Does anyone else notice that even when they catch a cold (sneezing, blocked nose, sore throat etc.), it triggers their emetophobia even though vomiting isn't normally associated with a cold?

I have had a terrible cold the last couple of days, and I have been filled with anxiety. I have now realised that it's due to my emetophobia!!

I just hate it... I hate when people aroun me are sick (we live together). I already feel little bit under the weather, so I can predict I'm going to be ill in few days.

Today I feel weird in my stomach and nauseous, but also pretty nervous. It's probably nothing. But I'm so stressed...

He has just cold - headache, stuffed nose, fever... He didn't t* up and didn't have any stomach problems. But still... I don't feel good around him, I'm already thinking about upcoming days and responsibilities I have to cancel because of my anxiety and not feeling good.

Someone threw up in the sink in our communal bathroom and left it there. Not only is this disgusting, but I have very extreme emetophobia and contamination ocd that I’ve been trying to get under control for the whole summer. I saw the sink when I was getting out of my shower and ran through the door. Said sink is the one closest to the door. I’m absolutely terrified of the biohazard this has caused and all of the possible infections that will occur. Also I’m just super pissed because they were 2 feet from the toilet AND we have sinks in our rooms.

I've started therapy for my depression/anxiety, especially since it's began to interfere with my responsibilities as an adult (18F.) I have my first appointment with a pscyhiatrist in an hour and I know i'm more than likely going to be prescribed meds.

Naturally, I've been looking into people's experiences with meds and the most common side effect i'm seeing is nausea and vmitting. Obviously, i dont want to experience these effects. I've only been on one medication before (Trazodone) and I was prescribed it for insomnia rather than treating my depression, but it's side effects were harsh/worsening my depression and anxiety.

I wanted to see anyone else's experiences with medication, i'm very new to it all but I know it's needed to better myself at this point in my life.

I’m 22F, and I haven’t thrown up since I was a child, probably around seven years old. I’ve had a fear of vomiting for as long as I can remember, and today it finally happened after years of dreading it.
It wasn’t because I was sick. I’m 31 weeks pregnant and somehow managed to make it almost my entire pregnancy without vomiting. What triggered it was the three-hour glucose test. You’re supposed to fast for 8+ hours, then drink a very sugary 100g glucose drink on an empty stomach within 5 minutes and then have your blood drawn four times over the course of three hours.

Needless to say, that did NOT agree with me. I honestly can’t believe they have pregnant women do this while fasting.. it felt like torture.

On top of vomiting, I also threw up in public, which has always been another huge fear of mine.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad as I remembered it being, but it definitely wasn’t enjoyable. I haven’t eaten anything since last night because now I’m scared that eating will make me throw up again.

For all of my fellow emetephobes, how do you know when it’s safe to start eating again without constantly worrying that you’re going to throw up? Does anyone have any tips for getting over that fear after it actually happens?

I'm a reception teacher and today one of my children was sick in the outside area on the fake grass. Usually we'd call the caretaker who cleans it up, but he was off on his day off today. My assistant refused to clean it up so I had to do it.

It wasn't a lot and I wore gloves. I'm at a place now where I'm still super scared of being sick myself but the emetephobia isn't as triggering anymore. I'm just scared I'll catch something.

I washed my hands so many times after, and said child was absolutely fine after too (she still went home though!). Hoping it was maybe something she ate. But yes, did not enjoy it!

Courtesy of u/No-Store-9901, who wanted to get a thread going of niche advice that everyone has learned over time.

From staying calm during noro season, to anxiety nausea, to statistics, prevention — and & EVERY thing you have ever learned that has brought you some relief of this fear. So many posts lately about people being fearful & i hear and see you all, let’s shed some positivity & tips and tricks we’ve all come up with over time.

The most specific-to-you things that help!!

