sv* from sheets?

[rsm2150]

My boyfriend had a sv* last Wednesday which was gone by Thursday. I was at his apartment on Friday for seven hours and was really careful about touching surfaces and didn't even go in the bathroom while I was there. I didn't go in the bedroom either because he still had the sheets on his bed that he had when he was sick.

I spent a good part of Saturday googling norovirus (what seems to be the biggest culprit of sv* in adults, and causes 50% of food poisoning), mainly because I was wondering for how long he was contagious and it said that the sick person can shed virus for up to a week after they stop having symptoms, but I wasn't sure how it was shed, and it turns out it's only in v* and stool, so we kissed on Saturday night.

The main problem comes in with yesterday. He wanted me to sleep in the same bed and I didn't because me being there was a really big step in terms of my emetophobia, and I just felt really uncomfortable, but he was really upset about it, so I agreed. Luckily, his mom came up this past weekend and bought him new sheets. So he took the old ones, along with the mattress pad, off of the bed, put them in a garbage bag, and put on the new ones. I put new pillow cases on the pillows, and he took the comforter out of the duvet cover it had been in when he was sick. I tried not to sleep on the pillow for most of the night and not have the comforter near my face, since a sv* enters the body through the nose and mouth (possibly eyes).

So, after that long back story, I have several questions:

1. Could I get the sv* from kissing him, even though the site I went to said you can't? (This was 2 days after he was symptom free, so couldn't have had v* particles in his mouth).

2. Could I get the sv* from the bedding? I'm wondering if it's possible for the sv* to penetrate the duvet cover and/or pillowcases. He didn't v* on either, but it seems possible that some particles might have gotten on them after he was sick and went back to bed.

3. He's going to get the comforter dry cleaned before I go back on Wednesday, does anyone know if dry cleaning kills sv*?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[scaredycat]

I don't really know, but I understand why you are wondering. My daughter was sitting next to someone on the bus yesterday who v - it didn't get on her, but I washed her coat in hot water anyway. Of course I didn't think to wash it until I had hung it in our closet right next to my coat. Then I wondered if the "airborne" particles on the bus got onto my daugther's coat, if the virus could then rub off on my coat in the closet, and what if I infected the whole family just by hanging the coat in the closet?! Reasonably, I KNOW this would be an impossible way for us to get sick - same thing with the sheets - I am sure since the sheets and even the duvet cover were changed that you will be fine - especially since no one was actually sick on the bedding. You would probably be fine too even if the sheets weren't changed. I know, though, even reasoning for me doesn't take the worry away, but maybe this helps some?

[sage]

Check out the new section entitled "Information and Research" specifically the "Norovirus Facts" - it should help you be calmer about it.

[rsm2150]

Update: It's been over a week, and I spent the entirety of last weekend with my boyfriend, and I didn't get s*! So it looks like you can't get a sv* from sheets (or other fabrics) unless you can see v* or fecal matter on them! I'm really happy, and I feel that managing a situation in which I was INCREDIBLY uncomfortable and just having to manage the fear and seeing that nothing bad happened really helped me in terms of my fear.