Why has everything gone wrong today...?

[Hay]

Hi everyone,

I haven't been on here for a while because I was coping but now I've hit a wall...

Why my day has gone wrong wrong wrong today:

1. Wake up for work and see the noro report on tv reporting on a 5-year high. PANIC.

2. Suddenly my stomach feels strange and rumbles and I get a bad bad bout of d*.

3. Fight my anxiety and worked my shift, relieved the d* has stopped.

4. Just as I leave work, a small kid has been s* on the floor. I had to walk past it approx 1.5-2 metres away from IT and held my breath.

5. Come home to find my mum has booked me an appointment at the docs for some other issue I've been having. Meaning I've got to enter this germ infested place whilst noro is at its peak-TODAY.

Firstly, I believe the strong bout of d* was from anxiety and nerves from my first ever job which I've just started. (I have ibs too)

Secondly, does any one think I might catch that kid's germs? I didn't touch the kid, just passed.

Thirdly, how do I fully protect myself from any germs whilst at the docs- hands, clothing, hair..!!

thanks

[bex]

I'm sorry to hear you're having a bad day Firstly, I've ranted on endlessly today about this bloody "5 year high" nonsense the press keep harping on about incessantly - I'd like to know where exactly they plucked these figures from... No one can say with any certainly that these statistics are an accurate depiction of the levels of noro - sure, the number of reported cases may be higher, but I'll guarantee that's down to the public's increasing awareness of noro courtesy of the media (thanks for that) and people always needing a diagnosis for something that is, quite frankly, what it is. The media love to scaremonger the general public with brash headlines and fear-evoking "facts" - after all, it sells newspapers.....

With regards to the v* on the floor, I'm sure you'll be just fine - particularly as you were at such a distance when you walked past. Besides, kids v* a lot anyway, and who's to say it wasn't something they ate or a bacterial infection of some sort? Try not to worry about it, but I understand it won't have helped your anxiety levels
Just make sure you wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water once you've left the doctors - there's little else you can do in terms of prevention, but I can't imagine you'd be in the waiting room much longer than 30 minutes at the most so chances are your risk of exposure will be minimal.

Chin up - I hope your day improves

[AoD]

Yeah, there are days like that when everything seems to go wrong. But don't worry too much, I'm sure the d* was from stress and you can't get sick from the kid if you were that far away. The particles don't really get much farther than 1.5m and they settle within minutes so you're most likely 100% safe (needless to say, small kids v* for random reasons that have nothing to do with contagious diseases anyway so even if you were closer you'd probably still be fine). The hospital isn't a problem, really. When there are outbreaks of noro, it's in the inpatient wards, not in the outpatient clinics (where you'll be for appointments). I've been in an out of hospitals most of my life (parents work there, I worked there for a while) and I never caught any kind of stomach virus from there (neither did my parents). Even from being in the ER, in the middle of noro season, I never caught it. So it's not because the patients in their rooms have an outbreak that you have any higher risk of catching it from your appointment. As for protecting yourself, well, all you really need to do is avoid touching things that can't be easily cleaned (like a cell phone) so that you don't contaminate those, and wash your hands when you get home. Take a full shower as soon as you get home and put your clothes in the laundry if it makes you feel better, but honestly I don't think it's necessary. And from what I heard the whole noro outbreak thing is actually pretty much over... the peak was a few days/weeks ago. So don't worry hope your day goes better!

[crazymama]

hi i am new here, just read these posts, when you say the noro outbreak is pretty much over, did you mean in the UK or Canada where i see you live, thanks in advance for your reply
ps. this site is awesome and gives so much reassurance, THANKYOU EVERYONE x

[kam00096]

This noro outbreak thing is utter scaremongering. Totally agree with Bex that it's down to the media, and people being hyper aware of things these days. Unless it's hopsital wards or cruise ship/ hotel type situations there's no guarantee that it even is noro. People throw up from a million different things. If I took a sample in my village I'd come up with loads of different folks being sick over the last week but all for different reasons (off the top of my head... small kid I look after has an ear infection, her mum has morning sickness, my dad is nauseated from his new Parkinsons meds and I feel like crap because of IBS) Not one of us has noro. Sorry you've had a bad day though Hay. Will stop ranting now :-)

[Cynna]

Today is the 13th. Enough said.

Hope it gets better for you. Turn off the news. Wash hands as normal. Live your life.

[Hay]

Thanks everyone for your kind replies.

Bex - thanks for your reassurance, it has really helped. You're right, I really shouldn't read and believe the sell out headlines in the papers but it is really difficult to ignore. And luckily, I was only in the doctors waiting room for 5 mins. I kept aware on what I had touched and I washed my hands thoroughly as soon as I got home which made me feel much better! And the kid being s* on the floor, I'm starting to forget about it now-the initial shock and panic made me anxious!

AoD - thanks also, I was probably being a bit (a lot!) exaggerating about the docs. I went in all nervous and came out relieved and fine! My brain clearly goes in overload. As for the s* kid incident, thanks for the reminder that kids are sometimes s* for a silly reason-I'm kinda glad it was a kid instead of an adult in retrospect! As for the d*, I KNOW it was down to my uncontrollable nerves!

crazymama - I'm UK GREAT BRITAIN !!! Yep, I agree, this site is a God send at times when in need for some reassurance!

Kam00096 - thanks, you speak truth! And are realistic! Wish I could get my brain to believe you when I'm in a panic!

cynna - 13th! Just realised! Well I guess I'm grateful it's not Friday! Cool words of advice.