# Potential norovirus vaccine **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 11, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-norovirus-vaccine/671007 "2013-10-11T17:45:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-norovirus-vaccine/671007/1 "2013-10-11T17:45:55Z")
I’m sure many people have gotten sick with this bug and wondered why there isn’t a vaccine for it. Well, [maybe there will be soon](https://www.sciencenews.org/article/norovirus-vaccine-shows-early-progress). > [@](#): > > SAN FRANCISCO — A vaccine in early testing partially protects against a common diarrhea-causing virus, a small trial finds. The culprit, norovirus, is a group of viral strains that includes the infamous Norwalk virus, which plagues some cruise ships. Norovirus causes up to 21 million infections each year in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates. > Most people have experienced a norovirus infection, said study coauthor David Bernstein, an infectious disease physician at the University of Cincinnati. He presented the study’s findings October 4 at ID Week, a meeting of infectious disease specialists. Symptom severity varies widely, but the infections can be lethal in elderly and immune-compromised people, he said. Norovirus kills up to 800 Americans every year, according to the CDC. more at link ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-norovirus-vaccine/671007/2 "2013-10-11T18:09:34Z")
The sickest I’ve ever been in my adult life was due to a norovirus infection a couple years ago. Four days of incessant puking (with 3.5 of those being dry-heaves) and a fever that could burn down a house. Took me about three weeks to recover fully. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-norovirus-vaccine/671007/3 "2013-10-11T19:37:51Z")
Me too. I’ve had it twice (but only expelling my innards for about 12 hours, not 3 days). The second time I got it I was crying because I knew what was coming and I sooo didn’t want it. This is why I always get the flu vaccine. Not because the norovirus is the flu…but it’s called the “stomach flu” and it’s so awful, the real flu must be more awful and I can’t imagine having something more awful than norovirus. Ugh! ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-norovirus-vaccine/671007/4 "2013-10-11T20:28:47Z")
Has anyone every had it and tried taking an anti-emetic like ondansetron or prochlorperazine? I imagine the vomiting has to be the worst of it and I’ve found that Zofran (ondansetron) is absolutely amazing at suppressing that. I think costs a few bucks per pill if you have pay out of pocket, but damned worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-norovirus-vaccine/671007/5 "2013-10-11T21:12:36Z")
It would be wonderful to have a vaccine. My family all had it exactly a year ago. Worst weekend of our collective lives. That was the first time I’d thrown up in twenty years. And no, **deltasigma** , for me the painful cramping and near-fainting were the worst parts. I asked my husband to take me to the hospital, I was so scared. He wouldn’t. 24 hours later, coming out of the worst throes himself, he apologized. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-norovirus-vaccine/671007/6 "2013-10-11T23:49:23Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > The sickest I’ve ever been in my adult life was due to a norovirus infection a couple years ago. Four days of incessant puking (with 3.5 of those being dry-heaves) and a fever that could burn down a house. > > Took me about three weeks to recover fully. Same here… except I was in the hospital a week surviving on IV fluids and it took me six months before I could really eat normally again and 2.5 years to recover my full strength. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2013, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-norovirus-vaccine/671007/7 "2013-10-11T23:51:02Z")
> [@deltasigma](#): > > Has anyone every had it and tried taking an anti-emetic like ondansetron or prochlorperazine? I imagine the vomiting has to be the worst of it and I’ve found that Zofran (ondansetron) is absolutely amazing at suppressing that. I think costs a few bucks per pill if you have pay out of pocket, but damned worth it. The only problem with that is that when I had it I couldn’t possibly have kept down a pill long enough for it to be effective. Anti-nausea meds were administered along with fluids via IV. Seriously, I couldn’t even keep water down. In an earlier era there’s no question I would have died of it. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-norovirus-vaccine/671007/8 "2013-10-12T05:19:02Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Same here… except I was in the hospital a week surviving on IV fluids and it took me six months before I could really eat normally again and 2.5 years to recover my full strength. Of course it did. ---
**Author:** ![Arabella\_Flynn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@Arabella\_Flynn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arabella_Flynn)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/potential-norovirus-vaccine/671007/9 "2013-10-16T04:18:44Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > The only problem with that is that when I had it I couldn’t possibly have kept down a pill long enough for it to be effective. Anti-nausea meds were administered along with fluids via IV. Probably not much help if you’re heaving _that_ hard, but for less dire things, I always try diphenhydramine as a stop-gap. I think Benadryl has discontinued the quick-dissolve strips, but I’m told Unisom SleepMelts are still available, and topical creams are absorbed systemically. You can’t puke it up if you didn’t actually swallow it in the first place. (Dimenhydrinate – aka the original Dramamine – is diphenhydramine plus a form of theophylline to counteract the drowsiness. If you don’t care about being in a coma through most of the gastrointestinal distress, which frankly I always consider a plus, plain diphenhydramine will do ya fine.) I’ve never been in a position to need IV antiemetics, and Og willing, I never will be. It sounds horrible. Here’s to hoping the vaccine pans out.