To recognize what you should do to prevent stomach flu, you need to have some basic knowledge regarding the nature of stomach flu and how it's transmitted from one person to another.

Stomach flu, which is called viral gastroenteritis or just gastroenteritis by health care providers, is actually the result of a virus and therefore is not really a form of influenza. However, the term stomach flu is frequently used by most people and is now universally accepted. The names gastroenteritis, viral gastroenteritis, stomach flu and stomach virus will be used to mean the same condition for our purposes in this article.

Viral gastroenteritis begins when one of a number of stomach flu viruses somehow finds a way into the digestive tract - typically through your mouth. Stomach viruses can drift on air currents throughout a room, or even from one room to another. When a family member or co-worker has come down with gastroenteritis, you can be sure that the viruses are present on lots of areas that are habitually touched by humans. Basic stomach flu prevention starts with keeping these areas hygienic and free of microorganisms.

A stomach virus can also be passed directly from one individual to another. You can get stomach flu simply by touching, kissing, or shaking hands with an individual who is infected, even if they haven't yet gotten ill yet.

Eating anything that has been touched by an individual who is infected is another way of getting stomach flu. This is why health inspectors inspectors emphasize frequent hand washing by restaurant staff. But at home, take measures to ensure you don't share eating utensils, drinking glasses, or napkins with anyone who is infected. Any clothing that has been used by these persons should be cleaned as soon as possible.

Some foods may already have the virus when you buy them. Shellfish sometimes come from waters that have been contaminated by sewage, for instance. Don't drink water that hasn't been been treated or sanitized.

As was mentioned above, conscientious and repeated hand washing is the best means of gastroenteritis prevention. The goal is to get the virus off your hands before you touch your mouth. Hand washing is particularly necessary before you eat, or after you have been using the bathroom or changing a diaper. You should keep your hands under running water for a minimum of 20 seconds and use soap freely.

Be sure to wash your hands after you've touched doors and door handles in a public place where many people are going in and out - especially restrooms, conference areas and classrooms. Better yet, try to avoid touching doors or bathroom faucets with your bare hands. Try using a clean paper hand towel when possible to put some protection between your skin and germs left by others.

A lot of alcohol-based hand washing gels have been introduced in the last few years, and they can give you protection against some kinds of stomach viruses, but not all. Hence, you shouldn't depend on them as a means of viral gastroenteritis prevention.

Someone with gastroenteritis definitely shouldn't prepare food for other family members. If you normally prepare meals for another person, you should wait for roughly three days after your symptoms are gone before you begin cooking again. Unfortunately, this is sometimes impractical.

Preventing stomach flu is hard work. Time and effort is needed disinfecting floors, sinks, countertops and other places in your home or work space. There are numerous commercial sanitizers that are good for killing the major types of stomach viruses, and you should read the labels carefully when you decide to use them. You can make your own disinfectant if you mix some bleach with water - a 50-1 ratio of water to bleach.

So far, two types of vaccines have been approved to protect against viral gastroenteritis, but they're not effective against all kinds of the virus. Talk to your doctor to learn more.