SV Panic! Oh no!

[lewisr]

So two days ago at about this time I was on a plane and the person in
the row in front of me v* all over the place. I tried to hold my breath
to avoid breathing in droplets but it was a 2 hour flight so instinct
took over and I eventually had to breathe. I made sure to keep
purell-ing my hands every few minutes and have been eating mild
foodstuffs since.



Right about now I am panicking - I felt a twinge of queasiness and I
feel like I am coming down with the early part of a SV. Wouldn't the
timing just about make sense? I've been on cranberry juice and pepto
bismol and I don't know what to do. I took 2 dramamine for my return
flight yesterday so I feel pretty hung over from that already.



What do I do? I am beginning to panic about this...



Thanks in advance,

Lewis

[sweetness]

First of all you need to work on not panicking. Deep, slow breathing will help. The more you panic the worse you will feel. If you are thinking about it you will feel more nauseus.


Try reading a book, watching a movie. Something that will take your mine of it. Eat something light, eg soup. If you havent been eating much then that will also make you feel queasy.


Just work on feeling relaxed. You'll be fine.


x

[lewisr]

Thank you so much sweetness </span>for
your quick response. I am trying to keep the panic under control. What
really has me worried is that if i were to catch this person's SV
(couldn't have been motion sickness as we hadn't even finished boarding
yet) that RIGHT NOW would be the time that symptoms would be
manifesting themselves - about 51 hours post-exposure - correct?



I hate this phobia and I hate feeling "nauseous" all the time.

[sweetness]

I know how you feel. I hate the phobia, i wish i could be free from it. And the feeling of nausea juts sends me straight into a panic. SO im not sitting here telling you what to do and expecting you to be fine, because i know whats its like. But believe me, breathing and concentrating on something else really helps. Even just concentrate on your breathing. In through your nose and out through your mouth. This is the very technique that has stopped me from v* for 9 years. It relaxes you, focuses you on your body's rhthym and clears your mind of negative energy and thought.


Stay strong and focused and you'll be ok.


x

[lewisr]

Sweetness</span> you and others on
this board demonstrate such incredible strength and control - I am just
so not there - I feel like a scared little boy instead of an almost-30
year old man with a wife and a career....



Perhaps it's the dramamine from my flights wearing off and perhaps it
is the panic attack itself but I just feel so depressed and actually
kinda embarrassed

[sweetness]

Believe me when im in your situation im anything but controlled. Dont be embarrassed. Everyone here understands how you feel.


The minute nausea grips me i turn into a petrified child. I panic, i cry, i feel embarrassed. I suppose when im not there, i have more control over my emotions and sound like im a lot more in control. But believe me, the techniques that i use do work. Altho, i like many others on this board sometimes let the panic overtake me because of the muscles involved in having a panic attack it makes it impossible to v*.


Whether you are a 30 yr old man with a wife or a 12 yr old school girl this phobia is terrifying and life absorbing. Dont feel ashamed. You should congratulate yourself for coming on here, i know im proud of myself. Sometimes the hardest thing is admitting to yourself that you have a problem.


I hope that everything is alright, although i know it is. I look forward to speaking to you more


xEdited by: sweetness

[snowangel]

Hi LewisR...how are you feeling now? Perhaps that person was just airsick...it happens a lot, it happened to the person in front of me on my way home from Miami. I absolutely freaked. You will be fine...I am sure of it...SV is passed through the mist in the air. And since you were sitting behind the person you are not likekly to get it.

[chicajojobe]

Don't be embarassed lewis, we all turn into terrified children when
we're in panic mode. The good thing about this site is that we don't
all go into panic at the same time so that when it does happen there's
other people here who know what we are going through because they've
been there and can help us clam.



I don't know if you're still online but if you are and would like to
instant message me you can. I had a bad panic attack a few nights ago
and talking to someone from here really helped.

AIM: CleopatraSmith4

[samara's on tv]

If it was a SV I think you are in the clear. I thought that SV's only took 48 hours to show up...well I don't know much so don't take my message to heart. I hate this phobia too I'm 20 years old but as soon as I feel sick I freak the hell out. I cry and pace and gnaw on my bottom lip till there's nothing there. I know exactly how you feel and if I was on the plane when that happened they would have had to pull me off, I would have totally spazzed out.


~Monica

[lewisr]

Thank you everyone so much for your kind responses. My wife made me get
out of the house to see a movie to clear my head and it worked - I even
had some popcorn. I was feeling quite a bit better but now she wants to
make hotdogs - argh!!



