Emetophobia - my worst nightmare

[zonedout]

Ds1 goes to a school set on several different sites. Today one of the sites has been closed for deep cleaning due to norovirus wiping out hundreds of children this week. There are loads of siblings in ds1's building/class and 8 of his classmates were off today.

I am a single parent (really outing myself here!) and terrified of what feels completely inevitable right now. I was awake all night last night, waiting. Shall be doing the same again tonight.

You know, I feel like I have improved a lot with my emetophobia recently. I am no longer worried about the odd v. It's the awful, debilitating violence of noro that terrifies the life out of me.

The waiting is utter torture

I dont like spiders but can avoid them (or kill them by treading on them) , one thing i am petrified off (other than v) is the dentist but again i can avoid as mush as posable and if i need major work done they can knock me out to do it .

I am quite a anxious person, today i freaked out as a worm came out of the cat , i bundles the kids into the car and raced off to the vets to get worm treatment, the cat is now shut outside until it takes effect, have had to clean everything the cat has slept on as i dont want dd2 poting anything in her mouth.

My heart sank when DS said he had bought some cakes from the sale at school. I have not had one no way but I did not mention my fears to him. Just keep my fingers crossed he does not catch anything.
It is so nice to know I am not the only one though.

I don't have emet as bad as a lot of you but its because I'm medicated. I'm ok until I know its the season or I read about it or worse someone I know has it. Then I turn into a nervous ball of anxiety. I haven't had a hot meal for days as I associate food you have to cook with sick, living off stuff in packets such as toast, cereal, biscuits etc.

glad everones managing

ive just been attempting to do my" homework"for therapist

I think it's important to realise that no one likes being sick...it's unpleasant.
There are people who can shrug it off..my sis for example.
It's not odd to want to avoid unpleasant things.
I guess we just take it to another level :(
Watched a funny film last night which cheered me up :)

Can't articulate this properly but does anyone else feel their dc are dirty if they're ill. Like with ds I can't sit next to him, I can't even sit on the sofa where he was sitting after he had gone to bed.

My phobia has transferred itself to norovirus (and the sheer violence of the v'ing associated with it) I looked after DP when he was drunk a few weeks ago, held a carrier bag for him (not pleasant, but I coped). I can cope with the cats throwing up etc. (I have one cat who throws up almost every other day, so I've got used to it

I find not socialising helps me to avoid norovirus (I hate myself for that) I hate that we don't do playdates, or sleepovers or softplay. Hate that I do this to my children

devil, that's exactly my thing too. I'm no longer so worried about a one or two off, it's the horror stories of norovirus that frighten the life out of me and have become all-consuming.

I avoid all high risk places at this time of year (museums, soft plays etc) but my xh has just turned up to take the dc until tomorrow and is planning on taking them swimming and general galavanting He pretty much refuses to wash their hands when they get back to his place from wherever they have been too (I wonder if this is to spite me sometimes

So am now feeling really stressed and anxious about what they will pick up while they are with him.

I never understand why so much money is spent looking for a cure or vaccination against the common cold, why not find a vaccination against norovirus? i would happily have a cold all year in exchange for a gaurante not to get norovirus.

I have dh in bed poorly (says he feels dizzy and has a funny tummy), am trying to stay calm, he does this quite often but its often just tierdness after a hard week at work, he is asking for take-away which is a good sign .

Marne, I couldn't agree more.

Hope your dh is ok... The take-away request certainly sounds promising

Sooo, today I went to have my haircut with my sil, her mum and brother. Went to hers first so I could follow them down. They had all had noro last week and fil has it now. I panicked.

Her mum (not realising how bad I am) said general things normal people do such as "you can't do anything about it" and "we don't like being sick either". I ended up snapping at her and raising my voice at her .

We both apologised at hairdressers as sil must have told her how bad my phobia is but I shouldn't have had a go at all!

Sil confirmed all had been symptom free for 48hrs and she had bleached the house (she's really germ conscious just not at the same level as me) and she just warned me not to go to the in laws. Only problem is ds2 has a medical appointment on Tuesday that mil wants to come to but I now don't want her there as her house is still going through it. Have asked dh to ring her and ask her not to come but he hasn't. Wwyd?

MArne they are looking into a vaccine for norovirus. I remember reading last year it was in human trials now. Can you imagine volunteering to infect yourself with noro to see if the vaccine you were given worked . Only worry I have is if it's a live vaccine...then potentially side effects could be nausea/vomiting of the injection.

santa I don't blame you, it's soooooo annoying when people say how no one likes it. yes, but not everyone spends their whole life changing their actions and behaviours to avoid it though do they! Tbh I'd ask mil not to come too. I don't know if I'm being OTT or not but for me the anxiety wouldn't be worth it. If it's not essential that she comes then I don't see why she wouldn't understand you just didn't want to risk spreading of germs.

Zoo that is genuinely fascinating what you wrote. When I was pg I had awful nausea and I think any other person would have been sick. Alot. But I fought it and fought it with all my mite. I've also had other random incidences of nearly being s* for unknown reasons. Maybe most other people would have just succumbed to it . Really interesting though as I didn't know the brain had to be engaged too.

