How are people dealing with the fear of catching the Norovirus?

[lozinez91]

Hello everyone.

I signed up to this website tonight after years of putting it off in the hope that my phobia would leave me one day... it hasnt.

How is everyone coping with Norovirus? My grandparents have both got it at the moment and I have just got off the phone with them and it has shook me up. Not only because it's not nice to hear them in such distress but also because I am aware how contagious it is and how many people could be leaving the germ around for myself to catch.

It is rising in population of those catching it every year which means that it's getting more and more likely that I will contract it.

Has anyone had it and how did they deal with it? Did it actually cure their phobia? I havent had a sv since I was about 7 and I'm now 24 so I have been building up this fear which seems to be getting stronger every year.

Thanks.

Lauren

[pinkprincess]

I fear noro everyday and last had it in 2006. It wasn't as bad as the horror stories you read about and I only v* once. The stomach cramps were the worst of it as well as the nausea wich is the thing eith most emets, thr buikd up is the worst and what causes the most anxiety.

[jbsmom]

I don't deal well with the thought of catching it. I live in japan and it usually goes around pretty bad during the month of December, this december wasn't as bad as last deceMber. Even the docs and nurses in our clinic were talking about the noro virus attack of December 2013. But I know it's only February and I have heard of a few people having it. I'm very nervous but try to get through everyday with my germstar noro and I have a little tag that I hand on my shirt that keeps viruses away, it's called an air doctor. I also try to wear a mask if I know I'm going on a train or bus.
Right now I'm having some cramping. I'm hoping it's from the broccoli I ate last night. I had a terrible night. Slept only an hour at a time and actually only got about 4 hours total . Which then leads to think about the fact that my body is weak from lack of sleep.
It's a vicious cycle that my brain goes in.

[kaiilyn_23]

I only start to panic if I hear about it, or know someone who has it. My sister came down with a bug the day after I saw her, so I was in a panic for the entire weekend. Thankfully it's now been over 72 hours and I'm able to calm down, and stop thinking about it. I try not to worry about it too much when I know I'm doing all that I can do to stay healthy.

I don't even know if I'm afraid of actually being sick anymore. The nausea is the worst part of it for me, although I haven't had a stomach bug since I was a toddler. I did v* in October and it was fine aside from the nausea. I felt way better afterwards. I think I fear the lack of control, as if I have a bug it could happen multiple times. I fear it so badly because I haven't had it in so long. I don't know what to expect, or how I will feel. It's the unknown. I know what it feels like to v*, and I know what happens right before. But for me, it's how will I know when I actually have a bug?

I'm sorry to hear your grandparents are sick! Hope they are better soon. Take care.

[paulinek]

I cope by having read up all about it and exactly how it is and isn't transmitted, so I know that basically, so long as I take the following steps I am unlikely to get it:
1) Don't eat uncooked or ready to eat food (ie sandwiches) that have been prepared by someone else unless I know they have washed their hands properly.
2) Make sure my own hands are washed thoroughly before preparing or eating food and before I put my fingers in my mouth.
3) Avoid being in the same room as an infected person while they are vomiting (goes without saying for an emet really!)
4) If someone is ill in the home, to wipe down all surfaces with a 10% bleach solution, use separate towels and make sure I buy new toothbrushes if they were in the bathroom when the person was ill.

In reality, you could be in a room where every single surface is contaminated with norovirus but so long as you don't put your hands in your mouth, or lick anything then you won't get it. And also, I have cared for my son when he is being sick and never caught anything from him.

I did have norovirus about 6 or 7 years ago now, and I won't lie it was horrid and just as bad as I thought it would be, but it didn't kill me and I am still here to tell the tale. It was after having got it that I studied noro thoroughly to minimise my chances of ever getting it again! xx

[oieslate]

The norovirus is scary for me mostly because of risk of seeing other people v*, not necessarily myself, because I'm pretty good about not getting sick. My sister had it a few months back and it was horrifying. Thankfully while she was v*ing at my mom's house, I was safely at my dad's house, but I still feared the contact we'd had a few days prior, and my dad started to feel queasy, prompting me to quarantine myself in my room and worry myself into a stomach ache. Luckily no one else in the family got it, but even after she recovered, I feared going to my mom's house, especially the bathroom.

Then about a month ago, I was in a play, and the norovirus ravaged our cast. Although the directors did cancel one performance due to illness, we still had to perform during the phases when cast members were beginning to feel sick and when they were almost recovered. I remember crossing to the other side of the stage behind the curtain everytime I was within 20 feet of someone who I knew wasn't/hadn't been feeling well. It was exhausting having that much anxiety for such a long period of time, and made the experience a lot less enjoyable for me. Similar to what I did above to avoid norovirus, I severely limited contact to all people, and I believe that's what kept me from getting sick.

So although it may not be ideal, isolating yourself and washing your hands a freakish amount might save you.

[Masonc]

Noro is my weak spot too. Badly. I got some help from a book by a guy named Rob Kelly called Cure Your Emetophobia and Thrive. Its on Amazon. It dixnt cure it but it helped, me anyhow. Good luck

[sweet]

I had it last year, and, yes, it was nasty... But, what scared me the most was how quickly it came on - that's the fear it's left me with! On the up side, it was quick - about 15 hours of symptoms and then I started to feel better, weak, but better.

[Ladyface]

I'm absolutely terrified of noro! I work in a care home and it had the norovirus for almost 5 weeks before Christmas and had it again last week! I haven't been so terrified in a long time, I've been hibernating in my house and not going to work. I'm also looking for a new job as I don't think I can go through all this anxiety again. I have to go back to work tomorrow which I'm feeling very anxious about, but my boyfriend also works there and said that no one is ill anymore...but I'm still terrified!!!!

[Carrie84]

Trigger Warning!!!!!!
Noro and Fp are my two biggest fears. I've had noro in 2007 and it was extremely frightening (particularly as an emet) and my mum said she had never seen me so poorly. I don't want to trigger as everyone's experience is different but that illness re ignited my emet which started when I was 9 years old and had an sv that scarred me. Saying that, I had FP from a well know pizza delivery company around 4 years ago and I managed to hold it together without the full on hyperventilating and fainting which normally happens when I'm genuinely ill. I was very scared, yes, but I realised it wouldn't kill me. I coped on my own. I get severe nausea with my migraines and also my ibs which does panic me but nowhere near as much as the dear if noro. I hope one day I can train my mind and body to stay calm
When this does happen again x