'Tis The Season To Become Seriously Ill From Food Poisoning; Expert Advice On Battling A Stomach Bug

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- As the song goes, 'it's the most wonderful time of the year,' but holiday parties and big family meals also make it a time for a very unpleasant illness -- food poisoning.

As CBS2's Dr. Max Gomez explained, there's no such thing as the 'stomach flu' it's called gastroenteritis, and it's not caused by the influenza virus.

Many viruses, bacteria, and parasites can contaminate food, and most of them can make you feel sicker than almost anything else you can catch.

Just ask Lori Balzano.

"I was very sick. Vomiting, diarrhea, I couldn't even get off the couch for three days," Balzano said.

That's how she described her bout with a stomach bug, and she wasn't alone.

"It hit another family member, and then I heard it hit another two people at work," she said.

It turns out there are cases of gastroenteritis -- stomach bugs -- going around.

"Seeing uptick in cases, it's what we would expect this time of year," Dr. Robert Glatter, E.R. Physician, Lenox Hill Hospital said.

This kind of serious stomach illness is often called food poisoning because the germs that cause it are usually food borne -- everything from salmonella and e-coli to hepatitis.

By far the most common is a nasty virus called norovirus. Just a few particles are enough to get you sick, and it's extremely contagious because in addition to food it can be passed along person to person, contaminated hand to clean hand, or by any bodily fluids from a sick person.

Unfortunately, there's no cure or quick fixes -- just supportive care.

"Treatment is fluids, medicine for nausea, and vomiting. Fluids like pedialyte, Gatorade, things with electrolytes because that's what you lose," Dr. Glatter said.

While most people like Lori get better after a few days, some people may need medical care.

"If you feel light-headed or dizzy, feel like passing out, heart beating fast, those are signs to go to the hospital or call your doctor," Dr. Glatter said.

If there's any blood in what's coming out of you, that's another sign to go to the hospital.

Finally, there are some folks who have to be especially careful if they get a stomach bug -- the elderly, babies, the chronically ill or immuno-compromised -- they're much more susceptible to dehydration.