Hi Everyone,

I'm very new to this site but nice to know there are others like me.

I possibly have one of the worst jobs for an emet sufferer. I'm a long haul flight attendant.

I am concerned because one of our job roles is to assist sick passengers, and of course on long haul flights we do get a few. I remember one flight from Bangkok to Sydney recently, we had 5 children from different families who were all V* and I started panicking. A few of them started before departure and I wanted the Purser to offload them so we wouldn't have to take them with us! During the flight I tried to avoid the areas where they were sitting and would hold my breath when walking past. I even asked the Purser to take note of which toilets they were using so that the crew wouldn't use the same ones! (The trip was 8 days and I was afraid one of the crew would get the S.V* and spread it to everyone else.)

On another flight from Germany, the crew had boarded the aircraft and were preparing for passenger boarding when we were told that on the inbound flight, someone had a SV* and the cleaning crews would have to come back and do further cleaning of the aircraft and all the toilets because apparently this passenger on the previous flight had done D* and V* everywhere. I panicked for the whole flight and avoided the area where that passenger had been sitting on the previous inbound flight even though it was the flight before. I also didn't eat anything the whole flight because I was afraid the passenger had been sick in the galley and contaminated the area where the food was.

I never eat anything with my hands onboard and I'm always wearing plastic gloves. Even when I eat I wash my hands and then put plastic gloves on before I eat. All of my colleagues make fun of me. Even when I have a drink I have to open a new packet of cups in case someone has touched them and contaminated them with something that could make me V*

I worry because soon I will be up for promotion to senior crew and as a senior crew you have to take charge of medical incidents - which includes passengers who may be V*. How am I going to be able to be near someone who is V* and assist them if I have this fear!