I am emetophobic and DS has norovirus....

[SuperMam123]

Ok fellow emetophobes, how do you cope in a situation like this? DS has been up all night vomiting, there is only me here to look after him and all I want to do is run away, curl up in a ball and cry! What little tips or tricks do you have that help you get through?

Wish I did have tips! I once posted on here that I couldn’t cope (lone parent and emetophobic) and a lovely poster pointed out that a WAS coping. I was dealing with it and not running away and it is for a limited period of time. It helps me to think of that.

That said, in this scenario I find it impossible to relax and will keep busy tidying and cleaning etc.

Hope this helps x

That is a comforting thought actually and a sensible way to think about it. Thank you!
I'm the same, I've been occupying myself with the bleach bottle! Everything has been bleached to within an inch of life. I've even bleached my feet where I stood in some of the aftermath 🙈

Mindfulness tricks help. Just take each moment as it comes, when illness is going on- it’s just a moment, it will pass. It’s easy to get edgy when they aren’t vomming as I anticipate it, but again, trying to take each moment as it is “nothing is happening, I can relax” helps. A bit. Keep child with bucket right next to them at all times- if they are walking anywhere in the house, they take the bucket too. When we all had Norovirus (great!) we all were walking around with our personal receptacles.

And bleaching and antibacing the fuck out of everything in the bathroom doesn’t mean all bugs will be cleared, but it does feel practical.

Thanks for the advice. Those are great tips. The anticipation is the killer for me, that's when I get panic attacks. Hard when you're trying to be chirpy for the sake of the child haha. Yes bleaching seems to be the only sense of control I have in the matter.

Maybe remember things will be ok again soon. Every hour that passes is another hour towards normality.
You can do it

Thanks so much for the encouragement 😊

I'm worse in the anticipation phase too, especially at night. I hate myself for it. I can cope with every other type of illness!

I find that if I can't see the sick I can deal with it, e.g. If they are sick in a bucket with a bag in. Tie the bag without looking. I know a lot of people would disagree with this (environmental / hygiene reasons maybe), but it was literally the only way I could cope.

I have seen something that you can put cat litter on vomit on the floor and it soaks it up and is easier to deal with, but I'm not sure if that is correct info.

Good luck. Hope it passes quickly. I hate this time of year!

Me too, I feel terrible because I don't want to cuddle him or have him walking around the house spreading germs. Give me the other end all day long but not sickness.

That's a fab tip with the plastic bag. Much quicker and easier to clean up. Never heard that about cat litter but I'll google it.

Thanks very much

Make sure it isn't a bag with holes in.

Oh and maybe put some loo or kitchen roll in the bottom of the bag beforehand!

I also find I can stand behind them while they are being sick and rub their back if I'm not looking. I always wish for Mr. Tickle arms.

Haha be my luck to pick a bag with holes in it!
The sounds haunt me so I can't be in the room yet but I'm working on it.

This has been a very long process for me and in all honesty, I'm basically still out of the door. The sounds freak me out too.

I think mine stems from people being sick at school.

I'm the same and agree a bag is much easier to deal with. I'm so pleased that my children are now old enough to deal with the grim bits on their own mostly - they just dash to the bathroom and try hard not to leave any mess. When they were tiny and just went 'Mum I feel - ' then barfed all over I really, really struggled!

God that makes me sound awful. I do look after them and don't expect them to be cleaning up when they are ill! They're just pretty efficient and self sufficient with it these days, thank god.

I really don't know where mine stems from, I can't actually pinpoint the first time I experienced the fear so I think it must be something I've always had. I had emotional freedom therapy or tapping therapy it's sometimes called. That really helped me. I used to be so much worse. If I walked past puke on the street I couldn't eat for days. Just awful!

Roomba you don't sound awful at all. In the height of my phobia (early 20s) I once punched a man because he was sick at the side of me on the train. I was so angry with him and the poor fella probably couldn't help it but it was just horrific. So letting your kids fend for themselves is nothing compared to how I have got myself!

I cover everything in towels and sheets then set up a mattress next to my bed (all of which have waterproof sheets on at all times for this very reason) for sick child to sleep on.

I have multiple bowls and buckets so a clean dry one can be got each time and yucky ones in the bath having a long bleach soak.

Kitchen towel, spray, and dedicated bin at the ready and I sleep right next to them (but on my bed) so that at the merest hint of a sigh I am awake and hovering under them with a bowl. It's worth the lack of sleep.

If they complain of tummy ache the next day then don't be tempted to give calpol. Every time I have given some it makes them puke again. Every time. I think it irritates the stomach in its very sensitive state.

If you have enough toilets in your house have one dedicated to the sick child and all cleanup.

And water cups they have used get a through wash in the sicky bathroom/get put straight into dishwasher without hanging around in the kitchen.

If you have more than one child put a baby monitor in the hasn't-caught-it-yet child's bedroom so that if you hear any strange noises in the night you can run in and catch it. Keep a bowl in there too and remove all soft toys and rugs. Put a towel down there too. I had a completely mess free norovirus with a 2 year old this way - heard a little groan, sprinted, caught it, transferred to my room and successfully caught everything thereafter.

It's awful but it will pass. And you won't necessarily catch it either. I caught 'it' but just felt vaguely sicky for a day, much to my relief.

And you can rest easy once it's done - you're all immune for a while, yay!

SleepWarrior that is great advice, thank you. Really love the idea of having the quarantine bathroom. I have one of the plastic sheets on his bed constantly, thank goodness! I definitely agree with your theory on calpol too, it must irritate the stomach because I have had the same experience.