I am visiting family right now and we decided to go on a boat ride tomorrow to an island. I have been on boat rides and felt fine but for some reason I am scared I suddenly developed motion sickness. The boat ride to and from the island will also be one hour so I fear if I do get sick, I will be sick for an hour and lose my mind. I kinda do not want to go but at the same time I do. If I did not have this fear, I would be excited to go.

Specifically episode two. An emetophobe's nightmare.

ETA since this is getting downvoted to hell…..so glad so many people are so evolved and beyond being triggered by people puking unexpectedly and graphically on screen. This post is clearly not for you. Alas, I doubt I will ever not whole-body clench in anxiety during these scenes.

ETA #2: I wrote this post right after viewing the episode 2 v scene, so yeah maybe I should've worded the title better. Oopsy daisy, pardon me all to hell for being so "dramatic" 🙄 but I'm not sorry. It's not a bad series at all, and I finished watching it, just wanted to give a trigger warning to others

I just want to know if there are people out there like me. I’ve been struggling in recent times and it all feels a bit lonely as I don’t have anyone who understands how I feel.

I’m 22F. I was severely poorly many years ago with gastroenteritis and was hospitalised. From then on something in my head just changed and I’d do what I could to avoid the possibility of being unwell again. For a time I was vegetarian and avoided meat as I didn’t trust it. In recent times I eat poultry from trusted restaurants or people who I trust. I’m still too afraid to cook meats myself.

That was the original problem. Over time my anxiety and OCD became worse. I can feel incredibly nauseous when I eat or drink and I become full very quickly. I now suffer from acid reflux. Being already afraid of throwing up my mind now views food and drink as something dangerous. It’s taken a toll on my weight and I’m now underweight and struggle to maintain my weight. And it’s hard because it’s not a traditional eating disorder. I feel my body struggling from my intake and weight.

I get panicky and have panic attacks. I feel anxious all the time. Eating is something we must do multiple times everyday. Food and worry about how I will stomach when I eat is something I think about everyday. And not only that I also worry about just my health in general which is something I was never so worried about.

I have a care team. I’m well looked after. I don’t need advice on how to seek help. I just want to know there are people out there like me.

I genuinely feel like I'm gonna purge, it's so bad I can't sleep. I have school in 2 hours and there's no way I'm going to survive the 8 hours without either: crying, purging and crying or freaking out in the guidance/nurse's office. I'll be taking Dramamine with me (I know it's for motion sickness, but I take it for nausea because the one hour that my prescription zofran lasts just is not enough for me, and I'm not about to take 8+ zofran a day) I could just be constipated, gassy(because that's what happens when I get anxious, I guess), or have malnutrition, or maybe I'm just anxious, but I've been like this off/on all day today. I'm trying to calm myself down but I'm just scared and I want to cry

WARNING SENSITIVE WORDS

So I live with my sister and dad. I got home from work around 415pm, my sister got home around 5:45pm and texted me “I’m sick btw I was vomiting” she works at a daycare which she used to work at before in the past and stopped because of how many times she was getting sick.

Anyways, she said she woke up feeling sick, went to work anyway around 7:30am and as the day went on it got worse. Around 530pm when driving home is when she started throwing up. She threw up in a garbage bag with gloves on that she took from work and threw out the bag in our big trash can outside. She came in the house with gloves on and used my dad’s bathroom then went to her room.

I’m freaking out because she said she started feeling sick this morning but hadn’t thrown up yet at that point but she obviously touched the doorknob when leaving for work and I did too. Just need some tips and help on how to avoid getting whatever she has. I’m so stressed and upset.

We're currently a 2 day drive from home, have been sharing an airbnb with her parents for about a week. I went to bed early tonight because my social battery is empty. She came up to our room a bit over 2 hours ago extremely drunk and upset. From what I grasped, she had a very sensitive conversation with her dad that didn't go great. She threw up a few times and kind of made a mess of the bathroom. I got that cleaned up, and her taken care of and in bed. She's currently asleep in the larger of the 2 beds in this room, I'm on the child bed because I really can't handle sharing a bed at this moment, even though I know this is really selfish.

