Stomach Flu

I have been rendered out of action for the past 3 days because of a stomach flu bug. :( This was how it all started...

28/1 Sunday

Ying Ying's paternal great-grandmother aka the matriarch (who stays with my in-laws) fell sick with vomitting and diarrhoea. We all thought she could have eaten something wrong.

29/1 Monday

Hubby and I took Ying Ying back to my in-laws' place for dinner as usual. Had rice, fish and sweet corn soup for dinner.

31/1 Wednesday

We both had sumptuous toasted cheese ham sandwiches for breakfast. Just a few hours later, we started to feel weak and nauseous. We both thought it was the ham which I bought last Sat. It was leftover from the Sunday picnic outing we had (see previous entry). Probably it was kept too long in the chiller. Hubby said I should have microwaved the ham to destroy all the bacteria before serving but I pointed out people in the deli never do that. Anyway, the stomach pain got so unbearable that I had to postpone Ying Ying's gymboree class in the afternoon. We went to see a GP together and found out our symptoms were typical of a stomach flu which is highly contagious. The doc said the incubation period for stomach flu virus is normally 24-48 hours. This means we probably caught it unaware 1-2 days ago. (Aha! That meant the cheese ham was innocent afterall. I suspected we had caught the bug from the matriarch.) We took some medication but were in no shape to take care of Ying Ying who thankfully was not affected at all. In the end, we had to SOS my in-laws' domestic helper to come over to prepare and feed Ying Ying dinner.

1/2 Thursday

My MIL complained of giddiness and claimed she threw up a pail (!) the night before while sister-in-law was reported to be feeling unwell and had no appetite for food. Though helper had gone back home in the morning (she stayed over the night before cos it was too late for her to go back), we had to recall her in the evening because we were just too weak to run after Ying Ying. I was so weak that I couldn't even find the energy to take Ying Ying to the playground. At night, we started having bouts of diarrhoea. I had it worse off than hubby - kept running to the loo every 15min or so. :(

2/2 Friday

Had to postpone Ying Ying's kindermusik class. Went to see a GP instead for medication for diarrhoea. Turned out there was none as it is usually advisable for nature to take its course. But the GP did prescribe some probiotic stuff to help regulate my intestinal health. The doc kept emphasizing that this kind of virus is usually transmitted from faeces to food (eeks!) and not by coughing or sneezing. It is all the matriarch's fault!!! My MIL has been complaining about her level of hygiene, saying that she refused to bathe regularly, sometimes for days even. Maybe she didn't wash her hands clean after doing big business and went around touching everywhere (she is always holding on to the wall or furniture for support). The doc said such viruses can actually stay alive for hours on those surfaces, not unlike SARS. Who knows, the matriarch could have infected herself! Then suddenly I recalled we ate the corn with our bare hands on Mon night! Eeeks!!

The more I thought about the whole incident, the angrier I felt. Anyway, the matriarch has been transferred to another of her son's place to stay for the time being as everybody in our family is either too weak or too busy to look after her. For making us go through all these unnecessary pain and discomfort (albeit unintentionally), I doubt I will speak to her or even smile the next time I see her.

The only good thing that came out of all these is that.... I lost 3.5kg!!! Muhahaha!!!!! More likely, it is water loss from all the LS-ing lah. Well, it could be fat loss too since I ate like a bird for the past 3 days. I have never been slimmer since my pregnancy. Maybe I ought to thank the matriarch instead. But further weight loss in this manner? No thanks. -_-