Hi, everyone!

I have been browsing this site for a few weeks now and finally got up enough courage to join. I was truly shocked to discover how common this phobia is. I am 25 years old and have struggled with it for many years now. I didn't even realize that there was a name for it until I read in a magazine that it was one of the top 5 phobias that people experience. I was amazed to read all of the posts that reflect the way that I feel.

I guess something that is really ironic about me having this phobia, is that I am a registered nurse. I thought that becoming a nurse may help me to overcome my phobia but I believe that it has made it worse. I was able to make it through nursing school without dealing with *v* mainly because I had a friend who had an eye phobia. I would take care of the patients who had an eye phobia and she would take care of the *v* patients. Fortunately we both got jobs at the same doctor's office after nursing school and we continued with our trade off. Now I have a case management job at the local health department, so I don't have to deal with sick patients face-to-face.

This phobia makes me feel like a horrible nurse. I can withstand any other medical problem except *v*. I have been in the operating room and witnessed surgeries that didn't bother me. Nothing else gets to me except *v*. I enjoy caring for people only if they're not *v*. I have had people say to me "How can you be a good nurse if you can't take someone *v*?"

Most people (my husband included) do not realize how serious this is. I actually have nightmares about people *v*. If I am around a child, I have this fear that they may *v* even if they aren't even sick. When I hear of a stomach virus going around, I start to worry and am afraid to eat anything. I avoid bathrooms that I know the sick people have been in at work. I avoid certain foods that may potentially cause food poisoning or *v*.

I guess one thing that really bothers me is that I am getting to the point where I would like to have a child. I am very scared of morning sickness. My grandmother had a condition to where she *v* the whole pregnancy with all 3 of her children. I'm afraid that I may inherit that. I also worry that I won't be able to handle my child *v* and that will make me a bad mother.

I am so glad that I have found this site and I feel relieved that I am not the only one who experiences this.