Had panic attack at work today because of sick bug

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Joe90
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Joined: 23 Feb 2010
Gender: Female
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Location: UK

11 Aug 2013, 9:13 am

I've been working as a cleaner at a care home for about 9 months now and today was the first time I had experienced a resident with a tummy bug. I have Emetophobia (fear of vomiting), and it's not just a casual fear what everybody has, it is a bloody debilitating fear. I haven't been sick for about 12-13 years and have been avoiding environments where I am likely to catch them. But now that I work at a care home it isn't as easy to be avoided. :(

I had to ask one of the colleagues to clean it up for me, but I felt awkward because they may not like it either, although I think I am more afraid of vomit more than anybody else on this planet (exaggeration). I then had to go into the resident's room to clean up diarrhoea on the floor, and she was in bed. I couldn't find any face masks so I kept holding my breath, then when I had to breath I breathed into my shoulder. It was bloody hard, and in the end I almost passed out from lack of air.

I am SO afraid of picking it up now. Luckily I have a day off tomorrow, but I'm scared it might be passed around the home and by Tuesday when I go back it might of become rife. I felt so claustrophobic today, like I was enclosed in with this awful virus in the air, and I was in such a panic that I cried. I am home now, suffering bad chest pains from panic and also holding my breath too much.

I kept washing my hands and we did put disinfectant down but I'm still scared it might not be enough and that the germ may now be breeding in my stomach EEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW NO WAY!! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !!

I'm also scared of my family because they hate vomiting too and they know I hate vomiting more than they do, and they know how much of a fuss I make when somebody even announces that they feel sick, so they will probably yell at me if I was to bring the virus home. Also I have a date on Wednesday what I'm really looking forward to.

What do I do???? Is it as bad as I think? I hate vomiting, I hate it. I want to find another job.


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