Touched my mouth today...UH OH.

[holtkm]

I was at school all day today. I always keep my hands away from my mouth and face and today I might have slipped up on that... I washed my hands at school before lunch and then i came home and didnt wash my hands. I touched my mouth after that on accident so now im freaking out!!! could i have caught something?!

[HEH18]

I was at a friends baby shower on Sunday. I didn't wash my hands before eating finger foods, with my hands. I did this partly as a challenge to my emet, and partly cuz I forgot. I did not get sick. Not even a little. And I was surrounded by people with kids, people who could have been exposed, moms whose kids had stomach bugs a week ago. So, all that to say, its very unlikely.

[AoD]

Unlikely, unless you've been around sick people. Friends of mine never wash their hands (they don't even have hand soap at work) and they barely ever get sick, so I guess your one little slip doesn't have much risk of catching anything. It would be a different story if you had been spending the day taking care of someone sick with noro, but just daily life doesn't carry much risk of infection even if you touch your mouth.

[chris_alice]

It's very unlikely you caught something. Before I became emet I never used to wash my hands in school except after using the bathroom or if they were visibly dirty. I'd go from gym class (rolling around on the floor) straight to lunch where I'd usually eat a sandwich and a fruit with my hands and I never got sick, nor did any of my friends who all did the same thing. Emetophobia makes us feel like everything has to be squeeky-clean all the time for us to be safe but the reality is that our immune system kills a lot of things before they can make us sick, so we don't have to live in a sterile environment to stay healthy. If you have a weakened immune system, that's a different story. Anyway, point is, you'll be fine.

[emet-ana]

You could, but the chance is very small!