This is for Doug:

No doubt vomiting is not a pleasant thing. We all know that!

But I'm not sure if avoiding it at all costs is the best thing. In my experience, and in most of the posts I've seen about it on here, it's the anxiety and panic brought about by nausea which is far worse than the actual act of throwing up. Infact, most people say it isn't as bad as they expected, that it was no big deal and that they felt relief afterwards.

Two experiences of mine-

In 2009 I got the noro. It came on so suddenly that I didn't have time to panic, just to get to the bathroom. The nausea lasted no more than 30 seconds, and after that I was being sick every 20 minutes for the next 7 hours. Yeah, it was horrible but the next day I felt completely refreshed and, even though it sounds weird, I got used to the vomiting after the first two bouts. It wasn't really a major, life changing experience, just an unpleasant episode.

When I was 11 I got food poisoning while on a family break from some tainted burgers my dad put on the barbecue. It didn't involve any vomiting, just a week of nausea and stabbing and twisting abdominal pain so severe it had me shivering and crying, which ruined the holiday for me. I can safely say I'd have rather vomited a few times, and would still rather throw up than go through the level of pain again.

Food poisoning is definitely worse than norovirus, and endless, painful cramps and nausea are definitely worse than an episode of vomiting! There's no relief.

My advice to an emetophobe (including to myself) is to be brave. If you know you're ill and you're going to vomit, don't stock up on antiemetics and spend the next few days in a panic. The nausea and anxiety really are much worse than the act of vomiting, even though that's difficult to imagine.

By the way, your site is fascinating. Found out a lot about the stomach I didn't know.