Parking lot :(

[uidactinide]

So... I've been doing pretty well with the whole not-freaking-out thing, which is why I haven't been around here much.



Until yesterday.



A friend of mine and I were walking through the mall parking lot, and
suddenly I realized that someone had v* right in front of my car and I
was standing maybe 2 feet away from it. Needless to say, I freaked the
hell out. My friend came around and guided me away, and covered my eyes
until he'd pulled out of the parking spot and we were well away from
it, but I was crying and shaking and my heart was beating a million
miles an hour.



Here are my questions:



1) I know that you can catch the bug from being near v*. What are the
chances in a situation like that? Would the fact that it was outside
and not in a poorly ventilated bathroom or something have made any
difference, or am I just as screwed as if I had found myself in a
public bathroom with it?



2) It's been almost 24 hours since the encounter, and I feel fine
(besides being a little bit hungry since I haven't eaten much of
anything). How long is the incubation period?



3) Does anyone else feel like this winter is particularly evil where
the stomach bug is concerned? It feels like everyone I know is getting
sick this season, though most of them (thankfully) live in colder
environments.

[beadgirl]

why do people always seem to v in parking lots!

[kellybean]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. I beleive you would have had to have been there, and inhale the droplets in order to catch it. I feel the same way about winter. I feel like I'm trapped in a dark hole and there is no way out. I freaking HATE winter. I am CONSTANTLY thinking about sv's, and I don't even leave the house very much. It's getting worse for me every year. Anyway, sorry to ramble on, I think you will be just fine.

[crimgoddess]

lol- I think people vomit in parking lots because they start to feel sick inside, and then run to the nearest exit. I know I would rather vomit in a parking lot than in the middle of a store.


I know how you feel uida- when I drove from Cali to Ottawa with my boyfriend, someone got sick RIGHT IN FRONT of the passenger side door- my door. I made my boyfriend pull out before I would get in.


I doubt you got close enough for it to even be a factor- and if it's well ventilated, and it probably happened awhile before you actually got back to your car- the odds of you catching something are pretty insignificant.


About this year being worse than any others- I think EVERY year people say this over the winter months when people are getting the standard flues, colds and viruses. I'm sure next year people will say the same thing


*amber*Edited by: crimgoddess

[uidactinide]

Well, it was pretty windy and it was in an actual parking lot (not an
enclosed parking structure or anything), so it does seem like the
chances of anything still being in the air around it are pretty low.



I'm still kind of nervous, but I'm going to try to eat some lunch. Not eating is making me feel even worse.



Also, I think this year seems worse to me because it's the first time
in years where I've dealt with close-ups (this is actually the second
time I've encountered real life v* this winter; I just handled the
first time better for some reason). Another factor is probably that my
friends don't often get SV, and so far 7 of them have been sick this
year. So yeah, it probably isn't really </span>worse this year, but it sure seems like it.

[purpleteacher]

1) I know that you can catch the bug from being near v*. What are the chances in a situation like that? Would the fact that it was outside and not in a poorly ventilated bathroom or something have made any difference, or am I just as screwed as if I had found myself in a public bathroom with it?

2) It's been almost 24 hours since the encounter, and I feel fine (besides being a little bit hungry since I haven't eaten much of anything). How long is the incubation period?

3) Does anyone else feel like this winter is particularly evil where the stomach bug is concerned? It feels like everyone I know is getting sick this season, though most of them (thankfully) live in colder environments.

1. Unless you stepped in it and then touched your foot, consider yourself fine. You can also hope the person didn't have Norwalk or something that would make the reason they were to V* contractable by air (still then, you don't know how long before you got there that it happened). Chances are that it was something they ate, considering you saw it in the parking lot at a mall. It could also have been from someone who was pregnant.


2. Incubation period for Norwalk or something like that is like 24-48 hours. Most other stomach bugs, I just wait for 48-72 hours. I wash my hands more and eat my "safe foods".


3. I have been constantly surrounded by people with stomach bugs and I know that has to do with my job. It petrifies me to NO END! But I love my job and I love kids, who honestly don't spend 99.9% of their life V* (despite how it might seem when they get sick). I love teaching and I love working with kids, so I am highly exposed to it. In my head I know it is natural and even healthy, but that doesn't always make me panic any less!

[swiftette]

purpleteacher, how do you do it? I am petrified just helping out the p.t.o at school, I could never be brave enough do be in there all the time. I even gave up girl scouts because it was AT school. I am now having LOTS of anxiety and find myself trying to figure out ways to avoid sending my kids to school -like home schooling. I reallyam dreading sending them back next week. Not only doI fear I'm putting myself at risk of being exposed, but I feel like I'm a bad mom for sending my kids someplace that I know for a fact is germ ridden and "unsafe". I can avoid taking them to Chuck E Cheese and the mall but school is ....I know that sounds crazy, but I'm feeling desperate.

