hello, i'm new to this forum and i joined here because it seems a really nice community and really helpful, its so comforting to read about other people that have the same fear i do
i was wondering if you guys could help me out because i am quite a severe emetophobe, i'm lucky in that i rarely get ill and that my family rarely gets ill so i dont have to deal with things like that too much. but as you know, its coming up to winter and there's a vomiting bug going around our local area and schools, and its really frightening! my little brother came down with it yesterday and has thrown up 4 times and my mum has gotten ill off him too, but has gone to a business meeting today so it's just me, my brother and my dad in the house. i'm really worried because i dont have it yet but i have been in contact with both my brother and my mum (although i have seperated myself from too much contact with them now) so i have a few questions:
1) are there any extra precautions i can take apart from washing my hands a lot and using anti bacterial hand gels? i really want to boost my immunity
2) my dad is dealing with my brother at the moment and he is preparing our meals, can i get ill from the food he prepares? he is not ill but he has been dealing with my sick brother
3) how long is it before i can resume contact with my mum and brother and eat food made by my mum etc? (they became ill yesterday)
4) is there anything else i can do to prevent myself from becoming ill and over-worrying?
thank you so much xxxx