usually means you have a different, more severe infection
• Abdominal cramps and pain
• Nausea, vomiting or both
• Occasional muscle aches or headache
• Low-grade fever
• Lightheadedness

Depending on the cause, viral gastroenteritis symptoms may appear within one to three days after you're infected and can range from mild to severe. Symptoms usually last just a day or two, but occasionally they may persist as long as 10 days.

When to see a health care provider 
Call your health care provider if:

• You're not able to keep liquids down for 24 hours
• You've been vomiting for more than two days
• You're vomiting blood
• You're dehydrated — signs of dehydration include excessive thirst, dry mouth, deep yellow urine or little or no urine, and severe weakness, dizziness or lightheadedness
• You notice blood in your bowel movements
• You have a fever above 104 F (40 C)

Risk factors
Gastroenteritis occurs all over the world, affecting people of every age, race and background.
People who may be more susceptible to gastroenteritis include dormitory residents. Anywhere that groups of people come together in close quarters can be an environment for an intestinal infection to get passed along — and flourish.

Complications
The main complication of viral gastroenteritis is dehydration — a severe loss of water and essential salts and minerals. If you're healthy and drink enough to replace fluids you lose from vomiting and diarrhea, dehydration shouldn't be a problem.

Tests and diagnosis
Your provider will likely diagnose gastroenteritis based on symptoms, a physical exam and sometimes on the presence of similar cases in your community.

Treatments and drugs
There's often no specific medical treatment for viral gastroenteritis. Antibiotics aren't effective against viruses, and overusing them can contribute to the development of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. In severe cases, medicine for vomiting and diarrhea can help a little.  Treatment consists of self-care measures.

Lifestyle and home remedies
To help keep yourself more comfortable and prevent dehydration while you recover, try the following:

• Let your stomach settle. Stop eating solid foods for a few hours.
• Try sucking on ice chips or taking small sips of water. You might also try drinking clear soda, such as 7UP or Sprite; clear broths; or noncaffeinated sports drinks, such as Gatorade. Drink plenty of liquid every day, taking small, frequent sips.
• Ease back into eating. Gradually begin to eat bland, easy-to-digest foods such as soda crackers, toast, gelatin, bananas, rice and chicken. Stop eating if your nausea returns.
• Avoid certain foods and substances until you feel better. These include dairy products, caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, and fatty or highly seasoned foods.
• Get plenty of rest. The illness and dehydration may have made you weak and tired.
• Be cautious with medications. Use medications such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) sparingly, if at all. They can make your stomach more upset. Use acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) cautiously, for it sometimes can cause liver toxicity.

Prevention
The best way to prevent the spread of intestinal infections is to follow these common-sense precautions:

• Wash your hands thoroughly. And make sure your children do, too. If your children are older, teach them to wash their hands, especially after using the toilet. It's best to use warm water and soap and to rub hands vigorously for at least 20 seconds, remembering to wash around cuticles, beneath fingernails and in the creases of the hands. Then rinse thoroughly. Carry towelettes or hand sanitizer for times when soap and water aren't available.
• Use separate personal items around your home. Avoid sharing eating utensils, glasses and plates. Use separate towels in the bathroom.
• Keep your distance. Avoid close contact with anyone who has the virus, if possible.