Stomach Flu - urban legend or true medical condition?

I recently went to the doctor for what I thought was a slam dunk for food poisoning. I had some Chinese food from our favorite local restaurant on Sunday night a week ago, and within about 3 hours I was hugging the main porcelain fixture of our master bath with more gusto than I have since 7th grade when some Italian meatballs didn't want to play nice with my upper GI tract.

I have what I consider quite decent health care coverage from my employer, the U.S. Government. I pay just over $300 a month to cover myself, my wife, and my newborn son with this plan. I don't want to go into the particulars of said health care, but suffice it to say that most things are covered (80%) all the way down to emergency room visits.

Now here is why I write.

When I went to visit my physician after I had this bout with food poisoning, the nurse took my vitals before I saw the doctor. When I showed a temperature of a little over a 100 degrees F, she immediately came to the conclusion that I might have the flu. I was sketical, but didn't say anything. Thought I would just wait to see what the doctor might say.

Doctor came in, looked at my chart, listened to my chest and stomach, looked in my ears, and then made the same diagnosis; flu. He did add that he thought it was viral, not bacterial, and, to his credit, did not prescribe an antibiotic. All he gave me were stronger than Tylenol pain pills that doubled in helping to lower my fever.

I remained skeptical about this "flu" diagnosis though. I called my wife to let her know I had seen the doctor. Apparently everyone at her work thought the same thing as my doctor; flu or even more descriptive "stomach flu".

Now I am not a doctor by any stretch, but I was pretty sure my Chinese meal had something to do with the fact that I was up nearly the entire night vomiting and experiencing the most inopportune times for diahrrhea onset. But, all around me people were saying, "No, it's stomach flu".

So, I thought I would just do a very cursory look on Google for "Stomach Flu" and see if this kind of flu even exists. I thought that this term sounded a bit funny, and as it turns out, it surely is.

On my first pass, I was able to find the following link from the Centers for Disease Control, one of the most trusted sites for medical information:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/gastro/faq.htm

"Viral gastroenteritis", not stomach flu, was the more appropriate term for what I had. "Flu" refers to "Influenza", a condition which affects the lungs and sinuses. I had neither of these problems at the time, just a rapid emptying of my digestive tract from the upper and lower end.

Really, in the grand scheme of things, not a big deal to call something "Stomach Flu" rather than "Viral Gastroenteritis". The main thing that bothered me was that I was led to believe that this kind of illness was going to persist like a normal flu, lasting a week or more. It only lasted about a day.

So, the next time someone tells you you might have a stomach flu, think 'Viral gastroenteritis' instead, and point them to the Centers for Disease Control website.

Until next time, thanks for stopping by!

Drew