I had the first stomach bug in 20 years

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I think it was a bug.

At the care home where I work there had been a vomiting and diarrhoea bug going around, but because of my SEVERE emetophobia I was very careful and hygienic. I was put on a block where nobody had the bug, so I didn't have to clean up any vomit or diarrhoea or come into any contact with it. And all day I used gloves when cleaning, which I changed frequently, and each time I changed gloves I washed my hands thoroughly, and before eating lunch. And I wore a mask when walking around the rest of the building just to be extra safe, and I wiped everything down, including all door handles and light switches, with disinfectant. The next 2 days were my days off, then when I came in on my next shift the bug had petered out, but I still washed my hands thoroughly and wore gloves and a mask while cleaning.

So I don't understand how I could have caught the bug, as I haven't puked with a stomach bug since I was 7, plus I was extra cautious when at work. But early on Christmas Eve morning I puked, only once but it was enough to frighten me. The gagging was so out of my control, that I was gasping for air and somehow some vomit got into my lungs and I was choking it up. After that, I was so frightened, I was in bed all day, unwell from panic. I had diarrhoea once too, which I think cleared the rest of the bug out.

If there comes a point in my life where I get a bug what makes me vomit several times, I think I will die from it. I hate being sick. I wish I was a horse, because horses don't vomit.

I’m sorry this happened to you.

I just got over the flu myself.

Might have been mild food poisoning. I've heard that's what usually causes a 24 hr episode that's like stomach flu.

No, it was definitely a stomach bug, because my dad and my brother caught it too, not on the same day.

It's worried me because what if I catch the same stomach bug again? I thought it couldn't happen, but I keep reading that you can. Does this apply to any healthy person, or only mostly to vulnerable people with weak immune systems? Ordinarily my immune system has always been very strong against these stomach bugs, so I hope to God it won't return straight after recovering from it.

The scary thing is my dad caught mine approximately 48 hours after I was sick, then my brother caught it well over 3 days after my dad was sick, so just as we'd all thought the bug was clear from our household, it apparently wasn't. Yesterday we had invited all family at our house for tea, because we were confident that the bug was finished with, as it had been over 48 hours since my dad had last puked. So if the bug was still lingering about in the air, I hope we didn't pass it on to our visitors.

This bug seems to be airbourne, because when I was sick I made sure I disinfected everything and washed my hands. Also I brought it home from work, and I was extra careful there, so I must have caught it from the air.