How often do you catch a stomach bug/vomit?

[User1110]

Hi, I have emetophobia and would like to just see how common my biggest fear is!

As an emetophobe (fear of vomit) I don’t tend to let myself be ill very often. I think I had a stomach bug of some sort over last summer, but was not sick but probably needed to be as I felt really unwell.

Everyday I wake up and am paranoid that it will be the day I vomit/come down with a bug.

I am veggie (I think this means I’m lower risk of food poisoning, at least). I drink kefir everyday and am keep my house hygienic. Plus am fastidious about hand washing!

I don’t have kids (yet) so would also like to see how much more likely it is to catch bugs if you have kids bringing them home from nursery and school vs no kids.

With norovirus doing the rounds apparently, I’m getting in a bit of a flap thinking it’s everywhere and on every surface I touch. When realistically, it’s probably less than 1% of the population that get it in a year, I believe.

So basically - when did you last vomit, what was it from? And when was the last time you had a stomach bug?

Thank you!

Pregnancy and alcohol makes me vomit, and both very rarely. I can't remember the last time I had a stomach bug. Never had food poisoning, and I'm quite laid back about things like food being left out overnight, use by days etc. Tend to go by common sense and the smell test.

I rarely drink but I have occasionally been sick from that. Was sick much more often from drink as a teenager! I only puked in pregnancy once with my first baby, never with my second and about five times with my third.

@User1110 go for it. It changed my life

Again I’m amazed how little people vomit

My DD had reflux and vomited all day long as a baby. She got much better after about 8 months but had quite a strong gag reflex until 3 ish and would vomit often. Now is fine but has definitely had the odd stomach bug - nothing out of the ordinary though.

I've had noro twice in 8 years but not since I was a child before that. The last time I threw up was alcohol related

@MrsIronfoundersson

I am a casual housekeeper, eat out of date food all the time, work in a school and have 3 kids and haven't vomited since 1991 (Sainsbury's ready cooked chicken).

I love this phrase. I have a similar approach and will now refer to myself as a casual housekeeper

@User1110
I could have written that post! I have suffered with this all of my life, and it really did take hold of me. It would stop me going abroad or trying new foods for fear of being sick. I have 3 children and my last pregnancy was the worse and I was sick for a month or so, but it's a different kind of sick.

It go so bad I eventually asked for help and was referred to a therapist for CBT about 7 years ago.

I wouldn't say I'm completely cured, I'll still have the veggie option on a menu when I go out. I can deal with the children if they are sick now, although I do wear gloves and don't lick my lips or eat anything with my fingers 😝and keep said child isolated for 48hrs!

I've found this pandemic has really helped me as most of the population now have my standard of cleanliness when out and about! I have used hand wash for years lol! And wiping trollies down in supermarkets should be mandatory!!

I love this phrase. I have a similar approach and will now refer to myself as a casual housekeeper

Me too

I've found this pandemic has really helped me as most of the population now have my standard of cleanliness when out and about! I have used hand wash for years lol! And wiping trollies down in supermarkets should be mandatory!!

But you surely don't think it's a good thing that the majority of the population, who were presumably getting on fine with their normal habits before and were no doubt on average as healthy as you, have been forced by a pandemic into adopting hygiene measures in line with someone who has a phobia?!

Almost never. Last time I vomited was because I drank too much so it would be 6-7 years ago.

Ive never had a stomach bug or illness that resulted in vomiting or d&v. Only times its happened were related to excess alcohol.

Casting aside any drink related vomit, I very rarely throw up. I'm also a vomit phobe (other people's more than my own).

I threw up spectacularly after two bouts of overseas food poisoning in 2010 and 2013. Almost again after heat stroke in 2014. Other than that I've probably been sick 3 times in my life that I'm old enough to remember. I usually get an upset stomach in a downwards trajectory. I've never had a vomiting bug.

I'm 35.

I'm not sure I've ever had a stomach bug that's made me vomit. I throw up very rarely and when I have, I've usually been able to put it down to something that I ate. I never throw up with drinking and also didn't have morning sickness badly enough to vomit, just nausea.
DS is 13 and was a sicky baby until weaning but since then he's only had a couple of sickness incidents.

