No one likes to be sick. The idea of getting sick or vomiting is not an amusing idea. But, when the idea of vomiting becomes devastating enough to impose a person to alter their lifestyles and eating habits, the situation may be more than just a sane aversion of throwing up. Emetophobia is the intense fear of vomit and this irrational fear can lead to death in those who suffer from it.



A person who fears vomit may fear the thought or actionof vomiting themselves, the thought or actionof others vomiting, or the vomit itself. These patients experience extreme amounts of anxiety regarding vomit in general. The difficulty with a phobia of this nature is the precursor to vomiting, eating.

Lots of individuals who suffer from emetophobia are diagnosed with anorexia way previous to the fear of vomiting is found. The patients will do anything in orderto prevent themselves from vomiting and this includes the cessation of eating.

They believe that if they do not eat food, there is no way they will be forced to vomit or get sick. Paradoxically, eating food can frequentlymake the emetophobic person fell nauseous after a period of time with no food and thus the fear is realized and the phobia grows stronger.

The anorexia linked with emetophobia is distinctive, in that it requires the treatment of the fear of vomiting previous to the anorexia can be treated. When hospitalized the emetophobic person will often have to be fed through IV until they are fine enough to undergo emotional treatment for the fear of vomit.

Some of the more familiar symptoms of emetophobia include:

Avoidance of social situations.

Avoidance of restaurants, hospitals, and doctors offices.

An extreme fear of getting sick.

Avoidance of food.

Anorexia.

While it is ordinary normal to hate vomit, it is not ordinary normal to keep away from food in order to prevent yourself from vomiting. The emetophobia person will go the excessive lengths to avoid getting sick or even seeing vomit. This phobia is one of the most harsh due to the link to anorexia which can cause death in a very short period of time. Anorexia is frequently diagnosed along side bulimia, but the emetophobic patient will never show signs of bulimia.

Emetophobia can be treated in almost the same manner as other forms of phobia with anti-anxiety medication and psychotherapy. But, due to the nature of the fear itself, the psychotherapy frequently needs to be massive and the patients are frequently placed into an in patient treatment facility in order to be viewed personally during treatment. If the emetophobia patient has begun to keep away from food, the treatment will also involve a higher calorie diet and additional therapy for anorexia.