How to protect yourself from 'rib cracking' winter illness as new virus variant emerges

Winter is now here, bringing with it cold, damp, and all the horrid diseases and infections they encourage.

While many will be gearing up for Christmas, others will be contending with a winter bug, whether it's a horrid cold, or something else entirely.

But one condition is once again doing the rounds this Christmas, and can leave people with horrible symptoms.

Not only that, but the condition is currently surging, and some experts think that this may well be down to a new strain starting to spread.

It's a health condition that can leave you doubled over and being horribly sick, and sadly it is also extremely infectious so can spread very quickly.

So, what is this illness that's afflicting people in the final run-up to Christmas?

If you do get it, it's good stay hydrated and get lots of rest (Tatsiana Volkava/Getty)

We are talking about the Norovirus, or the winter vomiting bug as it sometimes goes by.

Dr. Michelle Barron is UCHealth’s senior medical director of infection prevention and control, and opened up about how the condition can effect people, why it's surging this year, and what we can do to prevent the spread.

“'Tis the season for germs,” she said, adding: “The terrible thing about norovirus is that by the time you figure out what it is, often it’s too late. Everybody has been exposed, and everyone is dealing with it."

It gets worse, as Barron shared that if you have, it's very easy to infect others.

“It’s a very infectious virus that causes pretty severe diarrhoea and vomiting for 24 to 36 hours. If anybody in your household gets it, it’s just so infectious that everyone around you is likely to get it,” she said.

In fact, the virus is so infectious that it doesn't require much for you to get infected at all, with Barron saying: “It only takes one or two particles of this virus to make you sick."

But what do you do if you start getting symptoms?

Good old hand washing can help to protect you (Peter Dazeley/Getty)

It's not good news, unfortunately, as there's no treatment - so you just have to tough it out.

The NHS suggests making sure you get lots of rest as well as making sure that you stay hydrated, as vomiting and diarrhoea result in us losing a lot of water, and the bug usually lasts for 2-3 days.

But what about ways to prevent yourself from getting it to begin with?

Well, there's bad news and good news.

The bad news is that sanitizers don't work on it, but the good news is that ordinary hand soap can be effect.

“Alcohol can’t break the shield. A detergent like soap can most of the time,” said Barron.

“Be really diligent with hand washing. Make sure you’re washing your hands really well with soap and water and that you’re cleaning surfaces with bleach. Also, be very conscious about food preparation."