Feeling queasy, rushing to and from the loo, got a bucket by the bed?
If so, you're not alone. Talk to anyone and you'll hear of someone who has had or looked after a "tummy bug" case in recent weeks.
It comes on quickly, floods victims with hot and cold temperatures, grabs
them violently around the guts, causes shakes and headaches, and leaves people wrung out after anything from 4-48 hours of vomiting and diarrhoea.
It is gastroenteritis, is highly infectious and is often worse in children. Northern Advocate has heard of sports teams, partygoers, families and work colleagues being hit by it.
One woman, who asked not to be named, said she was recently admitted to hospital for medication and rehydration after a violent spell of vomiting. Her children had the illness two days earlier.
But hang on a minute ... despite the anecdotal evidence that a gastroenteritis bug is rife in Northland, the chief public health officer and most general practices have not seen a spike in cases.
Nor have the Northland Kindergarten Association or early childhood centres noticed higher than usual tummy bug cases.
Northland District Health Board medical officer Jonathan Jarman said notifications of food and water-borne diseases were average for the time of year. They include the usual suspects, such as campylobacter, giardia, and salmonella. "However, what is notified is only the tip of the iceberg. It is possible that there might be an increase in one of the food and water-borne diseases and we don't know about it yet," Dr Jarman said.
"Another explanation is that norovirus is causing the increase in illness. Norovirus is a highly infectious tummy bug which can cause community outbreaks."
Patients must keep taking fluids, even if keeping them down is hard.
