Can you catch gastroenteritis for sick bays?

i felt sick the other day at school so i went and had a lay down in the sick bay. i felt better so i left but then i found out that lots of kids had been in there over the past couple of days throwing up. is it possible to catch the vomiting bug just from being in that environment. i am worried that the bug might have gotten into my clothes or something or i might have breathed in the bug. i am not the kind of person who puts there fingers in their mouth a lot and i am resonably hygenic.

i am just worried about catching this bug because i hate being sick.

any answers will be great!!!

sorry i meant to say "from sick bays" not "for sick bays"

Germs are spread in different ways. Some need blood to contact your blood. Some, like colds and flu, come from the germs in your mouth and nose- you get them when people cough, sneeze and then you touch their hands and then touch your eyes, nose, mouth, etc, or when you breathe the air that has been coughed or sneezed in. That's why people should cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze, not spit, dispose of tissue properly and wash their hands! Some illnesses, especially those that make vomiting or diarrhea, come from the secretions in your intestines- you can only get them from, well, there is no way to say this- but faeces (poo). Organisms that cause gastroenteritis don't usually live in vomit because the stomach acid kills it.

The problem is that people have to use the toilet, and then they don't wash their hands, and the stuff from their bottom gets on their hands, then everything they touch... . Fortunately it doesn't last very long outside the body and most people are good at washing their hands. And in places like sick bays, areas are routinely cleaned between students to prevent cross-infection (when one person gets an infection from another person).

Another way to get an inection is when the normal bacteria in your body or on your skin (like claustridium dificle, a dangerous bug that has been in the news also called C.Diff) are disturbed and allowed to get out of control. If you take a lot of antibiotics, for example, the good bacteria in your intestines might die, allowing bad bacteria to grow too much... thats why we tell people not to take antibiotics unless they really need them, to take them exactly as ordered, and why many people use the pro-biotic yogurt drinks to take care of their intestinal bugs (called "flora").

If you haven't gotten ill yet, its unlikely you will catch something from your sick-bay visit. Germs can't just live in your clothes or sneak up on you... good handwashing and hygiene will protect you. You should try to avoid unecessary antibiotics, and look into things like the pro-biotic yogurt drinks to take care of your "good" bacteria.

Good oral hygeine, a healthy diet, exercise and drinking enough water all help you be a healthier person, which in general makes it less likely you will suffer from an infection.

Good luck and I hope this helps! What a conscientious young lady working so hard to maintain good health: well done!