Hi, I'm new here.

[kastorpollux]

I'm 17 and my emetophobia began when I suddenly felt nauseous one day at the mall. It was the same nausea I felt when I had the stomach flu and I thought, this is it I'm going to throw up for hours! But I never threw up and it passed. Since then I've been highly vigilant, germophobic, OCD, everything. And I've developed anxiety which results in me being nauseous throughout the day, everyday. :/

I've narrowed down my phobia to stomach viruses. I'm not afraid of vomiting associated with morning sickness or car sickness because I feel like I can control it. But I'm afraid of stomach viruses because I can never not throw up when I get them. I never get diarrhea with stomach flus either, just vomiting.

Anyway I have a few questions:
- Does vomiting get rid of the stomach virus? Or can you have the stomach virus and not vomit. I read somewhere that vomiting is just a natural reaction and it doesn't expel the virus any faster.
- Is there anyway to suppress vomiting associated with the stomach flu? I heard the nausea center in your brain controls vomiting... Is there a way to disable it or something? Or is there any probiotic I can take to kill the virus if I feel like I've been exposed to it?

Thank you guys.

[deeendnamtoe]

You should read the emetophobia research thread...there is an entire post on the stomach flu and what goes on when you catch it. You are correct...vomiting is a secondary response that our bodies do naturally. You don't HAVE to vomit to get rid of it because your body is already fighting off the virus and it is not in your stomach but rather your small intestine. Anti-emetics can be taken to avoid vomiting and sheer willpower can also keep you from vomiting (we emets are pros at that!). So if you just tell yourself that whenever you are feeling nauseous, it will help a lot with the anxiety!

[kastorpollux]

You should read the emetophobia research thread...there is an entire post on the stomach flu and what goes on when you catch it. You are correct...vomiting is a secondary response that our bodies do naturally. You don't HAVE to vomit to get rid of it because your body is already fighting off the virus and it is not in your stomach but rather your small intestine. Anti-emetics can be taken to avoid vomiting and sheer willpower can also keep you from vomiting (we emets are pros at that!). So if you just tell yourself that whenever you are feeling nauseous, it will help a lot with the anxiety!

Thank you so much!

[deeendnamtoe]

No problem! I haven't been on this forum for very long either and it helps so much to talk to the people here. Everyone is very supportive and knowledgeable...it's my first stop when I'm feeling anxious. Welcome!

[kastorpollux]

I feel less anxious after making an account on here. I used to google things like crazy and this site would often pop up and I would read some threads, but I'm glad there are genuinely nice and helpful people on here that understand, such as yourself! It's so much better than hearing "it's dumb get over it already".