daily fear of getting sick

[bigh123]

hi there im new heree and im hoping just being here may help me .

i have a massive fear of getting sickness bugs ie norovirus and the like .

i recently have spent most days feeling ill etc etc to the point i was made to visit the dr who ran blood tests and found nothing . I explained what was happening and after telling a friend ( who i didnt know was suffering ) my symptoms she said she was having simmilar symptoms and has anxiety , after hearing that it all added up

been having digestion problems, headaches etc etc and i spend a vast amount of the day worrying ill pick up a sickness bug , or i have one and my stomach rumble is about to turn into a full blown norovirus style incident i cant control . I work on cars and am in and out of 10 a day and of course that makes me worry ill pick something up from those

I dont know where these feelings have come from but they have gotten a lot worse over the past 6 months or so , to the point where i wont really eat takeaways , go out for dinner , i dont like my kids touching my face , i panic the whole time that one of the kids will be sick which has gotten worse since my eldest started school and my youngest visits groups with her mum . Ialso dont like going anywhere incase i get sick away from home .

im visiting my parents tonight for dinner , my mum works in a school so ill end up worrying that shes picked something up from school then it ends up in my dinner and ill get sick

A big part of the worry is having to take time off work and let them down as i work for a small company and if one in the house get sick its likely we all will and ill end up with a whole week off which i dont get paid for

i wont let the lads at work make me drinks , and the other day i bought a can of drink from the shop and i took it to work and boiled the kettle so i could "sterilise" the can top . i even have taken to wearing fresh rubber gloves (my job sees me in them anyhow) when i make a drink for everyone or eat my lunch .
if im making a sandwhich i wash my hands open the bread wash my hands because the bread wrapper could be contaminated take out the bread touch the butter pack or the ham pack end up washing my hands again incase the packets were contaminated , its frustrating and rather over the top .

even the lads at work have noticed it , one i told ive been given a number and he said get your arse down there or youll end up worse . which was good as i was expecting to have the piss ripped out of me

the other night i got around 2 hours sleep where my stomach was rumbling and i thought i may end up with a bug . today typing this im worrying as my sons in school incase he catches something .

Ive found myself on google ive learnt just how noro is spread and it seems impossible to keep away from , when someone one on facebook mentions they are sick it sends me into panic mode knowing the bugs out there doing the rounds and how long until its near me .

ive found myself much more irritable lately and a lot less patient

ive been given a number by the dr and ive rung them it seems to be a counselling service , in a way im quite upset that its ended up this way as i thought it would just blow over but it hasnt . Its spoiling my life and that of my wife and kids , we go on holiday soon and im terrifed of not only the flight but also when im there getting ill and ruining the holiday , yet ive been were we are going before and never got ill so why am i worried now .

right now i hate the way i am it needs to change i miss the old me tbh

[jayjoe18]

Hi bigh123 and welcome to NMP! You will find lots of support and advice here :)
Sorry to hear your going through a tough time, I can totally relate, a lot of what you said I also do. Sometimes it's extreme other times I can control it. I wash my hands lots of times when preparing food, especially raw meat! I don't touch raw meat but have only just been able to prepare it using cutlery to pick it up, never with the hands through fear of getting salmonella. It's very annoying and exhausting! Just this morning I had to throw away the last of my drink because the cat stepped near it and I feared it would be contaminated with germs. I worry a lot when family get ill, I'm scared to catch anything! It's definitely anxiety so atleast your on the right track there. I have anxiety and also suffered health anxiety which sounds a little like you but I think maybe yours is more OCD with fear of contamination. Do you know when it started? Was there anything that triggered it? Sounds like alot of your anxiety is coming from fear of letting people down? It can manifest in many different ways for different people, for me it's fear of illnesses (health anxiety) and fear of being ill in public due to embarrassment (social anxiety). If you can pin point where your anxieties are coming from that would be a really good step. Definitely go see your GP in person an explain what's going on, it's best to nip it in the bud. Be as honest as you can and don't worry about sounding silly, most people with anxiety have the exact same thought processes so your not alone! Wishing you well :)

[bigh123]

cheers for the reply , i dont really know when it got worse but id say it started getting really bad within the past 6 months . the gp has given me a number of a service who are rigning me wednesday to talk to me .

i worry about letting work down and loosing pay , i also worry about being ill in public . The last time i was sick was at work (different job) but i made it to the loo and no embaresment occured . i just can pinpoint why im being bad .

I cant even touch sweets from a packet if i touch the sweet it goes in the bin so it takes some skill to get it out the wrapper without touching !

today im sat here with a headache and worried it could turn into something else. but truth is i have headaches most days .

ive always worried about getting sickness bugs but now im in this pattern , for instance as i say we are going on holiday i worry one of us will get ill pass it round and ruin the holiday

we have a party on tuesady and i worry ill get ill and spoil it. The other day my wife son and her parents went out for dinner and i stayed at home with my youngest to get out of it , seeing pics of them eating from the buffet made me worry .

