Emetophobia and convinced I've got a bug!

[user682962]

Got my self in a state this afternoon. Sickness bugs are my worst fear, the fact that they spread through the whole house and then everywhere feels infected for ages afterwards even after bleaching the whole place. And how absolutely awful it is to be that sick. It's just all horrible!!

Anyway I work in a school and I spent the day today cleaning up after a couple of children were sick. Then 3 adults also went home with it. I've spent most of the day feeling really nauseous but I don't know if that's because I'm infected or just because I've convinced myself I will get it! I know it's really bad but I've also gone to the extreme of using bleach in my soap to wash my hands as I'm so terrified of getting it! I'm keeping absolutely everything crossed that my stomach feels off because of my mind and not a bug!!

Good luck

I'm impressed you manage to work in a school and deal with vomiting children. If you can do that, I am sure you'll be okay with whatever happens.

(My emetophobia manifests with other people being ill. I cannot cope with it at all)

Were you exposed to the actual children or just on clean up duty? Were the 3 staff who went home people you work closely with?

Sounds like Noro if its taken so many people out so quickly. You'll soon know.

I find when we have been exposed to bugs it helps me to clean (so bleaching all shared surfaces - lights switches, remote controls, door handles, drawer handles, taps etc as well as cleaning toilets and making sure bathroom is very clean). I'll then prep an illness kit (bucket, rubber gloves, kitchen roll, bleach spray etc)

I often find by doing these things I am at least attempting to mitigate any illness.

Best of luck.

@Crunchymum it's weird because at home I can't cope with the clean up at all. My husband cleans it up when the Dc are sick. I think at work I don't really have a choice so I have to do it, although I normally try to get somebody else to help or wear multiple pairs of gloves and wash my hands every 10 mins for the rest of the day (I have OCD so the two don't go together well!)

One of the adults was somebody I work closely with. There is also only one staff toilet so things spread very quickly.

I have lots of bleach and other cleaning materials in but I think the main fear at the moment is actually being sick. It's that horrible non stop sickness that I'm dreading that leaves you unable to move from the toilet for hours. I think I've only become so fearful of it since having the Dc because it's obviously so much harder to be a parent when you feel that terrible!

Oh gosh, best of luck!

Good luck! It's by no means guaranteed that you'll get it

If you didn't get it from cleaning up sick, it's likely you'd still get it as sickness bugs are airborne too.

Oh OP I really feel for you, I could never work in a school because of this. My DH is also vomit cleaner in chief at home as I just couldn’t do it.

There is every chance you won’t catch it, as I say my DH cleans all the DC’s vomit and never catches anything. Adding bleach to the soap won’t make a difference because at this point if you do have it then it’s already inside you and that won’t make any difference, the only thing it will do is hurt your hands.

If you catch it then it won’t be as bad as you think. I know that doesn’t help, believe me, but it’s a fact. I have a massive fear of vomiting and had CBT for it which took the edge off but it hasn’t ever gone away completely. The thought it worse than the actual thing.

Try deep breaths and distraction, worrying will make you feel sick. Grab some Gaviscon or something to settle your stomach which is most likely feeling nauseous because of the anxiety.

Good luck.

I really feel for you as I could have written your first paragraph!

It's just my luck as well that both myself and eldest DC are particularly prone to catching them. Eldest DC has had no less than 9 since he started school four years ago.

Just want to say though that it's not inevitable, nor that it will go around the whole house if you're very very careful with quarantine/cleaning/have more than one toilet (this last one is key, I think)

In fact, touch wood, none of the rest of the family caught any of the 9 DC1 has had in last few years (DC2 had one on another occasion, as did I 🤢, but again, not spread to anyone else).

The important thing I've found is for the infected person to try and use a toilet, rather than bowl, to keep it contained. DC1 is very good at knowing when he will be sick, due to experience 😅 With DC, I then clean it with bleach every single time, as well as the sink, taps, flush, surrounding floor, door handles, etc whilst wearing a mask and gloves. (I actually keep a mask on all the time I'm around them 🫣) I keep DC away from other DC and DH, and only the sick DC will use 'their' toilet for two days afterwards, after which I will then give it another big clean.

When I had a sick bug recently, I quarantined myself in bedroom for two days (felt so ill anyway, I was just in bed the whole time), but luckily have an ensuite. Got DH to leave supplies outside the door.

It might sound extreme, but the effects of 10+ sickness bugs going around the whole house in a few years doesn't even bear thinking about! The DC mostly bounce back within a few hours, but every time I've had one, I feel awful for up to a week afterwards. Even after the sickness subsides, my whole body (especially my back) is in so much pain for a day afterwards, then takes about a week for me to be able to eat anything other than a bit of toast.

Hope you manage to avoid this one. Recommend keeping masks at school for clean-up duty!

A lot of people with emetophobia - myself included - will tell you that the reality of having a bug isn’t as bad as you anticipate. I’m not saying it cured me, but as exposure therapy goes, it helped a little.

If you have caught it, you’ll get through it. The fear and anticipation are awful, almost worse than being ill in the first place.

OP please don't listen to @MeMyCatsAndMyBooks - sickness bugs are not airborne. If someone is activley vommitting then droplets maybe in the air at that point but are heavy and full to the surface quickly. You can't get it by breathing the same air as someone with a bug who is not actively vommitting. Scaremongering misinformation from that poster.

So long as your hygiene is high (i.e. washing hands, not putting them in your mouth etc) which I guess us emets do anyway you should be fine.

I also think you're very brave working in a school!

Weirdly, in contrast to yourself and PP, even though I have a huge fear about it, I feel like I have to be the one doing the cleaning up and looking after sick DC as I need the control of making sure it's all done properly. I wouldn't trust DH to do a good enough job of it, plus then if he got sick first, it would prolong the anxiety about then catching it from him as well.

Try the Thrive programme OP.
Emetophobia is bloody awful.

You'll be fine.

OP my husband had norovirus earlier this year. It went round his work. Despite sharing a bed and loo with him I did not get it. The fear was real though so I feel your pain. Try not to worry, there is nothing you can do.

Solidarity, OP!
I used to work in a Nursing home, so everything spread rapidly through there… The bouts of D+V and Noro were frequent and we usually caught it despite our best efforts!
I also hate feeling sick and really loathe being sick. I would sit bolt upright all night when I’d been on a “ big night out” to avoid vomiting!
Its not an unusual phobia, there’s plenty of us around! PP was correct, in that most bugs can be airborne, so masks always help.

Try reframing your thoughts. We vomit to get rid of something that could harm us. Yes, it's not pleasant but - as PP have said - the reality is not as bad as it's imagined and it's something that protects from serious illness.

Luckily nothing overnight so I think it might just have been my worry that was making me feel sick! Unfortunately I've woken up feeling like I'm coming down with something else which isn't unsurprising considering how much is going round school at the moment.

Hope you are still feeling OK OP! Sending hugs 💖 I sympathise completely as I'm also emetaphobic and go into the exact same panic myself when others around me have been sick.

If it helps at all, I randomly came down with a sickness bug on Monday, and my DP still hasn't got it, despite him sharing a bed/bathroom with me. I tried to keep everything as clean as possible and hoping that has worked! Also - to my surprise, as others have mentioned, it wasn't actually as bad as my anxiety made it out to be. Not a walk in the park, but definitely manageable.

I'm sure if you don't have it by now you won't get it - and working in a school is a great way to build your immune system so you may just be made of tough stuff! (Coming from someone who worked in health care for years and was exposed to all kinds! 🤣) x