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Is it the flu or norovirus? How to tell the difference
01/10/2013 2:45 PM
By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff
While it seems nearly everyone in Boston is sick or recovering from some kind of ailment, many are wondering what they?ve come down with and how to best manage their symptoms. Do they have the flu or the stomach flu? Is it possible to have both at once?
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Usually the body doesn?t come down with two infections at once, but it can get infected with one bug right after the other if the immune system is weakened.
Many people, though, who have been infected with this season?s Type A flu strain that?s predominant in the Boston area have developed gastrointesintal symptoms -- vomiting, stomach cramps, mild diarrhea -- on top of their cough and runny nose.
?There is some overlap between flu and norovirus symptoms this year,? said Kosowsky, and it?s probably due to the nasty H3N2 strain that?s circulating and causing more severe flu symptoms than normal.
But, he emphasized, the vomiting and diarrhea associated with norovirus tends to be more explosive and intense.
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01/10/2013 2:45 PM
By Deborah Kotz, Globe Staff
While it seems nearly everyone in Boston is sick or recovering from some kind of ailment, many are wondering what they?ve come down with and how to best manage their symptoms. Do they have the flu or the stomach flu? Is it possible to have both at once?
...
Usually the body doesn?t come down with two infections at once, but it can get infected with one bug right after the other if the immune system is weakened.
Many people, though, who have been infected with this season?s Type A flu strain that?s predominant in the Boston area have developed gastrointesintal symptoms -- vomiting, stomach cramps, mild diarrhea -- on top of their cough and runny nose.
?There is some overlap between flu and norovirus symptoms this year,? said Kosowsky, and it?s probably due to the nasty H3N2 strain that?s circulating and causing more severe flu symptoms than normal.
But, he emphasized, the vomiting and diarrhea associated with norovirus tends to be more explosive and intense.
...
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