emetophobes, it's that time of year :(

[devilinside]

First bucket sighting at school this morning. My sister had norovirus last week after attending a party where some selfish buggers thought it was acceptable to bring along a vomiting toddler. Most of the other guests got the bug including an elderly man. Feel free to add your rants and worries here.

[ephemeralfairy]

I was on holiday last week with DP and two of our friends...four people, one bathroom. Not a good equation for an emet!
Everyone was fine but I felt really tense all week.
Had nightmares about v-ing last night. It's going to be a long winter!!

[Marne]

First day back at school and I get the dreaded text from school saying the sickness bug is going around, on the plus side it does state that children should be kept off for at least 48 hours after they were last sick (I know some schools only say 24 hours), although I am pleased that they warn people by text and push the 48hour thing it also sends me into a anxious panic.

Dd2 are now home and hands washed , both dd's have a child off in their class with it (the same family, whole family had it).

Has anyone else got OCD due to this phobia? I am obsessed with touching (or more not touching anything) and keeping everything clean, also cant go to a public loo without washing my hands 3 times after and I refuse to touch the toilet door with my hands (will use elbow or foot), this phobia sends me crazy .

[ephemeralfairy]

Marne me too!! I wash my hands obsessively, they are sore and cracked at the moment. Preparing a meal is a nightmare as I have to wash my hands each time I've touched a surface, utensil or even the food packaging. I also can't eat anything if I'm out and about unless I have literally just washed my hands and not touched ANYTHING else. I find communal eating event like picnics, BBQs etc incredibly stressful. I'm sure I must look like an absolute nutcase.

[Marne]

I love cooking but it does involve a lot of hand washing, raw chicken is the worst, I have to wash my hands each time I touch it, wash knives straight away to make sure they are not used for something else and wash anything it might have come into contact with , my hands are sore and cracked . My mum thinks i'm crazy when I tell her about my hand washing and how I make the dd's get washed and dressed as soon as they get home from school. One of my big hates are school cake sales (our school seems to always have a cake sale when theres a bug going around), I refuse to let the dd's but a cake so I make my own at home and then tell them 'we have better cake at home' .

[monikar]

Marne and ephemeral I also wash my hands a lot - the winter is the worst for me as my hands get very cracked and sore. I put handcream on them but they are still bad.

I don't like buffets as I am worried that people will have coughed or sneezed on the food and I am worried that it has been kept warm for too long. I also don't like cake sales - my DD is in the sixth form now so there is not much of these sort of things to buy but I do understand, it used to make my very nervous.

[justmuddlingalongsomehow]

Checking in with rough chapped hands and anxiety sky high. No bugs that I know of at dcs school at the moment but it is a matter of time. How many weeks till spring?! 7 weeks till xmas hols anyway!!

[Halloweenjunkie]

Only just seen tgis thread. I've suffered from emet since I was a small child, it's a horrible phobia. Made worse today because DH has just come down with a stomach bug. I've banished him to the other bedroom and have told him to only use one bathroom, and I'll use the downstairs loo. I feel like the whole house is contaminated. It's made worse this year because our PFB is only 4 months old and I'm terrified she's going to catch it. Hands are chapped raw from handwashing and Purell hand gel is in frequent use

[ephemeralfairy]

Oh halloween how awful. I real feel for you. Hope you don't get it!

[monikar]

Halloween I use the same method as you when DH is ill - he has to confine himself to one bathroom and we use the other one. I know what you mean about the whole house being contaminated - when I have illness in the house it brings on all my wiping and I go round with disinfectant wipes, wiping door handles and light switches. I also have to change the towels which other people have dried their hands on and then of course there is the constant handwashing. This method has prevented me and the DC from getting DH's bugs in the past so I am very hopeful for you.

[Marne]

Halloween- hope you manage to stay bug free, I would do the same with my dh (I feel so lucky now we have 2 bathrooms), my dh is rarely sick, he did have a mild bug last year (luckily he wasn't sick, just the other end) so he stayed in bed and used the upstairs bathroom and I bleached it 3 times a day just to make sure .

Not liking the posts on FB from people saying their kids have the bug, my friends dd has it and goes to the same school as my dd's (luckily she is not in the same year as my dd's), I am trying to focus on the positives, I get really anxious about picking up the bug near Christmas (a few year ago I had it and it ruined Christmas) so in a way its good that its going around school now so hopefully it will have don't the rounds by Christmas. My dd's have not been sick for 3 years (though dd1 had a bug earlier this year but was just wretching), I know we cant keep escaping it and i'm worried it will get us this year . I'm trying to stay calm but feel so anxious, at times I feel like i'm having a panic attack.

Dd2 has a hospital appointment tomorrow so has half the day off school but i'm not sure wheres worse for picking up a bug, the hospital or school?

