Awful Anxiety

[kimb]

Does anyone have an example of someone being sick in your house and other people NOT getting it?

My husband got sick today. He was fine, then all of a sudden, d*, then he was OK, then he v'd a LOT - then his stomach felt 100% fine right after that. I am thinking that it was something he ate, not a contagious thing, but I am sitting her paralyzed with anxiety and freaking out that it is contagious and that my baby and I were exposed - I read all these posts about people who have v'd and I just don' t know how you can deal - how you can handle that... I seriously feel like I might be losing my mind - I am sterilizing everything but I am sitting here in a complete panic and I dont know what to do.
HELP!

[brina85]

one way to know if it was a sv is did he have a fever or aches

[kimb]

no fever but chills.

[brina85]

it does sound like a sv i hope u dont get it were u around when he vomited

[kimb]

I was in the house but not near him - I didnt clean it up and I've been handwashing like CRAZY and not near him.

I am so incredibly anxious and FREAKING OUT I really don't know what to do - I am having severe panic, I am all alone and I feel so scared. This is a nightmare!!!

[brina85]

ok ok dont worry im sure you will be fine trust me calm down im here if you need to talk if you are being clean im sure you wll not get sick [img]smileys/smilies_02.gif[/img]

[kimb]

I am being clean but still I am so scared. I'm afraid to go to sleep. I am sitting here drinking peppermint tea and staring at my computer - we have 2 TV's, one he is sleeping in front of, one in my bedroom where he v*'d. I just don't know what to do... I am so nervous! I keep reading on this site all these people who keep v'ing and getting sv's and I dont understand how they can be emet and have that happen - don't they lose their mind????

I am just praying to G0d that I wasn't exposed. My family lives 3000 miles away, so I feel like I am all alone here, and I am just freaking out - I can't deal.
And my baby is in the other room!! How am I going to deal?????

HELP

[brina85]

ai know you feel bad but its life hunny getting sick and i know you dont want it to happened but it does sometimes and if it does happened to u u will survive and it will make u 10 times stronger i promice but dont worry your not sick right now go lay down and get some sleep honey dont worry you might not even get sick and u are worrying for no reason look maybe it was what he ate. let me tell u a story like 5 weeks ago i got sick i threw up like 4 times and it was bad then my son and husband got sick but my daughter didnt so there are people who get it and dont get sick like my daughter and she was playing with my son so i doubt you will get sick u know what by airborne it is at any drug store or walmart target its a pill u drop in water and trust me it works it helps u not get any sickness try it tommorrw and i almost guarntee you will not get sick also take zinc or vitamen c

[kimb]

how did you deal when you got sick? did you panic? were you freaking out? how did you deal????

I am so panicky right now I cant even see straight.

I am shakey and freaking out.

[brina85]

well when you are sick like i was you dont even think of emet u are so sick all u want is what is in your stomach u want it out so u forget all about emetophobia it makes u stronger but stop thinking u are going to get sick cause i know u wont its all in your head calm down and by airborne and chamomille tea it kills stomach germs and zinc and u will not get sick drink alot of tea and air borne i gots to go im soooooooooooo tired but write me back once more so i know u are ok

[kimb]

thank you for your words.
i am trying to remain calm.
I'm drinking chammomile tea now.

Thank you.

[purpleteacher]

To me, it sounds like it was something he ate. You can get chills when you are dehydrated or when you are stressed, which V* can easily cause. Considering he felt great immediately after he got sick and the sickness was short lived, I would think it would be something he ate and not a SV.

[kimb]

thanks for that. i have been up all night panicking and freaking out. this is my worst nightmare. I am here all alone with a baby and a sick husband, I can't sleep - now I am afraid that I am comprimising my immune system by not getting rest - I am just completely and utterly losing it- I dont know how I am going to get through the next couple of days, and I'm supposed to be flying long distance on Friday... I am terrified!!! HELP

[marby]

Kimb -





My husband had a sv 3 weeks ago and no one else in our house got it. He got up at 7:00 am, went into the bathroom and started v*. I had been in bed right next to him all night. Of course as soon as I heard him v*, I got up and left the room and didn't go back. Just stay away from him and keep your baby away from him too. Do the washing/bleaching thing and make him stay in the bedroom area so he isn't spreading anything around the rest of the house.


Hang in there and try to relax - it is going to be ok.


Marby

[kimb]

Marby,
thanks for that info. It is so reassuring to hear people say that just because one person in the house is sick doesnt mean that everyone will be sick. Everyone I've spoken to is telling me that it sounds like fp not a sv since he had d, then felt a little better, then had one big 'episode' of v, then his stomach stopped bothering him completely, immediately after that. That was last night at 6, then he had chills until about 8 (no fever though) and then went to sleep and has been sleeping soundly ever since (it's 7am here now). So I am thinking - hoping and praying is more like it -- that it wasn't a sv but was something he ate over the past few days - he had chicken wings with ranch dressing, that could be a culprit...

[Hale]

Hi Kimb,

About 18 nonths ago I had a sv. I managed to stop myself V*ing but I came very close. My sister had it and V*ed a lot which my Mum had to clean up (she also came to visit me) and my Dad had it too without V*ing. My Boyfriend, My sisters boyfriend and Mum all escaped without any symptoms at all. I really hope that you will be ok. Like you say, you are keeping clean and us emets aren't as prone to sv as most people. Stay strong!

Luv Hayley

[kimb]

thats good to hear that your mom cleaned up and didnt get sick.
i am praying that this is not a sv but is food-related and not contagious
I was up all night panicking, it was so bad.
I hope to G0d that I can escape this unaffected, and my little baby daughter too.

