Panicky over the "bug"

[belle]

I thought over the years i've done really well with my vomit fear, but i have just read over 100,000 A WEEK are becoming infected with this bug. My son is back to school on Monday and it was through him i had two bugs last year (minus the puking), it was still hell.

I am sweating and panicking like anything. I don't want to go out at all now in case i come in contact with a contagious person.

:(

[nomorepanic]

Bluebell - people are being asked to stay off work for 48 hours if they get it.

You can't hide away at home just in case you catch it as once this one has gone they will be something else to catch won't there ?

[Bill]

My wife has a bad cold at the moment. I'm hoping it's the cold I had rather than a new one because after my fall my chest still hurts if I cough! Mean, aren't I?!

I bet partners are pleased when their other halves are told to stay home with this bug!:D

Seriously though, the media are there to make people aware but sometimes I don't think they realise the anxiety they cause. My doctor used to say to me to stop watching the News on TV to stop me worrying so I did just that. I also stopped buying papers because they absolutely love to sensationalise to sell their papers.

The other day the paper predicted -17 temperatures and deep snow. Maybe so if you live up north but in the south????? One or 2 flakes!..but that's what the media loves to do to make money!

I heard a headline saying so many a day are getting this bug but when you compared this figure with the population, it's a Small percentage and if people do as Nicola has heard, then the headlines will soon change to another one they want to worry us with so try not to listen to them Bluebell.:hugs:

[Gabby]

Hiya

This bug goes around every yr (its called winter vomiting virus) and they always say its some mad epidemic when in reality, ur a bit ill for a few days then you feel fine.

My whole family had it last yr and despite the fact that I have problems with being sick, I was too ill to be anxious about it lol


G

[Lilith1980]

My doctor used to say to me to stop watching the News on TV to stop me worrying so I did just that. I also stopped buying papers because they absolutely love to sensationalise to sell their papers.

I haven't bought a newspaper in years simply because I would read the stories and then start worrying about them or get really upset by them. Even now I sometimes turn the TV over if I feel myself getting anxious when the news is on.

Try not to take too much notice of the news reports because unfortunately they do like the exaggerate to get a good story :lac:

Its like Nicola said, you might avoid this one but there will be another one. And in any case you might not catch anything :winks:

Look after yourself hun xxx

[Zaph]

Last month I had to put up with Ainsley Harriot on the radio telling us how to serve up a Christmas meal that will have everyone vomitting throughout Boxing Day. Every. Five. Minutes.

And now in January everyone is talking about the winter vomitting disease - on the news, on the internet.

They don't think about the emetophobes, do they! :sad:

[june]

bluebell, I agree with all that has been said so far.
I got to a stage where I was doing a crossword puzzle and used the dictionary - at the top of a page was the word "coronary" Oh God its an omen" was my first thought then full blown panic.
Even now years later I still try to miss the leader words in the dictionary.
Like you anything in the paper was true and would happen to me.
(Still have those thoughts sometimes) - but I DO kNow they put the worst cases in the paper to grab our attention.
On a lighter note just look at some of the stories of the famous people that are just "alleged " they got us to buy the paper and then we found out we were conned - there was no good gossip after all !!!!
Best wishes
june

[Wenjoy]

I must admit I just get on with things BUT i do carry around from Superdrug an antibacterial soap that dries on your skin and kills 90percent of all baceria - I always use it before eating out in public as I dont trust those hot air dryers or towels in public loos!!! Wenjoy x

[MessedUp]

I guess the normal response is : if you're going to get it you're going to get it.. full stop. And it doesn't appear to actually kill people!
Not fun, but best not to worry about it. You might avoid it, might already be immune to it (if anyone knows better, I don't want to know!), or just get the rear-end version of it and not the vom version - which is much easier to deal with! :)

[SammiB]

Hey bluebell guess what i've had it twice this month yeah twice and after this 2 week batch i'm almost better. (didn't puke)

but i guess its not bad if u get it or u don't

if u do then u can fight the virus and become immune. if u don't then you';; be fine won't you.

good luck

[belle]

Thank you all for responding.
I am still worried, of course. EVERY program i watched this morning from GMTV, This Morning, then the news had constant references to this fricking bug. It makes me feel sick keep hearing about it.

[Zaph]

I got the damn thing two years ago so I'm hoping maybe I have some immunity, but then they're saying immunity wears off after two years.

This thing is evil. Evil I tell you! :curse:

[june]

Wenjoy Noted your info on the soap - I never heard of it - but will be getting some.
Bluebell we are all hoping that we do not get "the bug" and yes it is scary to be reminded every minute of the day
Thank and Happy New Year To all
Best wishes
june

[t0rt01se36]

I'm an emetophobic too and get really nervous in the winter months. I was really bad with anxiety etc 2 yrs ago and was scared to go out. Last year I was ok and got more confident by going out, gradually locally at first.

I agree with what you've all said especially with the Popualation percentage.

At the moment and today, I've been feeling really anxious cos my parents are going out later to where there'll be loads of people and I'm scared they'll catch something and pass it on to me. I'm full of cold already and don't want to be ill again, this Winter.

[Zaph]

I was relieved to find out this morning that my place of work doesn't have the bug (it was where I got it two years ago). I haven't heard any cases of it local to me so maybe it's not spreading much in my area.

Even on the radio this morning the DJ light-heartedly asked people to text in to say if they were convalescing after having winter vomitting and I'm thinking 'Why the frick do they always have to be frickin' going on about it???!##??!#?'

Everyone who texted in was talking about colds though - no one mentioned having THE virus... so I'm wondering to what extent this is being overblown by the media.

Ju.ann, on the bright side, if you're worried specifically about vomitting, then if you've had a cold then your system might be currently full of white blood cells... which might mean your immune system is warmed up right now... not that I'm a doctor or anything.

I've just learnt to rely on any psychological crutch I can lol.

[MessedUp]

A few years back I got it into my head (for a number of reasons that made sense to me at the time!) that if I was ever sick again it would probably rip me apart internally or something. I was terrified of the thought of it.

Then, last winter along comes this vom bug and sure enough one night I felt rather ill. I fought and fought it, even took an anti-nausea pill, but in the end I felt so bad that I reached the conclusion that it was "better out than in". And it really wasn't so bad! I don't enjoy the choking and gasping and wondering when it will stop... but it didn't take long... and you feel so much better so soon afterwards, it's well worth getting it over with. It didn't kill me! After all, if food goes down ok... food can come ok without any problems. I resolved there and then to always remember it really wasn't as bad as I'd feared.

I suppose an actual phobia about it would be a bit tedious to live with, but doesn't it reach the point where the sick feeling is so much worse than the panicky feeling that you forget all about the anxiety and just get on with it? You can only worry about one thing at a time, I find... and I think the will-to-survive instincts take over from the panic stuff.

I'll admit to an OCD-like avoidance of touching public 'dirty' things like door handles:D and I feel 'unclean' when I've entered a PIN number somewhere, used someone else's biro, keyboard, shaken hands.. etc... and I'm a lot happier when I've washed my hands again. But I tell myself that's just sensible precautions, LOL

take care