It's a horrible cycle, I get a twinge of queasy so I starve myself and
then when I feel a little better I eat, and that makes my IBS go crazy.
I am just going to try to eat a little and pace myself since it is so
late at night.



Thanks again everyone for the great support. I hope to be able to offer it back to you someday as well as you give it to me.



Best,

Lewis

[stella9]

A couple things.



How do you know the person had a sv. Could it have been motion sickness? Did anyone clean it up?



I want to first say that you had a horrible experience. The
reason I hate flying is just because of this type of thing. No
matter WAHT happends on a plane, you are trapped. There was a
time where flying was a classy experience. People dressed up when
they traveled and had class and manners. Now - anything
goes. I am shocked by what I see in airplane lounges and
terminals. If people could fly in their pajamas and kaki in the
aisles they would.



I wish I could give some great sage advise. All I can write is it is a waiting game.

Time is moving and you seem to be fine. Cross your fingers and please let us know.



Stella

[Eternity]

You did something most impressive. I would have got off the plane immediately and took a different flight.


You should be proud, not beating yourself up over a little anxiety after.

[ontariogirl]

Glad you are feeling better Lewis.

[lewisr]

Just when we thought it was safe....



The woman who shares an office with me (we have a common wall that
doesn't quite reach the ceiling... long story) has nausea and 103 fever
for the past few days.. sore throat, etc. Sounds fluish. (WHY these
people come to work is beyond me... but anyhow.) But we've shared some
common air and sat next to each other in meetings over the past few
days.



But the mantra is... can't catch a SV from conversation or shared
air.... only physical contact/ingestion of fluids/solids (sorry).....



Right? [img]smileys/smilies_09.gif[/img]



Thanks again,

Lewis

[SimplyMe]

I'm glad your'e feeling better about your flight. As for your co-worker maybe it's a throat thing? Sometimes it seems a sore throat can make people feel sick and so can a fever, maybe she has tonsilitis or something? Either way you are surely keeping sanitary so youshoudl be fine! You are right tho I dont' get people coming to work that sick. A cold, yeah I've done that but if you're running 103 temp you should be in bed, stomach thing or not.

[2jo2]

Your co-worker doesn't sound like she has a sv. Sounds like something else.... My brother just got over a bad case of mono that put him in the hospital for 3 days, and those were his symptoms. (yes, I went to visit him!!!!!) Esp. with a sore throat, I just don't think she's got a sv. But then I don't worry about getting sick with other things like colds, respiratory, etc.... even though it's not fun, I'd rather have that than a sv anyday.


Anyways,I'm with Eternity on getting off the plane, I would have never stayed on there. My anxiety goes up just thinking about it. [img]smileys/smilies_06.gif[/img]

[jennyleigh1975]

Im thinking that maybe with your co-worker that maybe it some kind of cold/strep throat thing. I mean, if she has been nauseaous for three days, but hasnt had any v*, then I think it is something else. Now that you know she has been ill for a few days, I would stay clear of her for as long as I could. However, I think someone needs to encourage her to go to the doctor.

[stella9]

Not only encourage her to go to a doctor, but to go home.



Stella

[bexcelica]

lewis, i know EXACTLY how you feel about the plane. I was going on a
trip to barbados for a class at my college during winter break. this
girl (who i was traveling with and didnt know at all) was v* in the
airport before we even got on the plane. i remeber calling my mom
and telling her how i was freaking out. she sat right behind me too.
LUCKILY, it was a hangover, and she felt fine when we got to barbados.
so this guy might have just had a bad hangover or something. maybe he
just gets so nervous about flying he gets sick. who knows. as my mom
always tells me (and i dont ever believe her but maybe you will) sv*
are NOT common at all.



I also understand how you feel about feeling like a child when you
panic. im 21 and still call my mom if i feel sick or someone around me
does. i call her to make sure the food i cook at my apartment is still
good sometimes, and i call her if i eat out. how she puts up with me i
dont know. so i hope that makes you feel better... when i panic, i go
into "wheres my mommy" mode and im a college graduate.



about your coworker, ive also been through that, a monster of a sv*
going through a lot of people at work. WHY DO THEY COME TO WORK! i
guess it cant be that bad if theyre working. i had mono, 2jo2, my
freshman year in college, and i had a fever and a TERRIBLE soar throat.
my glands were so swolen that my neck was actually lumpy. that def
sounds like mono, altho i never got n*, i was too busy sleeping and
taking nyquil dont worry youll be ok, we've all been through it..
and even if it is mono and you catch it, its not as bad as people say

[lewisr]

The whole dang office is sick, I cannot for the live of me fathom how
selfish these people are. The world will not end if you stay home and
not infect others - especially in today's communication era.