[BeckyBendyLegs]

DS1 was sent home from school on Monday feeling sick, he wasn't actually sick. DS2 now had downwards issues. Trying to console myself with the fact that it must be quite a mild bug. We spent half term with three friends 13 children (including my three) and on the Thursday one boy came down with a dodgy tummy (was up all night on the loo). On Sunday two more boys from the holiday were ill so assuming it is that same bug. Sigh. I really, really hate November. These things always strike in November.

[Marne]

sounds like its just one end ( fingers crossed ). It always seems to strike at our school in November.

[Halloweenjunkie]

Thanks everykne. DH has recovered now. Seemed to be a 24 hour thing thankfully. I've bleached everything today, and have my fingers crossed that me and DD don't get it. I think that if we are bother still bug free by Friday morning we should be ok :-/

[justmuddlingalongsomehow]

DS has gone to bed complaining of tummy ache and heart ache. Likely to be just wind but I am a mess. Anyone about to kick me up the bum?

[Marne]

Only just seen this, hope your ds was ok, I have been having trouble sleeping for a few days ( because of the bug doing the rounds at school) ,the slightest noise from the dd's room and I panic.

[monikar]

justmuddling how is DS today? Hope he is ok.

Marne I know what you mean about listening out for the children when there is sickness about. When DD was younger, if I heard her cough in the night I would be in a flap in case it progressed to vomiting. It's so hard isn't it?

[justmuddlingalongsomehow]

Hi there. Thanks for asking - had a good night and ate chocolate spread for brekkie so I packed him off to school! Crossing everything. I HATE this time of year.

[monikar]

justmuddling Oh that's good. On the plus side, when they get older there don't seem to be so many sickness bugs going round so it is not forever, even if it feels like it! When DD was at primary school there was always someone who had been sick. I was on constant red alert. She is 17 now and it is a rare occurrence for someone to be sick - it usually happens in an exam hall now if it does happen which brings on a load of questions with me saying to DD 'so where were you sitting in relation to the person who has been sick?'. You are right though, it is so much more common at this time of year.

[pinkkoala]

I am so glad i have found this. You all sound like me. I go into a complete panic if dd, 8yrs old comes in from school and says so and so got sent home today being sick, i then question her asking were you near them, have you washed your hands, do you play with them. She now tells me to stop asking her.
all those with children around the same age as mine do you find they get the bug every year, do you as a mum find you get it everytime. I so dread this time of year.
Can you prevent it spreading and can i take anything just in case i feel sick.

[Marne]

My dd1 (almost 10) seems to get it once a year, though last year she wasn't actually sick (was retching), she seems to have the phobia too and will try her best not to be sick.

Dd2 is almost 8 and has not been sick for almost 3 years (which worries me more as she must be due her turn), I put it down to her having ASD and putting everything in her mouth (seems to have built up a good immune system), i'm extra anxious about her getting sick though because last time she was sick she was very sick and we ended up in A&E with dehydration.

You can buy 'motilium' (domperidone) from boots and most chemists now, it does help and I have used it quite a few times when I have had a bad stomach. I don't catch it every time they are ill but seem to get it more times than dh, when the dd's were tiny we all got it at the same time but that's the only time in almost 10 years.

[monikar]

pink I used to find when DD was junior school age that she would get the bug each year and sometimes I got it too, but not always. It is this time of year that it happens though. As I said upthread when your DC are older you will be ok (ish) at this time of year, but you will dread exam time - not just because of the exam stress but because this is now the new 'season' for me. It's hard isn't it?

Marne does this motilium stop you feeling sick or actually stop you being sick?

[devilinside]

I find the Motilium does prevent vomiting, but you might have to take more than the dose (I had to take four overnight, last time a caught the dreaded bug) DS had a mild bug on Sun, off his food, complaining of tummy ache, but it didn't turn into anything, prob like Marne says, from shoving everything in his gob (he also has ASD).

I do think ASD kids are less likely to succumb to noro as they are far less social. DS doesn't have any friends so very few playdates or parties. Whenever my DC have had bugs in the past, it has always been 2days after a playdate, party or softplay

[Marne]

I agree, I often take 2 or 3 tablets if I feel really sick, seems to flush it out the other end though ( which is easier to deal with ).

My dd's rarely go on play dates or parties, we stay away from soft play and if we go out at the weekend it's usually to somewhere outdoors ( so no crowded places with people breathing over each other ), luckily the dd's don't like busy places, I'm quite pleased they don't like doing all the Christmas activities ( other than dd1 who will go to the school disco ), we don't visit Santa or go to the cinema.

[Marne]

Please tell me to calm down and I will be ok?

DD and I had one of those little cheese cakes (crappy ones from asda in little pots), mine tasted a bit odd but I carried on eating, couldn't eat it all, dd ate hers and then asked for what I had left, when she tasted it she said it didn't taste like hers. I think it was off, the bb4 date is the 20th but it deffently tasted sour and horrid. I will be ok wont I?

[devilinside]

You'll be fine, seriously. off milk is unlikely to cause food poisoning and those things contain so many additives they would probably last for years.