21 | Nausea in specific phobia of vomiting - implications for motion sickness

Höller Y | University of Akureyri, Akureyri, Iceland

Specific phobia of vomiting, also known as emetophobia, is still poorly known among medical health professionals. Specific phobia of vomit comes with an intense fear of vomiting (35%) or seeing others vomit (8%), or both (57%) alongside with a highly prevalent (81%) psychosomatically induced nausea that can occur with or without triggers, such as situations that would induce motion sickness. Individuals suffering from vomit phobia typically show an extensive avoidance behavior including avoidance of infections that could lead to nausea, avoidance of consumption of certain foods and beverages, but also and most commonly avoidance of a broad range of transportations that could induce motion sickness in the individual themselves or in others around them, including public transportation (30%) and specifically transportation by ship, airplane, and car (up to 9%). The implications of poor knowledge among medical health professionals and psychologists of this condition are that the often omnipresent nausea is commonly misdiagnosed. Individuals with vomit phobia report consultation of medical practitioners (78%) with a wide range of diagnoses especially regarding the gastrointestinal tract. However, only if specific phobia of vomiting is treated as such (e.g. with cognitive behavior therapy) the prognosis is good.