Emetophobia - terrified of this sickness bug

[nellyraggbagg]

This sounds so stupid, but I'm completely terrified of the children (not to mention DH and me) catching this Norovirus that's doing the rounds. I've been emetophobic for as long as I can remember, and it has become even worse since having children. Every time they open their mouths, I'm terrified they're going to say they feel sick. When I go to bed at night, my last waking thought is: "Oh my God, what if they're sick in the night?" My DH is working away a lot at the moment, which makes matters even worse (he is good at dealing with sick, thank goodness!!) I have dealt with both children being sick (I have found that manic cleaning helps very slightly to take my mind off the blind panic), but am rigid with fear following newspaper reports of this current bug. How will I pick DS up from school if DD and/or I get it? My Mum is miles away, unfortunately. And what if DH gets it? I don't know how I'd cope if he were sick. Please, please help, someone - even if just by saying that I'm not the only person who feels like this!

Dot - omg!!! Didn't realise center parcs had had a prob with noro! Is there nowhere we emets can go and feel safe from these outbreaks??? I'm going to become a hermit again i can see it!

Oh, me too!!

DD said our neighbour's little boy was "still asleep" this afternoon when she went round to play. Cue nightmare scenarios in Dot's head (why would a four-y-o be asleep at 4pm??? Argh!!!)

I need to think more like our lovely BB...

I too wish i could think more like our lovely bb! Where are you bb? Stay with us. Miss you!

Hi to everyone, hope all is well with you all.xx

Hello all,

I had a bad moment in Debenhams today. I was in there today, and one of the assistants was talking to someone on her walkie-talkie thing. She then turned to her colleague and said: "Oh no - someone's been sick."

I immediately legged it out of Debenhams!!

There was also a smell of bleach in Monsoon, which made me very suspicious.

Hugs to all! x

Hello all.

Oh how I sympathise with you D. I would have legged it out of Debenhams as well. I bet it ruined your day completely!

My DS starts school in September and I am dreading him bringing all those bugs home. Fills me with absolute terror!

Have a good weekend x

Last day of reception just been to Mum's night out one Mum said X was sight last night but didn't want to miss his last day so I dropped hime off and sat in the car park for an hour till school rang me to say he had ... AAAAAARGH

Omg! Which Debenhams was it, not meadowhall in sheffield or Doncaster?

Hi everyone, Upsy - totally get where you are coming from with your DS starting school in Sept...It is a nightmare time for us emets! Hopefully you will be ok though hun..xx

Hope everyone else is well xx

Never fear, Wiggle - it was Leeds Briggate!!

DS just asked me: "Does queasy mean feeling sick? Do you ever feel queasy?"

I immediately took this to mean that he feels queasy...

Hi Dot..omg,how's DS,did he feel queasy?

Phew about debenhams! I need to go but with what you said i daren't risk it in case it was one i would go to!! How silly??

Hope everyone is well. I've been enjoying the sunshine today, topping my tan up! xx

Well, DS's queasiness (if he was actually queasy - I may have made mountains out of non-existent molehills...) came to nothing. Phew.

However, our holiday is looming - we have to leave at 4am to drive to Manchester Airport. I am already worrying that this early start will make the DCs sick , or that they'll get air-sick, or that they'll get car-sick at the other end, or that we'll all catch noro on the plane, or that we'll get food poisoning from unpasteurised French cheese, or, or, or... oh, the list is endless. DH's friends rang up to ask what the children eat, which is very kind of them - but it sent me into such a panic that I replied "nothing but bread and Bovril". This isn't that far from the truth, but in any case I daren't risk anything else while away!!! The poor DCs.

I just keep reminding myself that we'll be back in the UK a week on Thursday...

oh Dot..holidays are such a big deal for us aren't they? Everyone else gets dead excited but we go into panic mode.

I hope you enjoy it in the end and all your worries come to nothing. I'm sure you'll all be fine.Sending you some positive non v vibes!!! Be thinking of you hun..xx

Warm hello to all....

I found this thread as I was searching for treatment for Emetophobia and felt compelled to post to all you mum's. I am an Emetophobic, however I seem to have a different strain of the phobia. I don't fear myself being sick, only other ppl. My mother told me as young as 4 years old I screamed and fled whenever I had to encounter someone v-ing. This leads me to have fear in my life such as cinema's, theme parks, bars etc and after I couldn't take living in fear anymore, I made a huge decision in my life to tackle this phobia. I decided, after working in the airline industry for a few years and having a passion for flying, to become cabin crew for a major airline in an attempt to tackle my fear. I am now living abroad working for a huge airline but my phobia is no better, worse even. I live in fear of going for a flight (every single day) and the fear in me when I'm on that flight. When I am presented with the situation of a sick passenger (very frequently) I still go into panic mode and want to RUN.

I'm in my 20's, I became cabin crew with the goal to tackle my fear because one day I want to have children and at the moment it's simply not possible. After reading this thread and reading all of your experiences I just wanted to congratulate all of you on becoming mother's and being a mother. I can't imagine ever being able to have children because of this damn phobia so I think you are all an inspiration and keep up the amazing job you are all doing being a mum.

