Aaargh, it's noro season. Anxious emetophobes this way!!!

[Dottoressa]

Hello ladies,

As we seem to have reached our limit on the other thread, I thought I had better start a new one!!

We have the 'positive' one started by our lovely BB - so I suggest we keep this as the 'anxious' one (i.e. the one where we can all say "OMG, it said on the news that someone v-d 200 miles away from me - am I going to catch it?!") We can share our worries, however silly they sound, without undoing the good work on the other thread. What do you all think?

I shall start off by saying that every time DD speaks, I think she's going to say she feels sick!!!

Now that really is neurotic...

xxx

BB - you are one brave lady. It's no consolation, but it will pass, and you will have a lovely baby. I was desperate to be pg both times, and was utterly miserable throughout both pgs. I swore I would just be grateful the second time round, but I felt so sick and tired that I just felt miserable. I'm glad you've managed to get hold of some suitable medicine. I ended up with travel-sickness acupuncture bands and peppermint essence (!), but I think your solution sounds like a better bet.

What worried me about the swimming is that the pool belongs to a local independent school, so the hygiene rules may not be so strict (???) It happened on a Saturday, when the pool is used by private companies who run lessons, so the school presumably wouldn't know about it until tomorrow. They would presumably be jolly peeved as well if their pool were to be connected to people becoming ill. I think the swimming people should have phoned everyone to say that swimming was off this weekend, and that they'd all be refunded. Better safe than sorry! Of course, half the children stayed in the pool after we were told; their parents' attitude was 'oh well, they'll be fine'. DH said he'd have kept them in - to which all I could think was: well, thank goodness I was the one who took them!

Thanks for the support, BB xx

Dont know about yours, but our local pool is run by an Independent School, and they have awards on the wall for their cleanliness and are regulated from what I understand otherwise they couldnt hire them out

But in your shoes I'd be fuming and upset all in one

Rex - fuming and upset is about the size of it!

41 hrs and counting since I pulled the DCs out...

Omg Dot!!

I would be absolutely fuming too! Hope everything is ok! xxx Hugs

Hello lovely Wiggle - nice to hear from you!

72 hrs have passed, though I'm still nervous. We're flying to Cornwall to meet DH there on Friday, and I'll be so glad once we're there. I'm already in a panic about the DCs v-ing on the plane or catching something, or, or, or...

oh Dot! How's things? It's nearly friday!

Hope all is well with you xx

Hello Wiggle! We're about to fly to Cornwall to meet DH, so I'm in major panic mode. I hate everything to do with planes - not only is there the v problem, but I also think they might drop out of the sky. On a more positive note, I survived 2 weeks with the fear of v and no DH!!!

See you when I get back...

Hugs to all! x

Dot - Hope you've had a safe journey and all is well. Be in touch on your return! xx

DOttoressa-how was your trip, D & V free i hope.

I have been reading this thread most days to see if any updates. I haven't felt the need to post anything until now, panic has set in again.

I seem to be able to cope and rationalise my thoughts but sometimes my mind goes into a complete panic.

My dd commited an imortal sin in my book, she went to tesco had a tantrum, sat on the floor and then put her hands near her mouth but not in her mouth. I went into complete panic, couldn't wait to get out of the shop and get in and wash her hands.

We are supposed to be going away tomorrow(good fri) but i am worried she is going to get the bug.

Can anybody help me rationalise my thoughts and try and calm my nerves.

How is everybody else doing.

thankyou

forgot to say she put her hands on her lips but not in mouth.

can anybody reassure me, as i am still thinking the worst.

BB you are really brave, to have another baby. Your MS will only be temporary and what a lovely surprise at the end. But i must admit it does put me off having another child.

i bet all you nice people are busy doing something nice today.

can someone spare a bit of moral support.

Hi Pinkkoala, sorry you are having to cope with this horrible anxiety today.

I'm not a regular on this thread (just dip in from time to time) but I didn't want your post to go unanswered.

OK, I'm no expert, but here goes:

1. Your dd sat on the floor of Tesco but that doesn't mean she will automatically get ill. Think of the thousands of different surfaces she must touch in a day, not to mention all the airborne viruses we all breathe in every day, and then try and compare that with the times she has actually been ill in reality ...

1. The floor was presumably dry and germs are much more readily transmitted via damp or wet surfaces.

1. Even if she did get germs on her hands, you took action and washed them. Good hand washing gets rid of most germs.

1. There are probably more contagious germs on door handles than floors (well I made that up but it could be true!!! )

How was that? Probably not very good because I know these fears we have are not rational and do not therefore respond very well to rational arguments.

So how about a different approach? Is there anything else that is making you feel particularly stressed or anxious at the moment (perhaps the fear of going on holiday)? If so, can you make steps or preparations that would help you to be less anxious about this?

thanks for your post, she did put her hands to her lips before i could have chance to wash them when i got in, i don't think i am stressed about anything, just tired as dd already ill with could/cough/temp thing that is about.

the floor was dry but think of all the people that would of walked on it with mucky shoes and everything,

as i say thankyou for replying, have you any words to try and rationalise my fear.

