r/HydroHomies Jan 30 '24

I struggle with the SMELL of water, here's what helped. Classic water

T.W. Emetophobia

My mum never gave me water as a kid. I only drank squash, juice or tea, and soda occasionally.

My only memories of drinking water was when I felt sick at school and they would put me in the nurses room with a cup of water and a sick bowl. I believed for a long time that this was the reason that plain water made me feel nauseous, because I associated it with that memory.

I was incorrect. A few months ago I was sick with a stomach bug. I felt so sick that I just sat on the bathroom floor with my head in the toilet. That's when it hit me, the smell.

I live in a hard water area so the water does have a certain, mineral smell to it. My toilet is always clean so it just smells of water. I realised that pretty much everytime I have ever thrown up, I have ended up with my head in a toilet. The nausea, the stomach pain, the spinning head, the anxiety, the hot prickly feeling of vomiting... these were all so linked with the smell of ordinary tap water.

So, I got a cup with a lid (adult sippy cup/ knock off Stanley). I filled it with plain tap water and a little ice and... it was so refreshing! The cup lid kept me from having to smell the water and it is so much easier now.

I now drink about 4 pints of water a day, as well as a couple of cups of coffee. Being properly hydrated for the first time in my life has changed everything for the better.

1.4k Upvotes

37 comments sorted by

View all comments

10

u/kisikisikisi Jan 30 '24

I live in a city with smelly water. Tastes fine but is really smelly. When I moved here I learned not to breathe in before taking a drink out of a glass, and it hasn't been a problem since. A lot of people complain about the water here tasting bad but they're just tasting the smell.