Went to collect my citalopram today . 2 chemists in (1st ordered it yesterday but it hadn't come in today despite them saying it would) I found out I can't have the prescription as the GP hadn't written clearly enough the dosage. Which means having to ring up surgery on Monday to sort it out. I was hoping to start taking them over the week end incase they made me feel odd so I could get used to it a bit in time for work next week

reaste- thats what i thought (it would be a live virus) but hopfully side effects would just be a slightly runny bottom rather than being sick (we can only hope). They now have a vaccine for rotrovirus (sp) so i would have thought a vaccine for noro would be similar, i just hope they hury up and sort it.

Dh is happily tucking in to fish and chips .

Oh, and if i went into a house that had noro in past week i would have made my exscuses and left. I fi know anyone has has it i stay away for at least a month (just to make sure).

A vaccine for noro?
Oh, how I wish!
So may young and elderly people end up in hospital with noro...that's what people don't understand :(

Hi all, getting in a bit of a state but hoping it's just me being neurotic. Have a bit of a, erm, gassy tummy and tummy bloated and just not quite right. Feeling nauseous but more in my throat (like panic) than in my tummy, and do feel a bit hungry (a good sign I hope!). Just to calm me down a bit, this sounds normal doesn't it? I usually have soup for dinner every day but because PIL came over this morning (oh the joy) I didn't have time to make a main meal at lunch so just had a veg stir fry for dinner, which I guess is heavier than I'm used to with my soup I usually have. This probably accounts for the odd tummy right??? Just a bit nervous given being in the 'danger zone' at work yesterday morning and always paniking about coming down with a tummy bug . I bought an anxiety and phobias workbook/info book earlier this year and have been reading it. It's interesting reading and is helping put things in context but I haven't been able to improve any of my behaviours. I even made PIL wash their hands the second they came in our house as they had just been out shopping and I worry about what they've touched . I would have made them change their clothes and shower, but obviously I can't do that

Marne glad DH seems OK

Stir Fry always makes me gassy, probably just where you have eaten differently today and heavey food (+ lots of veg). Fingers crossed you will be fine, i often get bloated and gassy, even more so when i'm anxious.

Just logged onto fb to see a friend and her dd have a bug (not what you want to read), i then clicked to see the replies and one of her friends said her ds was sick in the shopping centre car park today (so i will not be going shopping until it has rained). They live in the next village so it sounds like the bug is about here now (though her kids are often ill and she always posts about it on fb). I'm glad i am staying in this weekend (other than going to my mums to wrap christmas presents).

Reastie...I think it's more to so with the fact you have had a large meal and not your normal food at the normal time iyswim?
I can't eat stir fry it makes me so gassy and kicks off my GERD.
You saying its in your throat makes me think acid stomach..try some Rennies/gaviscon x

How long does everyone worry for after someone has been sick in the same house? I swear vomit finds me because of my fear I walked down the street the other day and to my horror the was some on the path then I went to McDonald's drive through and some girl got out and was sick right in my line of view thank god I was in my car I wanted to race off but couldn't as the girls car was the one inftont, and now my son and partner have been sick :(

Hi stef you found us

Official line is 48hrs my auntie who is a nurse says 24hrs is enough but as people don't listen to guidelines that's why the 48hr rule is in place. Me I stay away from anyone who has had a bug 2 weeks minimum normally a month

How awful to of seen that

I felt so alone and thought I was completely weird until I found out it was a known phobia! Has anyone tried hypnotherapy or anything? As my partner said I need to go and see someone he hates seeing me petrified but he can't console me when he's the one that's ill. So is that 48 hours after the last time they were sick? Bit hard to wait 2 weeks with it being my son and partner /:

Also does anyone's throat feel like its closing up when you are at the height of your phobia?

Stef...NICE guidelines state 48 hours.

Hi stelf- i have had hypnotherapy, CBT, exposure therapy (this was the worst) and have seen various therapists, sadly i still have the phobia .

I stay away from a person who has been sick for as long as possable, a person is only contagous for 48 hours after being sick but the bug can survive in fabric (if noro) for up to 18 days (read this somewhere online) which is probably why its so contagous and spreads quickly even if people follow the 24 or 48 hour rule.

Dd2 has hospital appointment next week, then we have the school christams fair (that i am helping with) and i have 2 hospital appointments the following week. I wish i didn't have to go to any of them, i hate going into hospitals this time of year .

I know the feeling my partner was going to go and visit a friend of his that was in hospital and I went mad at him unintentionally. My partner is in bed after having the runs and being sick once, should I phone him and check he's ok or just leave him to sleep? There is no way I could go upto him as I'm too scared and I feel guilty about that too :( also what are the chances of him being sick again when he gets up?

Stef I've had hypnotherapy for it too. And I still have it . A friend of mine went to a Paul McKenna thing to try to cure her emet, she still has it too. I'm not saying it wouldn't work for you though, just saying as I have experienced. I don't know re: your DH but I shouldn't think going to a hospital if he might pass something on is a good thing. Is he ill or is it from something else do you know?

Marne 18 days???? - this is what I worry about too. Things like my handbag always feels dirty. I've got one of those oilcloth ones now so I can bleach clean it. FWIW re: hospitals, this time a couple of years ago I was quite heavily pg and having to go to a number of hospitals all the time (complicated story - DD was measuring nearly 9 lbs when I still had 2 months to go ) and I worried all the time but was OK. I know that probably doesn't help you though.

Right, thanks for the support, tummy is a little better so it must've been eating a proper meal in the evening when all I'm used to is soup or something.

Hope for a good nights sleep for everyone tonight and a germ free time ahead