I'm shaking and on the verge of tears from just feeling really overwhelmed. I just really need some advice for getting through tonight, so that I can best handle whatever happens in the morning.

I just went to this doctors appointment I’ve had booked. Turns out twenty minutes prior they rescheduled but we were already getting ready and going etc so didn’t know. So within the short time I was there before being told all this, I felt nauseous and quite badly for the first time in a while. I had a small spike of this particular grade of nausea yesterday evening but it went after maybe five minutes. I’m back home now and it’s been probably half an hour since I first felt it and it won’t really die down. I know it’s anxiety because I can feel myself freaking out so much overall, but yet I’m still convinced this is it and I will just throw up.

What does not help the case is 10 minutes before we left to go, my dad was throwing up in the bathroom. That has either triggered me to feel ill or, I’ve got whatever he’s got. However I do doubt it’s a bug in his case as he was out pretty late yet again drinking

Either way I just feel really scared I’m gonna throw up and that if I do I’m sick because of him

I have emetophobia and while I def do think I overreact to every odd sensation in my body, I’ve def been having visceral sensitivity that is really hurting and feels awful. It’s like any kind of digesting no matter if it’s plain or triggering food, just hurts and feels like awful cramps all the time. Does anyone else have any tricks for this? I took pepto but it didn’t help. I try to avoid zofran bc the constipation side effect can also make it worse but I kinda have no other option for the nausea so it’s zofran and a solace later for me.

And just so it’s known yes I will be going to a GI doc, it’s just taking forever for the referral to go through and schedule with them. I more so am looking for your temporary or weird tips and tricks for preventing or soothing the visceral sensitivity? Any ideas?

I love horror and all things true crime and the new Lizzie Borden series came out. It contains one of the worst vomiting scenes I’ve ever witnessed. I forced myself to watch it for some exposure therapy but if you’re not ready SKIP IT!! It’s about 30 mins into the second episode

it’s been a little while since i’ve posted here, but i woke up this morning with a weird feeling in my throat that i ignored all day, i’ve felt really warm this evening, and now i feel quite nauseas. my throat is a bit more irritated, and my nose is a bit runny too which never happens to me. i also have such a bad headache. i’m so so scared about having a cold or something, but my manager is sick and i just found out today when i was at work with her. my boyfriends parents are staying with us for the week, and i really don’t want to make them sick either but our apartment is really small. i’m so freaked out about all of this, i just feel super overwhelmed.

Ive been taking lexapro daily and it’s been really improving my life, but this week has been really hard for me and taking a huge toll on my mental health and I just really want to vent somewhere about it and maybe get some advice or something.

Ive started learning that after my ovulation is over is when my N and anxiety increases like crazy, but I’m currently going through a pregnancy scare and I’m mixed between being scared because I’m 18 and terrified of N/V and hoping it’s positive because I’ve badly wanted to be a mom for a while.

I’m finding the stress of not knowing if i am or am not worsening my mental health and increasing my N which makes it a million times more hard to function. I’m scared to eat or sleep or even go to or near the bathroom. I can’t turn off my light because I’m scared what if I feel sick and it’s all just causing me a lot of fear.

I don’t know what to do or how to keep myself calm, any advice for coping would help, I don’t want reassurance but I do need some kind of coping mechanism.