[bexcelica]

the same thing happened to me last night. i walked past v* in the parking lot of the mall.



Its funny because my friend lauren and i were supposed to go xmas
shopping last wed and i called her to see when she wanted to go and she
said "i tried to go this morning but v* in the parking lot" so there
you go. in thew parking lot. parking lots r evil



youll be fine girl.

[purpleteacher]

purpleteacher, how do you do it? I am petrified just helping out the p.t.o at school, I could never be brave enough do be in there all the time. I even gave up girl scouts because it was AT school. I am now having LOTS of anxiety and find myself trying to figure out ways to avoid sending my kids to school -like home schooling. I reallyam dreading sending them back next week. Not only doI fear I'm putting myself at risk of being exposed, but I feel like I'm a bad mom for sending my kids someplace that I know for a fact is germ ridden and "unsafe". I can avoid taking them to Chuck E Cheese and the mall but school is ....I know that sounds crazy, but I'm feeling desperate.

I sincerely love children and I value education deeply. I have a calling to work with kids and it is very hard having this phobia too. I just have to remember that they aren't sick all the time. When they do get sick, I get them out of my classroom in any and every way I can! I have been known to call the nurse from my classroom, talk with the nurse during my conference period, and do whatever it takes to get my sick kids out of my classroom.


They are little humans and they are learning about their bodies. I can't be mad at them for something they don't know yet or haven't learned to control yet. I know the problem is within me, not within them. I know logically that getting S* won't kill me, rather just make me miserable. Just because I have a problem with something that is normal and something our body does to protect us, doesn't mean the kids need to suffer severely. I love teaching and I'm good at what I do. I have met other teachers who cannot stand V* either - so I know I'm not alone... I'm only subbing right now, but I view myself as a teacher to the kids I work with.


I love my job and I hate knowing my kids are sick - it hurts me - but what is most important is that I am there for them. I'm not the most comforting of panicing of sights when a kid does get S*, but I have had it happen in my classroom and I just did my best to get back to teaching. It was so hard and I felt so sick (and I wanted to run out of that classroom faster than the speed of light!!!), but the kids were depending on me for their focus and strength. The kids really encouraged me to get back to work and move on with it - I was their teacher that day and they needed me. I was going to give them all I had and do my best, despite my panicing on the inside. I also knew that if I lost it, they would lose it too and they didn't deserve to see me crumble right then.


One thing to keep in mind is that you kids will build up a better tolerance for illnesses by being at school. I know that sounds twisted, but the more they are exposed to - the better their immune systems get if they are well-nurished and healthy otherwise. Yes, they might carry stuff home... but the advantages of them being in the social environment of school helps them learn tolerance. I am scared to death of picking up something at school teaching, but I'm more scared of what will happen if the kids don't have someone who is dedicated to their job and a lover of education absent from their needy classrooms.

[crimgoddess]

Wow purpleteacher......I sincerely admire you and how you handle yourself. It's great how you can put your fear aside when you have a job to do, and manage to prioritize things above your phobia.


Congrats on not letting your fear prevent you from what you love doing


*amber*

[swiftette]

that is fabulous, you sound like a wonderful teacher.

[suze]

You do sound like a wonderful teacher - I am full of respect anyway for primary school teachers (ages 4-11 in the UK - the kids not the teachers!) - most of them are so dedicated.


You know, I just remembered - the last time I v*d (23 years ago now!), guess where I did the dirty deed? Yes, a parking lot! Eeewwww

[kelli_michelle]

WAIT!! SV's can be air borne!?!?!?!??![img]smileys/smilies_10.gif[/img]</v:stroke></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:ulas></vath><o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></o:lock></v:shape> this is something I never knew...and i wish that i didn't now.





BTW maybe someone just spilled their chunky soup. Unless you see where a puddle came from how can you ever be sure. One of the kids at my work spilled their veggi soup one day and I totally freaked upon finding the spill. I didn't eat for two days. Then at lunch time again one day a girl was opening her thermos and her friend said i hope I don't have to share with you today again. I said what do you mean and eyed the thermos. Last time she spilled her soup on my pants and i had to give her half my sandwich! When i saw the soup i realized it was the same thing that I'd seen earlier that week. So...yeah....maybe it was just someone’s spilled soup.

[hollyjean]

kelli, dont panic too much about sv being airborne, this only occurs if you are within a few feet of someone while they are v*. When someone v* from norwalk(maybe some other viruses, im not sure) droplets are expelled with the v* so its only airborne if you are close enough to breathe these in. I dont think its contagious to just be near someone while they are not v*. Can anyone confirm this?

[californiagirl]

kelli, dont panic too much about sv being airborne, this only occurs if you are within a few feet of someone while they are v*. When someone v* from norwalk(maybe some other viruses, im not sure) droplets are expelled with the v* so its only airborne if you are close enough to breathe these in. I dont think its contagious to just be near someone while they are not v*. Can anyone confirm this?

That's my understanding as well......