This time of year, many in the community are getting sick, and it's not always the same type of illness.
Experts say they're seeing influenza, COVID-19, and norovirus making the rounds. Symptoms are dependent on the type of illness someone has.
Flu, as well as COVID, cause intense cold-like symptoms, but norovirus and other gastrointestinal illness symptoms differ since they are not respiratory illnesses.
“Norovirus typically attacks our GI tract, causes terrible nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain,” said Dr. Amanda Magrini, Medical Director of Family Medicine for Northern Nevada Medical Group. “The biggest thing that is the key is to stay hydrated. That's the biggest risk. That's the reason people end up hospitalized.”
When it comes to prevention for any of these illnesses, the best plan of action is frequent and thorough hand washing.
Doctors say hand sanitizer is not effective at killing a lot of bacterial and viral infections, and do not suggest using it as a replacement for hand washing.
Unfortunately, there isn't really an effective treatment for any of the illnesses circulating right now, even the flu.
“There really is just good rest and lots of fluid and hydration. Listen to your body,” said Dr. Magrini. “Tamiflu is an option, although it isn't really that helpful. It sometimes can reduce symptoms by maybe a day or less. But otherwise rest and give your body time to recharge.”
Again, hydration is particularly important to recovery, and extreme cases of these illnesses may require emergency medical attention as they cause extreme dehydration.
Anyone curious about the number of cases for each illness can check out two different dashboards on Northern Nevada Public Health's website. For respiratory illnesses, click here. For any other illness, click here.
