there’s no such thing despite the fact that you've heard people complain they have "stomach flu. " you may have complained about it yourself after a bout of nausea vomiting and diarrhea that seems to come from nowhere. in fact though stomach flu is a misnomer. the flu influenza is a respiratory infection that affects the lungs. but when people say stomach flu they usually mean vomiting or diarrhea says jay solnick md professor of medicine and an infectious disease specialist at the university of california davis school of medicine. "stomach flu is a vague fuzzy way to describe these things " he says. doctors prefer the term gastroenteritis which means irritated and inflamed stomach and intestines (the gastrointestinal tract) and may be any number of things including bacteria or viruses.
what is “stomach flu? ”