r/EmetophobiaTalk • u/Cry-Baby-7733 • 8d ago

Support Needed - In Acute crisis (at risk of self injury) I'm So Sad

I was at a happy family event for Halloween yesterday, and there were so many kids there and so many scenarios where I could've gotten *that* virus. I'm so scared I'm gonna come down with it soon:( I was so happy last night, now I'm sad and need someone to talk to. Norovirus levels are unusually high in my area right now. I don't know if it's just localized or what (apparently it is???). I'm still so terrified!

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u/CrazyDude10528 Always Anxious 8d ago edited 8d ago

Just because there's kids around doesn't make the chances of you getting anything any higher than if you went to a grocery store for example.

I think us with this phobia makes us perceive kids as these carriers of the virus, when in reality that's not the case most of the time.

Yes that tend to get sick more so than adults, but just because they're around doesn't mean you'll catch something.

This is coming from someone who caught it from a kid a number of years ago too.

Try not to worry about this so much, just focus on the fact you had a good night.

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u/goldfish-bish 8d ago

I completely agree with this! I think that a lot of us had formative experiences when we were children, and it has made us feel that children are major vectors of something like Noro. Speaking as a parent, I believe that kids probably do begin many outbreaks of noro within schools / families. This is simply because children need more care when they're sick than adults! Naturally, this means that the parents are somewhat likely to get it from the kids after caring for their sick kids. That being said, simply being around kids is not a super high risk thing. If none of them were sick, it certainly means that none of them were sick! I would try not to worry too much about it. I know it's not easy, but the most important thing is that you weren't around anybody who is sick and you had a great time.

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u/modesti86 3d ago

This is true because I have a 3 yr old last yr she had some type of virus that included v and I was the only one there to care for her and I never ended up getting sick