In any event, they seem to all be sick with upper respiratory stuff,
which as a previous poster mentioned, is really not something I'd sweat
- though it's unpleasant it doesn't compare with SV fears. I'm drinking
a lot, taking my Airborne formula, and hoping for the best.



When I had a team to run I literally sent people home if they presented
to work with symptoms - and of course we'd pay them for the sick day.
But you're no good to yourself or anyone else if you're falling asleep
at the keyboard and spreading germ-laden particles throughout the
common areas.



An unfortunate part of my profession is frequent air travel, and aside
from booking aisle seats whenever possible, the only solace I can take
is the (misguided? naieve?) belief that the airlines DO pipe in a
percentage of fresh air to the cabin, as they claim.



Best,

Lewis

[mjewell]

Lewis -


I am curious about the event on the plane - someone else asked what happened after, did it get cleaned up or what? Was it realy all over? Why the heck didn't he use the bag or run back to the bathroom if you hadn't even finished boarding yet? You sounds a lot stronge rthan me, like everoyne else said I would absolutely panic if I was stuck in a small space like that with a sick person AND their "stuff" everywhere. I am scared to fly now!! Although i am sure that sort of thing is very rare, I have never seen anyone get sick on any flight, cruise, etc that I have taken.


Someone else mentioned that SVs are not common - I think that is true, at least among adults. I would say on average most adults have had 1 or 2 bad SVs in their life. I'm talking full blown SVs with multiple vomits and having to be in bed. Also, when someone says they have an SV that could mean they have mild diarrhea, which isn't scary to me, so it does not always signal impending doom, just remember that!


One other thing I just remebered...I lied about never seeing someone sick on a plane. My senior trip to Puerto Vallarta, my friend was sick. She did it in a trash can when we were walking to the concourse, and then she had to use the airsick bag once we were onboard. Once the flight took off she just slept. I was so worried she had a virus i was going to catch, but turns out she just gets sick if she doesn't get enough sleep. Hey, sometimes I feel like crap early in the morning too. So just remember, things aren't always as they seem!! [img]smileys/smilies_01.gif[/img]

[lewisr]

The way that the seats were positioned it was difficult to see what was
going on (though I certainly could hear and, erm, smell it) but
apparently they were too ill/drunk/scared/who knows to use the airsick
bag. I think they cleaned it up themselves because the flight attendant
came by and said "are you all cleaned up here?" and they responded "as
best we can until we can change these clothes, yes."



How I got through it is another story - I was freaking out! I turned
all of the "fresh" air vents onto my face trying to breathe in as much
outside air as possible. I also took another dramamine to make me sleep
since I was a wreck. The worst part was having to pass the "area" in
order to disembark the plane. Not a fun experience.



This isn't a fun phobia, though I don't suppose many are....

[mjewell]

Ugh, I feel so bad for you, but I still think you handled it like a champ!!

[bexcelica]

how you doing lewis?

[stella9]

The flight crew should have never ever EVER allowed someone to fly who was visibly sick like that.



I saw a news article on 20/20, or another one of those news shows,
about just this topic. A man, who was hurling in the airport
terminal before he even got on the plane, boarded a United Flight in
Amsterdam. Once on board, he wandered throughout the cabin,
before the flight took off, and gathered as much of the sick bags as he
could. For the entire 12-hour flight to Chicago, the man v*** and
raced back and forth to the toilet to have d***. He
alternated between v*** in the bags and running to the toilet.
This was very disturbing to all the passengers and caused them to have
a miserable journey. (I can't imagine that the food service was
appetizing to anyone on board.) However, the news article included an
interview with a woman who was on that flight and two days later
became ill herself. She landed in the hospital with dehydration
from uncontrollable v*** and weight loss. It turns out that she
contracted a virus/bacteria from that man who apparentely picked up
some weird illness while he was in Africa. He flew from Africa to
Amsterdam, where he boarded the plane that she got on.



She decided to sue the airlines stating that they were negligent in
allowing this man to board the plane. Virgin Airlines, was also
interviewed for the article, said that their terminal agents and flight
attendants would never ever allow such a sick passenger to board the
plane.



