Norovirus symptoms
and Carola Felchner, science journalistSophie Matzik is a freelance writer for the medical team.
More about the expertsCarola Felchner is a freelance writer in the medical department and a certified training and nutrition advisor. She worked for various specialist magazines and online portals before becoming a freelance journalist in 2015. Before starting her internship, she studied translation and interpreting in Kempten and Munich.
More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.Norovirus symptoms usually start very suddenly: Most people suffer from nausea, severe vomiting, and diarrhea. Loss of fluids and salts (electrolytes) can be particularly dangerous for children and the elderly. Read everything you need to know about norovirus symptoms here.
ICD codes for this disease: ICD codes are internationally recognized codes for medical diagnoses. They can be found, for example, in doctor's letters or on certificates of incapacity for work. A08
Typical norovirus symptoms
A norovirus infection leads to an acute "gastrointestinal flu" (gastroenteritis). Signs such as gushing vomiting and diarrhea usually appear just a few hours after being infected with the norovirus. Doctors call the combination of vomiting and diarrhea as vomiting diarrhea.
In rare cases, norovirus causes vomiting without diarrhea or diarrhea without vomiting. Occasionally there are no norovirus symptoms at all. This is called an asymptomatic infection.
Vomiting diarrhea is potentially dangerous because it removes a lot of fluids and salts (electrolytes) from the body. This can quickly become life-threatening for infants, young children and the elderly. It is therefore particularly important in these patients to compensate for the loss of fluids and salts.
Concomitant norovirus symptoms
In most cases, norovirus infections are not only expressed in the form of diarrhea and vomiting. Often there are also signs of norovirus such as:
- nausea
- stomach pain
- headache
- Body aches
- general feeling of illness
- light fever
- Exhaustion
In children one often only observes an elevated temperature with norovirus. However, fever rarely occurs here. This distinguishes norovirus from other forms of gastrointestinal flu, such as bacterial gastrointestinal flu. A typical sign of this is a fever.
Norovirus: symptoms in children
A norovirus infection can develop differently in children than in adults. Often in children, infection with norovirus manifests itself without vomiting. Seldom sufferers only from nausea and vomiting without the typical diarrhea.
Children are less able to compensate for the loss of fluids and electrolytes than adults. The body dries out more easily and the electrolyte balance can be severely disturbed. Possible consequences are circulatory problems, kidney failure or seizures.
Due to the strong bowel movements and vomiting, the bowel can invade itself (bowel invagination). This leads to severe, cramping abdominal pain and bloody slimy deposits on the stool.
Infants often express their abdominal pain by high-pitched screams and characteristic pulling of their legs.
To avoid complications, babies and young children with norovirus infection should definitely be monitored by a doctor. Treatment in hospital may be useful.
Norovirus symptoms: duration
The first norovirus symptoms appear around six to 50 hours after infection. They usually start very suddenly and immediately at full strength, even though those affected looked completely healthy in the hours before. Vomiting and diarrhea last for about three to five days. Affected people can still feel limp and powerless for a few days longer. Once the loss of fluid and nutrients has been balanced out, the patient will soon be as productive as before the infection.
Diarrhea, vomiting and nausea can last longer in elderly and debilitated patients. Then it is sometimes necessary to have the norovirus symptoms treated in the hospital. This means that it is possible to react quickly to potentially dangerous complications (such as circulatory problems).
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