Emetophobia is driving me to despair

[Zingara]

Thank you all very much, it's good to know I'm not alone. You do so well working in a hospital Andie, I really admire you for that! Just wondering if you know how long these outbreaks usually last?
I'm really scrupulous about washing my hands - like you say, though, you have to find a balance and not get carried away with it - especially me, since I have OCD as well. xxx

[andie73]

I kow what you mean about the hand washing, I have to restrict myself to cos I think I boarder on OCD myself. I work in a hospital, but not on the wards, it's in the coffee shop. But it's really hard at this time of the year as I am in the outpatients dept and everyone that comes in is coughing and spluttering. It makes me feel ill just listening to it all. Then I start over washing my hands and they get sore!!!!

I think that it will probably peak over christmas with so many people getting together, but I'm no expert believe me. It's just my guess.

Take care and you know where I am.

[Zingara]

Thank you for all the advice and help.... now I just have to find the courage to make the appointment.
It's amazing how overwhelming this fear is... I think as well that with all the general stress there is at this time of year, and all the pressure Christmas causes, it all seems to work together and the fear becomes unmanageable.
It's funny because I have had so many really major problems in my life that you might think this would seem trivial, but it doesn't - it seems to loom larger than anything else.
It seems to affect me in all sorts of funny ways too - one of them is that while I am scared of being sick generally, my fear always gets worse after dark... and my greatest and most intense fear is of being sick during the night, round about 2 am. I often stay awake until this time at the moment, because my winter depression has sent my sleep cycle haywire, so now I have got into a bad sleeping pattern as well!
It's weird, the last time I was really sick was nearly eight years ago - it was a terrible experience and I felt like death, but then the next day I had almost a sense of elation, a feeling of 'I've actually done it!' but then that feeling ebbed away and before long I was back to being as scared as ever.
Anyway, thank you all ever so much. xxx

[Franz]

The best way to avoid it is to wash your hands, soap and water is the most effective. I also use alcohol gel after washing my hands to make extra sure. Try not to be too obsessive about the hand washing though, I tend to be when I'm at work but then it's positively encouraged there.

Another tip, I gather - sorry, this is a bit gross - is to avoid picking your nose or putting your fingers in your mouth (whyever you'd want to do that) after touching door handles etc. because mucous membranes are a good entry point for germs. Someone will no doubt correct me if that's rubbish.

[STEPHYUNO]

Hi there, I have not experienced such a phobia, though I do have other ones and I would say phobias by their very nature are generally irrational so you shouldn't feel silly about it, all the best Stephen x

[Jenny40]

Hi there - I've just joined this site and I can completely sympathise with you. Like you, I am in a terrible state at the moment about all this "Winter Vomiting Bug" hype. I keep hearing that you can only catch it if you come into direct contact with the vomit - that reassures but then on the other hand, you think well if they say it is so highly contagious then how do so many people come down with it and how does it start? Someone has to have it first! Is it contact passed on or airborne? (Just thinking out loud here)

They also say the symptoms of it are nausea and then uncontrollable violent and projectile vomiting - does everyone get the vomiting? Gastroenteritis affects everyone in different ways - some people get sick while others just have tummy pains and become a bit loose.

Every day just now I feel so yucky. It's like I am constantly thinking I might have the bug. My stomach feels so heavy and queasy at times (through nerves). Every minute, I am thinking about it.

[belle]

Its passed on very easily. It's passed on through kids mainly. They go to school not being 'well' after having it, they use the loos, they don't wash their hands, they touch a pencil, the other kid puts in in their mouth....BINGO!

I am still unsure whether you can catch it breathing near someone who has it or not?

Its spread through families obviously when someone has puked and you use the toilet after. Those germs live in surfaces for ages. Although you wash your hands, you've touched the tap AFTER your hands are clean. I use toilet paper (when my son says he feels ill).

[Zingara]

It isn't airborne. If you go to www.emetophobia.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=13408&PN=1 there is some helpful info on there (although I got myself in a panic because I don't think I wash my hands for as long as 20 seconds!)
From what I gather, norovirus is a form of gastroenteritis, and, as Jenny says, that can take different forms. Last January I had a day when I had awful diarrhoea, but no vomiting (thank God) - I wonder if that was a mild case of the norovirus?
The reality is not everyone is going to be very ill with it - that's the way with all infectious illnesses, bacterias and viruses.
And I wish to God that the papers would stop using that phrase 'uncontrollable projectile vomiting' - it's a horrid phrase that causes a lot of unnecessary panic. When I was a kid it was just called being violently sick - still unpleasant but a lot less melodramatic! xxx

[eshic]

Hi all

I'm new here today and in light of all the media panic about Norovirus I searched for forums for people with emetophobia; and here you are! I've been emetophobic for as long as I can remember and there have been periods of my life where it has ruled. I'm currently out of work and dismiss particular jobs due to the possibility of having to deal with situations outside of my comfort zone. It's terribly sad. Like many here I'm a sane (!), intelligent individual and common sense tells me to get over it but I just can't. I wish the media wouldn't whip us all into a frenzy the way they do. All of that said, I feel that I have some positive contribution to make here, do forgive me as some of what I'll list comes from an emetophobia support website but it is VERY helpful!

First of all; some myths - Norovirus is not airborne in the strictest sense of the word, if you are near someone who is ill in front of you the virus can become airborne and spread this way but you can’t catch it by simply being near someone who has it.

Alcohol-based hand gels do not kill Norovirus!

Not all people will be sick; the brain may allow you to "not vomit" if you convince it to. Some emetophobes have a high tolerance and can overcome this. This is not harmful; being sick doesn’t rid your body of the virus, it’s a secondary response to it attacking your immune system.

The virus can be active outside of people on surfaces such as counters, toilets, doorknobs and handrails. Remember that you cannot catch it by just touching a doorknob. You would have to put your hand into your mouth. Therefore, hand-washing is essential to prevention of transmission.

The main reason for all Norovirus outbreaks is poor hygiene, i.e., people using the loo and not washing hands afterward, then contaminating surfaces or foods. For this reason I avoid eating out just now if I'm not in a position to wash my hands thoroughly first.

So if you don’t put your hands in your mouth, don’t eat uncooked foods prepared in a restaurant, don't stand beside someone who's vomiting and don’t eat raw or steamed shellfish it is impossible to contract a Norovirus. Ensuring that your hands are properly washed before eating ensures that you will not catch it as well. There is no need to fear if you hear that someone at work or a friend you’ve visited has come down with the virus.

No matter how much of an “outbreak” of the virus is in your geographic area, you are at no greater risk of catching it than if only one person has it. Good hygiene will ensure you are safe.

Sorry for such a long first post; I truly hope it helps. I know it won't stop the moments f panic but it might help to put things into perspective!

[Grape]

I'm new here too and I have been driven to despair with the media reports about the Norovirus .. so much so that I'm dreading Christmas in case any of my visitors start to be ill whilst they're in my home. I take various herbal tablets .. some to support the immune system (to keep away the bugs .. hopefully .. and others like theanine to 'calm' me, but at the moment my stomach is tied in knots with worry. It is reassuring to read the posting from Eshic and just reading that has helped me tonight. Now I may get some sleep! Apart from all the anxiety symptoms ... knotted stomach, lack of sleep etc there are days when I just can't stop crying. Is this just another symptom of anxiety? I know that once this present epidemic is over I will feel much better ... roll on Spring! Thanks everyone .. at least I now feel a bit more 'normal!'