Hi again PinkKoala ...

Tbh, when I am anxious I don't really respond well to rational arguments either and stress and tiredness definitely exacerbates anxiety ....

Some things that do work for me are:

• distraction (doing something I enjoy/listening to music/getting in different "mind/mood setting" (not easy with young dc about I know ))

• reading one of Claire Weeke's books (old fashioned but contain really, really good strategies and advice)

www.drclaireweekes.co.uk/

• breaking things down in to small steps and trying to live more "in the moment" ie thinking "right now everything is OK so let's just get through this play-date/tea/bedtime and then worry about whatever comes after that when it happens (again not easy but worth a shot)

Maybe some others on here might be able to give you better advice? How are you feeling now?

youve done well, try not to panic i am the worst for it i have to carry antibac wash around everywhere and wipe trollies down before using!!!

how are you feeling now? how is everyone else?

countingthegreyhairs - your tips are great

youve done well, try not to panic i am the worst for it i have to carry antibac wash around everywhere and wipe trollies down before using!!!

how are you feeling now? how is everyone else?

countingthegreyhairs - your tips are great

thanks Mumtoo3 I feel a bit of a fraud doling it out though as my anxiety surrounding this issue can all too easily get out of hand at times ...

• PinkKoala - hope you manage to have a happy Easter away and that you are OK!!

Happy Easter to everyone on this thread

thanks for the positive comments, we a re all ok at the mo.

mumtoo3-i also carry anti bac gel and wipes everywhere i go, i wipe the tables in restaurants before we eat, wipe mine and dd hands, and as soon as we get in the car i wie her hands again just in case she puts them near her mouth before i can wash them properly when i get in.

everyone thinks i am mad and i do get some strange looks when i am out.

Happy Easter everyone.

hiya ladies, sorry not been around, we have just spent the week in cornwall too - very stressful having to stay in other houses and eat other food. But nothing scares me so much as visiting the motorway services stations, including one lovely loo where some charming person had smeared brown stuff on the walls - I mean why??

However we have returned and so far no side effects.

Pink - I so know where you are coming from. My theories on this is that if there was something on others feet, by the time they walked where your DD sat, it would have been wiped off. So im sure she is fine and you too

Hows everyone else?

Hi everyone!

Pink - I'm sure everything will be fine, how's things now? ctgh had some really good advice, she is probably not far wrong with her made up comment about door handles having more germs on them than the floor your dd touched! Hopefully all is well with you all. xx

Rex - I hate travelling,especially when it comes to using the loos! Poor you! yuk why indeed???

How is everyone? hope you all had a nice Easter break. xx

Hi everyone!

Pink - I'm sure everything will be fine, how's things now? ctgh had some really good advice, she is probably not far wrong with her made up comment about door handles having more germs on them than the floor your dd touched! Hopefully all is well with you all. xx

Rex - I hate travelling,especially when it comes to using the loos! Poor you! yuk why indeed???

How is everyone? hope you all had a nice Easter break. xx

Soz...didn't mean to repeat myself! x

hello all. i'm not actually a mother, i'm an 18 year old girl.. but i typed in "emetephobia" on google and this came up among the dozens of other sites i already visited. i hope i will be just as welcomed here as those that do have children, as no other forum seemed to be a fraction as helpful as this one.
it is so inspiring to me to see so many people sharing a fear coming together on one network to discuss, advise, and re-assure. it really helps me to see people that share my phobia, although i feel for you as i know how horrible it is.
my emetophobia is literally destroying my life; i wont ever eat chicken at restaurants, i rarely eat fast food, i wont ever eat at pizza express purely because i got what i presumed to be food poisoning from there about 5 years ago.. i don't drink alcohol, i dread the thought of ever getting pregnant despite loving children, i wash my hands religiously (to the point i have blisters between my fingers), i have panic attacks (at least twice a month) this usually consists of going from feeling slightly nauseous, to crying on the brink of being sick.. i don't like public activities, public transport, and i wont go anywhere without hand sanitizer. my boyfriend and family don't understand. my parents are mostly just fed up of me, frequently losing their temper at me yelling "you're not going to be sick, you never are." it's very frustrating trying to explain something to people who don't know what i am feeling or what i am going through, although i understand how frustrating it must be for them sometimes.
every little feeling i get makes me paranoid in some way, whether it be period pains, wind, indigestion or just generally being full up.. i always manage to somehow link it to being sick.

my doctor referred me to a counseller who did not help even after 7 months of weekly sessions.. i went to hospital to have several tests (including an endoscopy - an extremely unpleasant procedure involving a camera tube going down the throat in to the stomach) for the frequent nausea, and nothing was found. it was eventually put down to being all in my head, and no further action was taken to help me.

could anyone possibly help me find a solution to my problem? where can i go or who can i talk to that can really help me sort myself out? i am being restricted from doing all the things a normal 18 year old should be doing.. especially in the months of norovirus.. the winter season is TERRIFYING for me!

really sorry for the long post!

many thanks. x