Overview
- UKHSA shared a nine-word spelling aid — “Dash In A Real Rush, Hurry Or Else Accident!” — alongside a blog summarizing causes, symptoms and treatment of sickness and diarrhoea.
- The blog outlines common sources: norovirus spreads person to person or via contaminated food or water and occurs year-round, while Salmonella and E. coli are frequent foodborne causes.
- Expected course of illness is clarified: vomiting typically resolves in 1–2 days and diarrhoea in 5–7 days, with advice to seek healthcare if symptoms persist or are severe.
- Recommended home care includes rest, frequent sips of water or squash, continued infant feeds in smaller amounts, eating when able while avoiding fatty or spicy foods, and using paracetamol for discomfort.
- Safety measures highlight avoiding fruit juice or fizzy drinks, not giving anti-diarrhoeals to children under 12 or aspirin to under-16s, and consulting pharmacists for dehydration signs with possible oral rehydration solutions or short-term adult anti-diarrhoeals.