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A young woman in Wales claims she has an extremely rare phobia of cheese, which she thinks developed as the result of an unfortunate experience as a child.
Even the slightest scent of cheese is enough to make 20-year-old Katie Weston gag, and she’s felt that way for years.
While speaking with the student newspaper The Tab, Weston said every time she’s accidentally eaten cheese, she’s had to run to the bathroom, spit it out, and brush her teeth immediately.
“My fear applies to all types of cheese, but if I had to pick the worst one then it would have to be parmesan,” she said. “It has a very strong smell, whilst mozzarella is less potent and easier to cope with. Blocks of cheese are also pretty bad because of their size.”
Weston’s fear of cheese, known as turophobia, initially began after suffering a traumatic experience as a child.
All Weston really remembers is becoming violently ill at a friend’s house after attempting to eat a stick of string cheese, a memory that still haunts her to this day.
“When I was six I ate a cheese string, which was the first time I ever tasted cheese,” she said. “I instantly threw up in the bin at my friend's house, where I was when I ate it. It was a traumatic memory.”
These days, Weston can barely even stomach the mere sight of cheese.
“The sight of hard cheese makes me cringe and the smell alone often causes me to gag,” she revealed.
