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<\/p>\nA chemist has revealed the norovirus bug “spreads much more easily than people think”, remains active on surfaces for days, and only takes a tiny amount of virus to make you sick<\/p>\n
11:28, 15 Jan 2026Updated 09:51, 16 Jan 2026<\/p>\n
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The NHS has reported increasing levels of a nasty winter bug(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Norovirus appears to be on the rise after a 57% increase in people hospitalised with the sickness bug last week.<\/p>\n
NHS<\/a> data shows an average of 567 hospital beds were filled each day last week by patients with diarrhoea and vomiting. While this is still much lower than the peak of infections last winter the steep increase in just a week has sparked fears norovirus could be about to surge. Children returning to schools and mixing indoors after the Christmas<\/a> holidays could be driving its spread.<\/p>\n The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) released separate data from surveillance labs which indicated norovirus infections in the general population went up by 47% in the first two weeks of 2026. Infections were highest among pensioners, who are also most vulnerable. Outbreaks in hospitals<\/a> were also reported.<\/p>\n Google<\/a> Trends also saw a 5,500% increase in searches for “how to know if you have norovirus” in the last week.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Flu and norovirus warning as critical incidents declared by four hospital trusts<\/a>READ MORE: Top nurse leader warns super flu \u2018could soon overwhelm A&Es\u2019<\/a> One of the key symptoms of norovirus is vomiting or feeling sick(Image: Getty)<\/p>\n Jason Murphy, head of pharmacy at Chemist4U, said: \u201cNorovirus spreads much more easily than many people think. It only takes a tiny amount of the virus to make you sick, and it can survive on surfaces for days.<\/p>\n \u201cAs cases continue to rise, it\u2019s important to go beyond basic hygiene and adopt more targeted measures to protect yourself and those around you. People often think of norovirus as a quick \u2018in and out\u2019 bug, but it\u2019s incredibly stubborn and easy to pass on.\u201d<\/p>\n Jason Murphy added: \u201cAs a Pharmacist, I look at norovirus in two ways: how we stop it spreading, and how we can support our body while the virus runs its course. There\u2019s no cure for the virus itself, but there\u2019s a lot we can do to make symptoms more manageable and reduce complications like dehydration.\u201d<\/p>\n Chemist4U has the following tips and recovery advice for norovirus:<\/p>\n Treat it like a resistant infection \u2013 Norovirus is a \u2018non-enveloped virus\u2019, which makes it resistant to alcohol hand gels and many household cleaners. Soap and warm water physically remove the virus from your hands, and bleach chemically inactivates it on surfaces.Choose cleaning products like medicine \u2013 Look for disinfectants labelled \u2018virucidal\u2019 or \u2018effective against non-enveloped viruses\u2019. If it doesn\u2019t say this, it\u2019s unlikely to work against norovirus.Think in terms of correct \u2018dose\u2019 of bleach \u2013 Bleach must be diluted properly: too weak and it won\u2019t kill the virus, too strong and it can irritate your lungs and skin. Always make sure the room has adequate ventilation before using bleach to clean and always follow the instructions on the bleach label.Treat vomiting as an exposure event \u2013 In healthcare, vomiting is treated as airborne contamination. Clean wider than the visible area, ventilate well, and assume nearby soft furnishings may be affected.Isolate like a mini ward \u2013 If you can, have one bathroom, one towel set, and one bin for whoever is unwell. This will mirror a hospital\u2019s infection-control practice and reduces the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n How to treat norovirus symptoms:<\/p>\n Rehydration is your main \u2018treatment\u2019 – Dehydration is the biggest medical risk with norovirus. Electrolytes are better than plain water because they replace the salts in your body as well as fluid.Dose fluids like medication \u2013 Take small sips every 5-10 minutes rather than trying to quickly drink large drinks. This reduces vomiting and improves absorption.Pain relief \u2013 When you\u2019re able to keep fluids down, paracetamol is the safest option for symptoms like fever, headaches, and body aches. Avoid ibuprofen if you\u2019re dehydrated or vomiting heavily as it can irritate your stomach and put strain on your kidneys.Use anti-diarrhoea medicines with caution \u2013 Medicines like loperamide can reduce diarrhoea, but they\u2019re not always recommended because diarrhoea helps clear the virus. They may be useful for short-term control (e.g. essential travel) but should be avoided for children or if you have a fever or blood in your stool.Anti-sickness options \u2013 For severe nausea, a pharmacist can advise on anti-emetics. In persistent cases, a GP may prescribe medication to help control vomiting and allow fluids to stay down.Eat little and lightly \u2013 When your appetite returns, start with bland foods like toast, crackers, bananas, and rice. Avoid fatty, spicy, or dairy-heavy foods until your symptoms settle.Rest is treatment \u2013 Your immune system clears norovirus. Making sure you rest will speed up your recovery and reduce any complications.<\/p>\n If you or your child have diarrhoea for more than seven days or vomiting for more than two days the NHS says you should call 111.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A chemist has revealed the norovirus bug “spreads much more easily than people think”, remains active on surfaces…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":373970,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[102,2960,1559,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-373969","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-healthcare","10":"tag-norovirus","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/373970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1_GettyImages-1405248121.jpg\")
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