If i eat out or somehow think i may have accidentally gotten contaminated i spend 48 hours (the max incubation time of norovirus) worrying ill be ill . its ridiculous !

i used to eat out all the time including buffets but wont now . As i say im washing my hands a lot more and im forever checking my eldest has washed his hands hes very good to be honest but i dont want to give him a complex like mine .

Im hoping talking to whoever it is im going to see will help but as yet im unsure how i can stop worrying . i think learning about norovirus has made me worse as i know its practically unavoidable to a degree and knowing we dont keep a good immunity to it .

its really getting me down , wish i could just be how i used to !

[bellesmummy]

Wow this sounds exactly like me! I worry constantly everyday that me or my kids will get Ill. I start to worry when I think one of my kids look a bit pale or have gone a bit quiet, I think that they are feeling ill and won't tell me!
My daughter is at playschool and I am always worried she will pick something up from there. She is suppose to be going to the zoo on a trip soon and I would rather someone she knows goes to like me but I am to scared to as I think I will be ill whilst there so my mum is going instead but I hate that I'm missing out on it all!

[jayjoe18]

cheers for the reply , i dont really know when it got worse but id say it started getting really bad within the past 6 months . the gp has given me a number of a service who are rigning me wednesday to talk to me .

i worry about letting work down and loosing pay , i also worry about being ill in public . The last time i was sick was at work (different job) but i made it to the loo and no embaresment occured . i just can pinpoint why im being bad .

I cant even touch sweets from a packet if i touch the sweet it goes in the bin so it takes some skill to get it out the wrapper without touching !

today im sat here with a headache and worried it could turn into something else. but truth is i have headaches most days .

ive always worried about getting sickness bugs but now im in this pattern , for instance as i say we are going on holiday i worry one of us will get ill pass it round and ruin the holiday

we have a party on tuesady and i worry ill get ill and spoil it. The other day my wife son and her parents went out for dinner and i stayed at home with my youngest to get out of it , seeing pics of them eating from the buffet made me worry .

If i eat out or somehow think i may have accidentally gotten contaminated i spend 48 hours (the max incubation time of norovirus) worrying ill be ill . its ridiculous !

i used to eat out all the time including buffets but wont now . As i say im washing my hands a lot more and im forever checking my eldest has washed his hands hes very good to be honest but i dont want to give him a complex like mine .

Im hoping talking to whoever it is im going to see will help but as yet im unsure how i can stop worrying . i think learning about norovirus has made me worse as i know its practically unavoidable to a degree and knowing we dont keep a good immunity to it .

its really getting me down , wish i could just be how i used to !

That's good that you have someone ringing on Wednesday, it may be that they will recommend some CBT, that was very helpful for me during my health anxiety!

One thing I will say is definitely don't Google!!! That's the worst thing you can do, trust me. So if you can, stay away from Google and if you need to, see your GP instead. Websites tend to scare people and it's not good when you're already suffering anxiety.

I do that too with sweets and such in wrappers, again, it's so annoying but I've learnt a new skill - opening and eating things whilst only touching the wrapper. It's funny, but it's not at the same time! I have a little neice who only shares her sweets and things with me, but I feel so bad because I can't eat them, I have to pretend and quickly hide it. I don't know what I'll do when she's older though because you don't want to pass things onto little ones.

You probably have headache because your stressed and thinking so much, also, it's a common symptom of anxiety, and there are many symtpoms, so try not to worry yourself (easier said than done I know!)

Buffets are an absolute no no for me too! My brother gets married next year and I've already been thinking if ways to avoid the buffet, but I think I'll look a little silly bringing a picnic in my bag!

You're not alone with this and it will get easier with help, I was able to overcome my health anxiety with therapy, it just takes a little time and work but you will get there. The waiting lists for CBT etc are quite long but there are many other things available online (CBT courses etc, you might find the links to the websites around the forum somewhere) and some GP surgeries do drop in mind sessions. I'm sure whoever is ringing you on Wednesday will advise.

In the meantime this forum is great for those moments when your feeling really anxious, let us know how you get on!

[bigh123]

i honestly thought i was going mad . IM not sure where this fear comes from ive never been this bad . I do generally worry about going sick from work as in the main earner in the house and we do seem to struggle to manage our money , well i do my wifes pretty good .

i hate being like this. Ive had 2 days off this week (unrelated) and ive said ill be in tommorow for certain and today in suffering a banging headache and feel ropey because in worried ill be ill and not be able to go in . IM sat at my folks awaiting dinner and because she works in a school it really does worry me ill get something even though she washed her hands and wiped the sides infront of me .

i really hate it , as i say i never used to be like this , i went for weeks without googling noro but because were entering what's supposed to be the season im panicking . That said everything i find says its around all year just not so worried about .

if people would just wash their bloody hands id be happy !

---------- Post added at 18:13 ---------- Previous post was at 18:10 ----------

and my wifes been visiting her very ill nan in a hospice so if course im worried she will catch something there and bring it home as we all no nursing homes are as bad as schools . I think i should go live in the woods on my own and skype the kids lol