With the holidays a recent memory, most have thoughts of spending time with family or ringing in the New Year with fireworks and reveille. However, the fresh year also means problems for students and teachers.

Being as families get to spend a lot of close time together, due to the cold weather and the holiday season, students returning back to school bring an unwanted gift with them that, keeps on giving throughout the winter months. That gift is the dreaded stomach virus.

What most call the stomach “flu” is actually a short-term virus that can hit anyone, be them young or old.

This time of year, the largest population that seems to get hit is the people who go to school. The virus seems to hit extra hard right after break, due to the close proximately that people spend with their relatives.

Wings Park/Parkside elementary principal, Shannon Harrelson spent her Christmas day “on the bathroom floor” and could barely keep any liquids down. She is just one of the many that have been infected with the virus that seems to make it’s appearance this time of year.

Harrelson noted that she has sent three to four students home in one day. Parkside elementary had around 30 students out one day, so the virus seems to be making its way around the classrooms of Oelwein.

“This year it is more steady that what it has been in a long time,” Harrelson said.

Even on the slower days, at least one to two students are sent home with the same symptoms of nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.

The school nurse, Karrie Peterson, said that after the holidays is the worst, but it doesn’t seem as bad as any other years.

Although the virus can strike anyone, anywhere, there are some simple ways to keep the entire family healthy.

The first things to check is a temperature. If a student is running a temp of 100 degrees or more, then they should be kept home.

The stomach virus does not usually cause the body temperature to rise, but it is another thing to keep an eye on.

Some more symptoms include nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.

The most basic way to tell if a child is sick is to simply look at them.

“If they look ill, then they are,” Peterson said.

There are ways to combat the seasonal sickness by doing some basic habits to keep healthy.

Washing hands is very important, along with covering mouths while coughing. Blowing noses helps and keeping fingers away from mouths. It also helps to keep the home clean and if someone is sick, disinfecting the areas they touch would help.

Harrelson mentioned that the PE teacher, Drew Grundmeyer took out all the equipment and balls and cleaned all of them, in efforts to help keep the students, and staff, healthy.

Peterson has been going around to classrooms and teaching students proper hand washing techniques. Teachers and students are using hand sanitizer in class, all with the hopes that they will last the cold months without contracting the bug.

According to Peterson, this normally last until the end of the school year, but the largest spike always seems to be right after the break.