The flu is a respiratory illness. The 'stomach' flu is usually a norovirus. I'm well acquainted with norovirus thanks to having kids that used to bring it home several times each winter. Sometimes you will barf for a few hours, then slowly feel better. Sometimes you will barf for 24 hours, then it comes out the other end a few days later. Sometimes it will be awful and there will be both ends to worry about at the same time. (Word of advice, if you feel nauseous, just let it happen. Don't go popping gravol hoping it will go away, because it will just delay the barfing, your stomach will hurt like a mofo and by then your body is shoving the virus out the other end as well. Ask me how I know.)
Anyway. TMI. I feel for you. Usually you will have an achy body and you may or may not have a fever - there is a wide range with norovirus.
And yes, it CAN be transmitted through food - astoundingly. If someone is sick and doesn't wash up properly and serves food, it only takes a couple of viruses (not sure if that is the plural of virus, but oh well) to get you infected. Norovirus is one of the most infectious illnesses on earth. People who barf after eating at a restaurant think, "oh, it's the chicken or the beef" but most foodborne illness is norovirus - and it can be transmitted on any kind of food an infected server touches.
And the best advice I ever got was from an ER doctor when one of my kids was becoming dehydrated and I took her in. Gastric rest. Meaning, don't eat or drink anything for 1 hour after you barf. Then start small, a tiny sip (or with kids, 1 tsp) of Gatorade or something similar every 15 minutes. You can increase if there's no barfing after an hour to 1 TBSP every 10 minutes. Keep increasing every hour if you don't barf and after 6-8 hours or so you can try something like crackers or dry toast. If you barf, you start over at step 1. I find norovirus goes away MUCH more quickly with my kids this way. I used to shove fluids in them for fear of them getting dehydrated but it meant they would be barfing for a week, at least. After I followed this ER doc's advice, I've only had 1 instance of barfing lasting more than for a few hours with my 4 kids.
*sigh*
They are working on a vaccine.
I will be one of the first in line, I tell you. I HATE this virus like no other. I'd rather have strep throat and bronchitis for a month than have one day of norovirus.
Okay, I'm done. I hope you are back to feeling well in no time.
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