If I had one wish, it would be to cure ALL phobia's in the world. Not just us Emet's but everyone's phobia's, they're an awful thing to live with.

Wishing good health all round xxx

Hi MissJet1 Welcome!

You are so brave to do the job you do with this phobia. Well done you for tackling it in this way. Still don't know how you do it though!

We have just started another thread, well bb has, a more positive one to try and help each other.

Wishing you good health and a great career before you start a family. Enjoy!

Be nice to see you on the other thread if you get chance to pop on any time. xx

Hello ladies,

Well, we survived France - goodness only knows how, given that French toilets are even more revolting than the ones in Leeds McDonalds by a long chalk...

I fed the DCs on bread and imported Bovril, and studiously ignored the sick-bags on the plane. I had various anxious moments (such as when DD said her tummy hurt during turbulent moments on the plane - my tummy didn't like it much either!), but I am glad that I coped, and that it is now all over!!

The really bad moment was when one of the friends we were staying with spend an entire day in bed with a stomach bug. Aaaargh!

All in all, I am relieved to be back!

I shall go and say hello to the other thread now...

xx

Hi Dot, have just said ello to you on the other thread..

Glad you survived the trip!...considering you had to deal with a tummy bug while you were there! Mare or what?! At least you didn't get it! xx

Hello ladies!

I've just said I won't post on the "positive" emet thread (I don't want to undo all their good work!!), so will witter on here instead!!

I am v gloomy about term starting again, and bringing tummy bugs with it. DS has only been back two days, and already has d! And I'm not feeling too great either...

I am so fed up with myself - after a relatively quiet period, I am now back in anxiety mode, and will remain there until about next May.

I've particularly gone back to being scared of hearing nocturnal noises - I lie there imagining things, and am only reassured when the DCs come bounding in full of beans in the morning.

Our turn will come, I know it!! I keep trying to be rational and remind myself that I spend about a year worrying for every one episode of the DCs actually v-ing, but I think the start of term is a very bad time...

Hi Dot! I am also in worry mode. DD succomed last year at the end of September. Of course, I'm expecting it to happen again.

I've worked out that this year I only actually had two worry free months - July and August. Noro was still going around dd's nursery in June, and DS had it then as well. Hopefully this year will better than last! xx

Hi all,

Not sure if any/many of you will remember me but just wanted to check back in and say 'hi' to my fellow emets, especially those who were so amazingly supportive last Winter. I had such a good Summer in terms of fear levels and now, as the days are drawing in, that awful familiar feeling of panic and impending doom is setting in again. I am about 7 weeks away from my due date with dc2, ds is starting preschool in january (was actually due to start now but a combo of very bad spd & feeling i just won't cope with the bugs/fear of bugs and a newborn mean i have deferred) and i am absolutely dreading the start of the v bug and noro season.

Oh i feel so gloomy... Like Dot, I have also gone back to high alert for nocturnal noises and it is just so tiring feeling like this.

Ds had a playdate yesterday (Sunday) with a friend who had v'ed (apparently violently) last Thursday so this is not helping the situation at all! Am bracing myself for something awful to occur in the next few nights...

Sorry to come back with such a moan after such a long absence, it just feels kind of reassuring to know i have you lot on side, if that makes any sense.

xx

Welcome back, Zonedout, and congrats on your second DC-to-be! I certainly do remember you. And yes, we are always here to share worries/horrible experiences. I am very sure I will be calling on you lovely bunch some time this winter...

I would also be in a panic about the playdate, but a more rational person would no doubt remind me that you do need to be in contact with bodily fluids to catch a v-bug. This is something I say to myself about 10 times a day! The nanny who looks after the children next door had a very nasty v bug last Monday, and went to work all the same [angry angry angry] - she was so ill, though, that she had to go home at lunch time. And of course my DCs play next door, or the next-door children come here all the time so I had a very anxious week...

BB - I am so sorry you are having a bad time. You so do not deserve it. Here is a big northern noro-free hug from me xx

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Hi everyone! I've not been on here for a while...but as we all know, the noro season is nearly upon us..plus with the kids being back at school...aaarghh! Worry worry worry!

Hello Wiggle!

Had a panic t'other day when DD's nursery school teacher said that they had two members of staff who were very poorly. I resisted the temptation to ask whether they had noro - and it turned out that one had dislocated her shoulder, and the other had a bad tooth problem. So I spent 24 hours flapping for no reason. Nothing new there!!!

I have a new anxiety, though - DH has volunteered to listen to children reading at DS's school. Rather than thinking "how kind of him", I am merely thinking "omg, you are going to get noro and pass it on to all of us!!!"

This really is a bad time of year...

Hi Dot!

Oh poor you! Your lovely hubby does something so nice and all we can see is the negative bad stuff! He is doing something very admirable.

I would be very scared too though! xx