The cat, on the other hand, likes to toss his cookies on a regular basis so I do get my fair share of vomit clearing

A couple of times in my adult life, but I worked in A&E and we had people with gastroenteritis every day. I only once in 9 years caught it off a patient. Other was a kids nursery bug.

I thought I was doing well for lasting 3 years! That was from a migraine

I was very lucky during both my pregnancies, I didn’t have a single wave of nausea. It might be an old wives tale but if your mother didn’t suffer you won’t.
My daughter had a stomach bug at 18 months and hasn’t had one since, she’s 25 but has had many instances of drunken vomiting.
My son caught rota when he started school, 14 hours of vomiting followed by 6 days of yellow smelly diarrhoea. He has vomited from both ear infections and tonsillitis.
If I had emetophobia I would try and get a handle of the phobia with therapy and meds before I had kids. Most babies spit up after a feed and some projectile vomit exorcist style.
Also blood type is linked to how badly you suffer from norovirus. Blood type B more likely to have milder or no symptoms. Non secreters cannot catch norovirus, lucky buggers!

I share your pain. Some people are more prone to catching bugs from their kids. We haven’t caught any bugs from our kids (knock wood!). We have 3 and eldest is 9. The older two have had tummy bugs a few times. It’s the worst! I bleach the bathroom like crazy when that happens and wash my hands like crazy. It’s the hardest thing being emetaphobic and having kids. Even worse, when they feel/get car sick and you have to deal w it 😳

But it’s manageable. I read that emetaphobes usually don’t vomit or rarely do. They tend to be able to avoid it.

Once when DS1 was unwell he's 21 now

The only time I've been sick from illness as an adult is when I've had kidney stones: twice in my life. The last time I had a stomach bug that made me vomit I was probably about 10/11.

Oh and DD is 2.5 and hasn't been sick yet, outside of baby stuff as a newborn. Sure it's only a matter of time! DH also has never been sick in the 8 years we have been together and he says he hasn't thrown up from non-booze stuff since he was a kid. We are both 35.

Once in my life, the kids never (they are 17, 14, 11 and 9).

So interesting!

I feel much much better reading that so many of you haven’t caught a bug/had food poisoning in so long.

And yes I’ve heard that you are immune if you have certain blood types. I am trying to find out what mine is, I have no idea where or how to find it though (other than giving blood I believe).

Only a few times when the kids were little and they are 13 and 16 now.
I tend to get it the other end as I have IBS and a super sensitive tum.
But I was on tenterhooks when they were little as I am an emetophobe too. My sister has it really bad, she is 46 and hasn’t had children purely due to her fear of vomiting in pregnancy and her children vomiting too.
My 13 year old dd has it really bad too, I feel so bad about that as I thought I had done well hiding my fear but obviously not!
At 48, I am now in perimenopause and feel nauseous most days so am in constant fear of vomiting.

I would think that the number of times I have vomited in my life is under 10 (I'm in my 50s). I had food poisoning when I was pregnanat with one of my children, so over 20 years ago, and I think I was sick one other time as an adult after eating something. I have been sick about 6 times through alcohol. I don't remember ever vomiting as a child, but presumably I must have done, just not very often.

Oh, and my kids don't vomit either. The DSs had norovirus once but that was it.

@Thewholeshackshimmy really sorry to hear that you all have this phobia. I feel like it’s definitely more common now - or that more people are talking about it?

I’m sorry about your DD. When I was 13 I felt so so alone - I had no idea why I felt so scared all the time. This whole phobia really put a massive dampener on my whole childhood actually. I went to countless child psychiatrists who diagnosed me as anorexic.

And your poor sister :( my auntie is actually very similar, childless due to her fear of germs/sickness.

Have any of you tired any help?

I’ve just got some ground ginger capsules from Holland and Barrett. They are really helping whenever I have nausea, and you can take them as a tea - may help you too! X