How do your non-emet friends and family perceive norovirus and *v?

[emet-ana]

Hi guys,

I just wondered how non-sufferers perceive norovirus and v*. I spoke to my brother about it the other night and he said that he feels horrendous when he's sick and a bit overwhelmed but he'd rather do things and get ill than not do anything. He also said that other people v* is pretty hilarious!

What do your friends and family think about v*? What precautions do they take against norovirus? What do they think of emetophobia?

xx

[chris_alice]

My sister had a really bad stomach virus last week. She didn't go to the doctor so don't know for sure if it was noro but she vomited, had really bad diarrhea and a crazy-high fever for a few days. Now you have to understand my sister NEVER gets sick so this was really unusual for her and I was curious to see how this would affect her after the fact. Well, as soon as she felt better she was right back to her regular routine as if nothing happened. Had that happened to me, I'd be a complete non-functioning basket-case for at least a couple of weeks if not longer. When I asked her about it (on the phone of course lol), she simply said she felt really awful for a few days, still felt a bit weak, but wasn't phased by it. I asked if she was scared. She said, "Why should I be scared? It was a virus not an emergency and even if it was an emergency I would have gone to the hospital and they'd take care of me. There's nothing to be scared of." So I said, "but you NEVER get sick..." and she said "Well, I did now. Everybody gets sick at some point." And that was the end of it. Life went immediately back to normal for her.

[chris_alice]

Oh and to answer your other questions, my family/friends do nothing to avoid norovirus. They don't think about it, and I'm sure most of them don't even know the word "norovirus". They don't understand emetophobia and say "nobody LIKES to vomit."

[emet-ana]

Haha aw, your sister is really lucky not to be phased by it at all. The bug she had sounds awful but I guess like she says it wasn't that big a deal (if only we could make our brains think that way!).

Perhaps stomach viruses are no worse for non-emets than real flu or other infections!

I hate it when people say 'No-one likes to vomit' or even 'Yes I feel sick if I see someone throw up too'!

[AoD]

Well, my family isn't afraid of noro. They know it is highly unpleasant and don't want to get it, but they don't worry about catching it like I do. They wash their hands as soon as they come home from being in public places, they are careful with food hygiene (keep raw meats away from other foods, no cross-contamination), and always wash their hands before eating if they're outside the house and most of the time at home. But that's just common sense to them to avoid illnesses in general (flu, colds, etc.) because why take chances when all you have to do is wash hands? They don't get sick. We eat out without a care, and they don't worry about being around sick people outside the house thinking that by washing their hands they'll be fine (and, well, they are so.. they're right not to worry). My dad is really sad that I am afraid of something like that, I know it hurts him to see me get into irrational panics over this and he thinks this phobia means I am mentally ill. It's not affecting my life much usually, I mean.. I eat out and everything, but I have a breakdown if someone vomits in my vicinity and I don't have proof it's not contagious. But living with a non-emet roommate who gets sick often has me spiralling into constant anxiety. He's still supportive though, if I really feel ill I know he would drive hours to pick me up even if I am out of town and take care of me.

My best friend is wary of noro, there's an outbreak in my town right now and she was like "I can't catch that. I don't have any sick days at work". But in reality she is still pretty careless and doesn't wash her hands much. She's a bit better about that since I do it all the time and I told her it was necessary (and made some graphic comments about what people might have on their hands when touching the subway poles). She thinks vomiting in movies and the such is funny, and it doesn't phase her in general. She's the type to make herself throw up when feeling queasy just so she'll feel better. She's not very sciency so she's not really aware of the modes of transmission of most stomach viruses and how easy it is to cross-contaminate surfaces and everything... so she's a bit careless. I also have friends who don't even own hand soap and never wash their hands except when taking a shower. They think that getting sick is something unlikely to happen and if it does, well, it's just a few bad days and it'll be fine after.

[emet-ana]

Aw sorry to hear your Dad is upset about your phobia but at least it shows he cares about you. I guess all phobias are mild forms of mental illness but they are so incredibly common and treatable that they're not like other illnesses.

My family wash their hands when they get in and before eating too but they do hate my emetophobia because I insist on them washing their hands more often than that and wash mine constantly.

It always seems weird to me that people like your best friend (& some of my friends and old flatmates) say they really don't like puking but then don't take any precautions (e.g. basic handwashing) to avoid catching noro. I guess you're right that they don't understand how the infection is transmitted- lots of people think it's passed in droplets from sneezing and coughing or that you only catch it from being in the same house as a sufferer!

AoD and ChrisAlice have either of you had any treatment for emet?

[AoD]

Well, I think a lot of it is misinformation, yeah. They don't realize how easily it is spread. Most of them think that if they puke IN the toilet and wash their hands (for about 10 seconds) then they won't contaminate anyone. They don't get it either that you can pick it up from surfaces and then catch it. Also, statistics plays a role because they say "I'm not doing anything wrong cause I don't get sick that often by doing what I'm doing now". So when I tell her to be careful when I don't want her bringing viruses home, she'll wash her hands a bit more often for a few days and then she'll go back to her old habits of not properly washing and touching her face (and chewing her nails) on the subway. Little things she's not even really aware of, I think. And no, I never got treatment for it because it is very mild in my case. Like I said, I live a totally normal life unless someone vomits near me (or God forbid, in my house) and then I calm down once the danger has passed. And that usually doesn't happen very often (at least, it didn't use to until I moved in here) so it's not very disruptive in the greater scheme of things so there's no reason to seek treatment right now. And I don't think all phobias really are mental illnesses, some are just necessary for survival (fear of heights, fear of spiders and other things that kill you, you know).

[emet-ana]

Yeah fears are a normal part of being human and you can see how fear of being sick, heights and poisonous snakes/spiders makes sense for survival but all phobias are officially classed as anxiety disorders. However if it doesn't affect your life that much then it's no worse than any other non-phobic worry/fear!