Just pray for me.

[kutekim1217]

It sure sounds like something he ate to me. You can get the chills with food poisoning. from what Ive read and heard with an sv, you dont v then immediately feel 100%, you are totally drained for at least a day. I would bet it was something he ate, how is he tonight?

[kutekim1217]

Is your husband aware of your emetophobia Kim?

[kutekim1217]

How did you handle yourself getting sick Brina? Did you panic?

[kimb]

My husband wasn't 100% right away. His stomach was all better, though - he didn't feel n*, or have anymore d* or v*. He had d* all day, then felt better so he ate and that is when he v'd. He said he was sure he woudln't have v'd if he hadn't eaten anything. Anyway, the next day he was drained and tired - probably from not eating and having so much d* - then today he was just tired, but went back to work and didn't feel drained. I hope it was fp and not a sv b/c I can't deal with the thought of being exposed. It has been 60 hours since my husband first started showing symptoms. I hope that my daughter and I are safe at this point but I guess I have to wait 72 hours before I can really be sure.

Today I washed the sheets, blankets, and comforter cover with clorox and hot water, and then I sprayed all the pillows and mattress and comforter with lysol spray. I wiped down the whole bed with clorox wipes and lysol. I am still not ready to sleep in the bed with my husband. I also cleaned v* off the wall myself. That was pretty intense but it had to be done - I put on rubber gloves and used clorox bleach. It was there for 2 days so I am assuming the germs are all dead at this point.

My husband is furious with me and thinks I'm insane. He told me that I married him in sickness and in health and that this weekend I broke my vow to him that I made on my wedding day b/c he was sick and knew that I wouldnt be there for him. I am so ashamed and I feel so guilty and awful that I made him feel that way.

He was really sick and really scared and felt all alone. I guess I was scared and felt alone too but that is because I'm insane.

This has been such a hard 3 days. I feel like my world has shifted. I need to get help because I can't be like this with my baby. I don't know how I am going to deal the rest of my life with this - with this fear, with this worry - knowing that the world is full of germs and that any day anyone can get sick and that I will have to deal with this all over again, or worse.

I'm really depressed and miserable and still so anxious, so panicky.

This sucks.

[sillygirl]

Hang in there. We all know what you are going through. My husband used to feel the same way about my phobia, but over the years he really began to see how much it affects me and he now is very understanding and very supportive. There is some good information on this site, I think in the treatments section, that you can print out for him to read. Maybe that will help him understand better what you go through. It sounds like you did everything you possibly could to avoid getting this, so all you can do now is know you did the best you could and try and relax. From what I have read, only the actual d* and v* is contagious, so as long as you weren't around that, you will be fine. Do still be careful for a few days using the bathroom after him because although he feels better now, he may still be shedding some of the virus when he goes to the bathroom.


My husband has a rotten stomach. He has had all sorts of problems from justa sensative stomach to ulcers to h pylori. About a year ago, he woke up and had d* really bad. He thought it was just his ulcer or whatever acting up again, so he wanted to go to urgent care to be checked out for the ulcer. We were there all day, they ran tons of tests, pumped him full of fluids, and all day he had bad d* and v* a couple of times. Since I thought this was just his ulcer, I wasn't quite as careful as I normally would be. I slept in the same bed as him and when he was getting the chills really bad I covered him up with my own jacket (at the doctor's office). Turns out it was actually Norwalk - highly contagious. I never got it though. There is a good chance you won't either. After 60 hours, you are pretty much in the clear. You do need to try and relax, or you will work yourself up into feeling worse. It sounds like something he ate. If he felt at all like trying to eat something, I doubt it was a sv. Hang in there!

[kimb]

"Sillygirl,"
Thank you for writing that post. It helped a lot.

I have some questions about contagion. I dont know if anyone out there has any insight:

people say that only the d* and the v* have the contagious germs. So, you can't catch it through saliva, through kissing or sharing a glass or something? It doesn't make sense. Also, there is all this about washing doorknobs and stuff, but germs can only live on hard surfaces for how long? An hour?

So let's say my husband uses a glass, if it sits out for 2 hours can someone drink out of it and not be exposed?

Also, when you say he is still shedding, I read about that - what does it mean? Does it mean that he is still contagious and that I should stay away? How long would you sleep in a separate bed?

I am losing my mind - I really have to try to relax...!

[icicledreamz]

I was in a foster home once with about 7 other kids, they all got it but i didnt..and lets just say i wasnt..as sanitary as i am now..(didnt wash my hands as much as i should've) but yep i was the only one who didnt get itt

[marby]

Kimb


From what I've read, it depends on the individual virus. Some are spread through surface contact (can live on hard surfaces for up to 2 days), some are airborne and can be passed if you are in close contact with someone who is v*, and some can be passed through kissing, touching, etc. My method at home is to 'treat' the situation for all possibilities. I do not go into the room where someone is/has v* and stay away for 72 hours, I wipe down any/all solid surfaces that the sick person may have come in contact with, and I don't kiss/touch the sick person for 2 days after their symptoms disappear. Also - don't let the person who was sick prepare food for anyone else for at least 2 days after they are feeling better. Probably REALLY extreme on my part - but it makes me feel more at ease.


Don't stress too much about your hubby being mad right now. I agree with Sillygirl, printing out some of the information about this phobia for him to read may help him to understand just how scary it is for you and how many people are truly effected by this. I printed out the info. for my husband about six months ago. He was pretty supportive before that, but he's been even more supportive since then. He truly didn't understand the effect emet was having on my/our life until then.


Hang in there and vent to us whenever you need!


Marby