Can We Really Develop a Cure for the Stomach Flu?

Currently, there is no cure for viral gastroenteritis—more commonly known as the stomach flu. However new research into cytokines has the potential to change that! Join Hank for a new episode of SciShow where we'll discuss if a stomach flu-less future is really on the horizon.

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[amelie]

One time that I had stomach flu, I was so weak I actually fainted while sitting on the toilet shitting my life out.

[alexissteiner]

Me watching this while having the stomach flu 👁👄👁

[NoahThorson-iq]

I’m throwing up rn and it’s really nice reading all of these people’s comments who experienced the same thing as me.

[darwingiovanni]

Just got over my stomach flu, definitely was one of the worst days of my life... threw up so many times including lots of dry heaves..but I got past it and you will too, stay hydrated and get lots of rest 👍

[aaronlo]

I can't even fall asleep due to bodily stress in response to the stomach flu, it feels like I'm always going to vomit and my heart feels tight.

[selenagarcia]

i woke up today with the stomach flu, it’s the worst feeling i’ve ever felt. i puked 5 times in the span of 4 hours… my body feels so weak 😭 having covid is so much better than this

[catherinebirch]

I haven't had stomach flu since 1970. It was pure hell. I'd rather die than go through that again.

[JohnSmith-qqfm]

The Taco Bell Nachos ad right before this was somehow appropriate

[jen]

“Stomach flu kills many people each year” me scared shitless as I sit on my toilet

[radwulfeboraci]

Hint - Stay off cruise ships and stay away from buffets.

[muhammadabdullahwaseem]

Watching this while blasting out of both ends

[StyxnStars]

Thankfully we can get a cure for this soon!

I've had gastroenteritis since Monday and it's honestly one of the WORST feelings a human being can experience in my opinion. I puked 2-3 times a day, had diarrhea, and chills for 3 days straight, and I lost 5 pounds from all of this. It's worse when it happens in school as well because I had to stay in the nurse's office for most of the day until my dad picked me up. It's truly an emotional and stressful burden on your mental and physical health.

It's a really scary thing to experience, and I even had a emotional breakdown and said to my parents crying how I hate feeling like this and how I feel like this pain will never go away 😔

But currently I am on anti-vomiting and anti-diarrheal medications, sticking to the BRAT diet, and drinking plenty of water and gatorade! I don't feel nearly as ill as I did before :)

So if you're reading this and experienced/are experiencing the same thing as me, you'll get through this! Stomach flus don't last forever, it'll be ok 💖🌌

[davidmaschari]

I’ve had Covid, the stomach bug and the flu and the stomach virus is definitely the worst. The only thing that’s great about the stomach virus is that it normally only lasts a day. That day you wanna die but at least it’s only one day

[TetraSky]

Last time I got a stomach bug, I vomited so hard that I literally passed out... on the bathroom floor, in my own vomit.... Fun time.

[TurboSol]

Lets just rid ourselves of these complicated bodies and go full cyborg, I'm ready

[sensen]

Going through this right now and I just wanna die 😓😓🤮 I hate it.

[lemongrenade]

A year ago I had one of the worst stomach virus incidents in my entire life. It happened while I was heading home in a snowstorm and it’s enough to make a man cry. I had to be hospitalized or I would’ve died from dehydration. I can’t recall how many times I threw up and had diarrhea on the side of the road while shivering in below freezing temperatures. I actually lost a few pounds after my illness.

The foods I ate at my grandparents before this, I still get nauseous trying to eat them since my body associates them with the virus. I never wanna experience that ever again.


EDIT: I did not think I would get this much feedback, so I'll go into the full story. This was December 1st of 2019 in the middle of winter. I was with my family in New York, and we live about eight to nine hours away in Ohio.

I was fine this morning, had breakfast, and even took a nap while my father drove. The first signs something were bad was when I had to take a stop at a restaurant place still very in the morning to take a massive dump. After that, a few hours went by with nothing special.

Sometime at eight or nine in the morning, we had to stop at a gas station since I was feeling nauseous. I thought it was because of car sickness at the time, so I just bought some nausea medicine and decided to drive some.

At around ten, a huge storm came in with below freezing rain, causing the road to become slippery. We were on backroads at the time atop hilly area, so I eventually stopped to let my father drive in case something bad happened.

During the time my father drove, my condition gradually deteriorated. I thought it was because of the hilly roads, but I grew increasingly nauseous to the point of severe anxiety. By the time we finally escaped the backroads and reached a highway, my eyes were bloodshot and I was using all my willpower to not throw up.


I stopped at a pharmacy and they took my blood pressure, which was insanely high. I was on a medicine which raised blood pressure, but not this high. I think it was like 155/85 if my memory is correct. I thought this was because of stress and that everything would improve since we're on straight roads.

The situation rapidly deteriorated after this point. Snow and freezing temperatures slowed down highway traffic. I remained nauseous and ended up crapping myself on the road, creating a mess. I had to stop at a gas station with more diarrhea, and ended up throwing up for the first time.

After that, I began a consistent cycle of having to stop on the side of the highway, having liquid black diarrhea and vomit every ten minutes or so. My hands were turning purple and I was shivering constantly from the temperatures. All attempts to drink liquid were fruitless.

My mental state deteriorated after so many cycles of this, to the point I was on the verge of crying for mercy. I would rather bang my head against the wall at this point. My diarrhea's got even worse, to the point I was literally spraying huge amounts every stop. I tried ginger ale and liquids but this did not stop it.

My family decided to go to a nearby hospital. On the way I ended up spraying diarrhea onto the side of someone's house in a neighborhood since I could not hold it in. My face was full of pins and needles, and my jaw muscles were locking up at this point. When I got to the hospital, they put me in a wheelchair and hooked me up to IV. I was so dehydrated that I fell into a drunk-like state for quite a while. After that, I developed a fever and chills.

After the incident, I figured out that I got the virus because I had attended a festival the night prior and not my grandparent's foods. Regardless, I still get nauseous whenever I eat some foods my grandparents made the night before. Yeah, I never wanna go through that ever again.

[redorchidee]

this is my worst physical fear, losing complete control over my digestive tract and just being handed over to the disease until it's out of your body finally. my sister likely has it rn, i haven't been this anxious about something in a long time. i don't wanna eat anything that's been in the house cause i'm scared it's contaminated. i might honestly just fast for a day or two, everything better than getting stomach flu. then again, if i get it anyway after fasting it'll only be worse

[aarongames]

I literally had the stomach flu then barfed like a mad man and threw up probably everything in my stomach and I have felt good ever since. If you have the stomach flu try to barf it might not go away but it’ll help out a little 😃

[arlene]

Woke up randomly at 3AM with this unbearable, but dull pain in my upper abdomen. It feels as if I’ve had this and other bunch of stomach problems all my life. The symptoms get worse when I’m stressed, and I’m someone who stresses way too much. I want it all to go away :(