Terrified of stomach flu

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a throw up phobia. I get nuts around this time of year. I avoid public toilets, wash my hands like crazy, and the worst part is, I find it difficult to help my children when they are sick.

I have figured out that there are "barfers" like my older daughter, and "non-barfers" like me. I don't know if its will power, or what, but I haven't thrown up in over 20 years. I always carry pepto, gingerale and xanax, which gives me a sense of security because I have panic attacks if my stomach hurts.

If you can't get a prescription for xanax, try putting some valerian drops in a bit of water to help you calm down. Valerian stinks, but it really works.

Hope this helps.

Why not do some CBT and get over the underlying fear? I mean, you carry around all this stuff, doesn't it get heavy?

[Anonymous]

There is no such thing as the stomach flu. Surprised at how many folks are recommending flu shots. "Stomach flu" is a misnomer.

That said I'm sorry you have such anxiety over this - sounds like you should pursue some therapy or general coping mechanisms to help deal with these stressors that are virtually out of your control entirely.

[Anonymous]

This is a problem for me also. I know in my mind how irrational it is. My mommy instinct never kicked in. When one of my kids was sick, I would leave the house, often overnight. I have slept in the car on a cold winter night because I couldn't force myself to stay in the house when my child was sick. I will go for days without eating or drinking for fear of myself getting sick. My husband left a year ago and I am terrified at how I will handle the situation if/when my daughter gets sick. She is 25 and disabled. I try to imagine the situation and always see me running away from it. I have tried therapy of all sorts, hypnosis, cognitive behavior therapy, etc and nothing has worked. I do not have generalized anxiety or OCD behavior, just this debilitating fear of myself vomiting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a throw up phobia. I get nuts around this time of year. I avoid public toilets, wash my hands like crazy, and the worst part is, I find it difficult to help my children when they are sick.

I have figured out that there are "barfers" like my older daughter, and "non-barfers" like me. I don't know if its will power, or what, but I haven't thrown up in over 20 years. I always carry pepto, gingerale and xanax, which gives me a sense of security because I have panic attacks if my stomach hurts.

If you can't get a prescription for xanax, try putting some valerian drops in a bit of water to help you calm down. Valerian stinks, but it really works.

Hope this helps.

I am a non-barfer too!!! If everyone else gets the barfs...I will feel sick but never actually throw-up. I can't make myself throw-up. I never threw up drinking in college---no matter how much I drank (and how much it probably would have made me feel better!). Yuck.

I think my second child is headed this way. Luckily, my kids rarely get sick. They both threw up for the first time in their lives when I bad stomach bug hit our house. The kids were 5 and 7.5. The 5-year old will still bring it up occassionally and say he never wants that to happen again. He also can't smell hot dogs since that is what waas in his stomach at the time.

[Anonymous]

I have the same phobia. I can't stand vomit. To those saying "it's not a big deal" it is. I give my kids probiotics, have them drink 8-12 ounces of grape juice a day and I have them wash their hands before they eat, whether we are at home or a restaurant. When they ARE sick, I have no shame, I quarantine the sick one and I use gloves when cleaning them up and I bleach everything they have touched. I will hold the bucket, but I will wear gloves. When my husband was sick with it a few weeks ago I slept downstairs, showered in the spare bath and wouldn't touch him until he was symptom free for 48 hours, meaning no kissing, I tossed both our toothbrushes and I didn't let him near the kids either. Extreme? Maybe, but we did not catch the particular bug that he had. I'm sorry, I feel your pain. I can't touch anything in public and not take us to the restroom to wash hands. My kids are great about opening doors and turning off faucets with paper towels and our schools are pretty good about promoting that as good hygiene. Do you guys even know how much fecal matter is on things like menus, ketchup bottles and salt and pepper shakers? I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. In the meantime eat as many home cooked meals, pack his lunch(so he's not touching communal lunch trays) and give him some probiotics.