The problem with deregulation in the US is while some things are not
permitted, things like this happen with all too much frequency.
Just two years ago, 11 people came down with TB because a person with
active case of TB flew from the East coast to the West coast and
infected fellow passengers. Because airlines want to conserve
fuel, they reduce the amount of fresh air that comes into the
cabin. The more fresh air, the more drag on the plane, the more
drag on the plane, the less fuel efficient the flight will be.
This is a big money saver. On the bad side, is the large
percentage of air on the plane, including the overhead fresh air
fans, is recycled. So if someone has active TB in row 37
and you are in row 8, you are not safe from NOT catching it. It
is has been stated by experts, whoever they may be, that after 2 1/2
hours on a flight, the air is stale and recycled. This is why so
many people catch colds and flu when taking long haul flights.



Its gross no matter how you slice it and dice it. Like I have
said so many times before - Flying these days is nothing more than
taking the Greyhound Bus to the skies. At one time flying was for
the priviledged who dressed nicely and behaved with class when they
traveled by air. Now every peice of trailer-trash flies and with
it comes the most appalling behavior and lack of consideration for
anyone. Have you ever seen how people trash the area where they
sit when the leave a plane? Newspaper , tissues, cups, on the
floor!!!??? So what's a little v*** to people like this?





Oh, to be on a soapbox.



Stella

[mjewell]

I agree with you wholeheartdely Stella, it almost seems like it should be a health violation. I can't think of very many other places where there is such a lack of regard for public health. I mean even bars have minimal ventilation standards. You are totaly right about not allowing sick people on a plane. And what the hell would someone with a virus be thinking getting on a long trip when they are sick like that anyway?? Would you ever??!!! Probably people feel like they have no choice since refunds are nearly impossible to get with most airlines. That is a problem too. Even with a doctors note you sometimes can't get a refund or trip credit. Absolutely ridiculous.


You know, mydad and uncle ot kicked off a plane before it took off in Vegas because they were "laughing loud" and the flight crew suspected they were drunk. Now if they can kick someone off for laughing loudly, why the hell can't the kick someone off for being sick and possibly infecting others?? Maybe we should lobby for this!! lol.

[stella9]

Mjewel,



Thanks for the response. Yeah, the airlines seems to be big on
the possible drunk passenger thing, but don't look at the emaciated
person who is hurling in a trash can. Its like we go after the
wrong things. Don't let a women on a plane with breast milk in a
bottle, but matches are okay.



I agree about no one should fly as sick as this guy was. As for
refunds, they can be done. One time my husband and I were
supposed to go to England. He was recovering from a cold that had
lasted about three weeks. He was no longer contagious, but he was
developing a sinusitis. We got to the airport and I said thought
it was not wise to fly seven hours with a possible sinus
infection. Flying hurst the best of sinuses. I said
something to the person working at the gate. Our tickets were
non-refundable. But guess what? She appreciated my concern
for my husband, the other passengers and the flight attendants.
We got a refund. He visited the doctor the next day. An
x-ray revealed an infection making its way to the sinus bone.
Antibiotics cleared it up and we flew out the next week.
Everyone was happy.



Emet or not, no one wants to travel with someone as sick as that
guy. You can't fault the person who leaves feeling fine and
becomes ill on a flight. But the person who is visibly sick,
should never ever get on a plane. Just the fact that they are not
up to dealing with any in-flight emergencies, possible improptu
landings or diversions.



Global travel does bring the problem of transmitting foreing invaders. Remember SARS?



Stella

[mjewell]

Yeah, the more I think about it, the more it really is a potential danger to fly with the current standards, I mean what with the recycled air and everything. I'm really surprised I haven't heard more about that in the media. I mean, you hear about it with cruises and stuff all the time, like with the Norwalk virus.


You were lucky you had anempathetic airline. I made plane reservations through Expedia once on United, and I came down with the flu (this was during the vaccine shortage time), so i called the airline and told them I had the flu and could not fly, and told them I would be happy to provide them with a dr note, but they still would not budge. I couldn't believe it. Ever since then i have purchased the travel insurance for long trips just in case anything like that ever happens to me again.

[lewisr]

how you doing lewis?

Thank you for asking. So far, it's been a "good" week phobia-wise. I
have been trying to wean myself off of pepto because of the unpleasant
side effect (though obviously not nearly as unpleasant as the "other"
thing) - I've been trying lots of fennel seeds and camomile/mint teas
as well as forced relaxation to get through my "twinges."



It's a journey....



Best,

Lewis

[bexcelica]

hey if youre ok now im sure youll be fine. kudos to getting through it