Stomach Virus or Gastroenteritis (sometimes referred to as the Stomach "Flu")

Symptoms include:
- Diarrhea is the major symptom
- Vomiting

Additional symptoms may include:
- Abdominal cramping / pain
- Nausea
- Chills
- Clammy skin
- Fever
- Joint stiffness

This is a virus and very contagious in nature. Avoid sharing drinks, food and utensils when the virus is active. Although some may not get the virus, they can still be carriers who pass it onto others. Their personal immunity does not mean that they are not passing the virus along to others unaware. Quarantine is a good policy when a household is affected with this "bug."

- Incubation is from the time of exposure until symptoms appear. Once exposed, the virus 'incubates' typically 12-24 hours before symptoms appear.
- You spread the virus as soon as symptoms appear and are contagious for a couple days after symptoms subside. The stool will shed the virus for about 2 weeks after symptoms subside, thus be extra careful when dealing with diaper changing.

Dehydration is a concern if the diarrhea and vomiting persist. Small amounts of pure water should be offered often rather than trying to force down large amounts at one time. Avoid consuming dairy products, fried foods and caffeine as these may aggravate. Also avoid sweetened fruit juice (including apple juice) and sodas because sugar aggravates diarrhea.

Suggested Foods
- Plain yogurt
- Fermented foods (they are high in probiotics)
- Organic Bananas
- Organic apples
- Organic Vegetables
- Oatmeal - unsweetened or sweetened lightly with raw honey or maple syrup
- Lean meats
- Sweet potatoes (baked and mashed but unsweetened)

Support immunity (avoid sugars and consume fermented foods such as homemade kefir and yogurt).
Drink daily: 1TB Organic, raw Apple Cider Vinegar + 1TB raw, local Honey in a cup or more filtered water

When eating out, the potential to spread this virus is especially high in raw foods.

Taking antibacterial pharmaceuticals may actually worsen the viral infection because the drug destroys the beneficial bacteria as well as invading pathogens, thus reducing immune response.

Essential Oils that May Ease Symptoms
Digestion Support
Ginger
Palmarosa
Peppermint
Ho Leaf (RaVINTsara)
Thyme ct linalool
Tummy Soothe

Testimonies
1. My teenage daughter was suddenly taken with something that felt like stomach bug or something violent anyway. She was heaving and retching, and she sounded very faint.  I found her on the bathroom floor, trembling and shaking uncontrollably, almost about to faint, unable to go for medications or anything. My first choice with stomach bug is to get activated charcoal down, but her stomach was so queasy she had trouble getting it down. I then fetched the sample of Digestion Support from Hopewell, and told her to rub it on her stomach since she was feeling too queasy to put anything in her mouth. To our amazement, within just a few minutes after applying the oils, she started feeling much better, and the nausea eventually subsided enough that she was able to go to sleep. - J.H.

2. Digestion Support is the blend to have for the stomach bug! Just rub some on your abdomen or put a drop on your tongue and hold tongue to the roof of your mouth. It abates the vomiting and diarrhea immediately for our family! Great oils! – R.W.

3. The other day our family got a stomach bug, and I put the Digestion Support on all of us. It stopped the bug in it's tracks. Awesome! - P.B.

4. The Digestion Support has worked well for staving off vomiting with stomach bug and even prevented a food poisoning episode. Thank you for this formula. - C.G.

5. The stomach bug hit me in the middle of the night with relentless vomiting and diarrhea. I grabbed our bottle of Digestion Support and put a quick drop on the back of my hand and licked it off, anticipating the next surge of vomit. Amazingly to me, I felt better within the minute. I hung around the bathroom, but all episodes ended with that one drop. I cleaned up and went back to bed. By morning, I felt a little tired, but fine. This stuff is amazing! - L.S.

6. So thankful for Tummy Soothe! We've used Digestion Support previously and successfully for the stomach bug. Recently while out of town, the "bug" hit, and all we had with us was Tummy Soothe! I'm very happy to report that it worked!! Great blend! - Leisa

7. Over the holidays, we had the opportunity to see if Tummy Soothe worked as well as Digestion Support has for the stomach bug, and we are very pleased to say that it was impressive! After one application to the abdomen, the "yucky" feeling subsided. If it returned, we reapplied, but the diarrhea and stomach upset stopped after the first application. When our teenage son then started to feel badly, he put a smidgen on a clean finger and held it to the roof of his mouth for a moment, which cleared the discomfort up for him immediately. - Linda