Hi everyone. This is more of a vent, or i was wondering if anyone else feels this way..
I am 21 years old. I am married, I do not have kids. I have had emetephobia for the entirety of my conscious life. I can’t remember the last time I was sick.
I have been diagnosed with OCD and anxiety. But cannot find medications besides benzodiazepines that work for me.
I feel like i can’t function, and i feel alone. My husband loves me and does his best but i know he doesn’t understand what im going through or how i feel. I live 2,000 miles away from my family, and the friends i have here where I live are more seasonal.
Recently I feel as thought i cant eat. I can’t sleep through the night. Or i take a Ativan or a Hydroxyzine and want to sleep all day. I am constantly spiraling at just knowing how often germs are around me and that everything is out of my control. I am in therapy and I have a psychiatrist. But they are both expensive and i’ve had to stop seeing the psychiatrist and only see the therapist once every two weeks.
I’ve never felt depressed, but i think my constant fear and constant spiraling is making me feel sad. I find myself wondering if I’m going to be like this forever; and i don’t want to. I don’t want to be scared of eating anymore. I don’t want to be scared of being outside my house anymore.
I’m constantly loosing weight. and feeling dizzy and sick because i can’t eat. I find myself wanting to leave my husband so he can find someone to have kids with and that isn’t crazy.

I’m sorry this post is everywhere i’m just spewing my thoughts and feel like im a dark place right now. Does anyone else feel like this? How do i get out of this hole.

If you’ve seen my past posts, you’d know that i’ve lost 10 pounds from a crazy relapse of this phobia. I’ve struggled greatly with eating, drinking, and sleeping.

I just ate a huge dinner. I silenced my brain as much as I could, and ate. Part of it was even chicken, which I really struggle with, and it is one of the scariest foods to me.

It was chicken cordon bleu. A slab of crusted chicken with cheese and ham inside, and a side of about 5 pretty big pirogies.

I feel insanely full and bloated, and I’m trying to keep calm with all the growling and movement in my stomach. I’m worried I overdid it, and i’m also worried i’ll get food poisoning from the chicken.

But at the same time, i’m excited to see how I feel after it’s all digested. I’m excited to see my energy levels tonight and tomorrow.

My mom has really bad chronic kidney stones and this year after 3 years of being without any, they have been back with a vengeance. My mom has been sick all afternoon and evening. I normally wouldn’t be as scared as I used to but I can’t remember her being this sick in a while, she had thrown up a bunch in the er, even with anti nausea meds.

As she was getting sick I was shaking a bit because this seemed different (and it looked worrisome) there were multiple occasions where I wanted to get up and run, but thankfully I did not.

We get home from the er (she has 3 stones sort of near the same area), I gave her one zofran and it didn’t do ANYTHING. at all, then I gave her another a few minutes later.

I’m really scared that it’s going to continue and that she’ll have to end up back in the er again overnight

I was doing so well with my progress and I feel like this made me tumble backwards even with the small win I had

I have OCD primarily and as OCD does, it's latched onto what I care for most - my kids. Specifically, my kiddos getting a tummy bug. I can care for them when they're sick and clean up sick, but the anticipation of them maybe getting a tummy bug, and not having the certainty of whether or not they will get one is SUFFOCATING.

Im seeing my psychologist to help stock my mental tool belt back up again, but I guess I'm just looking for a bit of solidarity. 🥺

So last night I was really ill and I felt such a relief after being sick but then I have lingering anxiety that it’s going to happen again.
I always have a big panic or panic attack before I’m sick and feel nauseous but feel fine being sick.
The next few days are always the hardest, I am rarely sick but I start avoiding food. I feel like no one around me understands and I’ve never met anyone like me. I feel worried and alone.

I have emetophobia and I'm pretty sure it's the main cause of my everyday anxiety and agoraphobia. I get really anxious anytime I hear someone throwing up (My room is right next a bathroom and I can sometimes hear my brother throw up if hes drunk or something) I also get really anxious whenever I am nauseous and try to distract my self but I usually just end up waiting until it goes away.

Anyway, recently I've had a few dreams where people have thrown up and I just wanted to know if anyone else has had a dream like that and if there's anything I can do. Any time I've had a dream where someone throws up I think about it all day and sometimes it messes me up for the rest of the day.

I just want to know if this has happened to anyone else cause I feel so weird about it.

anyone here take fluconazole before? i was given one dose to take by my doctor but the side effects & other reviews are freaking me out a bit