'I felt shocked. What if I was bringing the virus to Britain?'

Kate Corbett, who has recently been to Mexico, describes her emotions on falling ill at home

On Saturday afternoon I switched on the television over lunch and caught the news of the swine flu virus.

Suddenly the runny nose and sore throat which I had picked up in Mexico and put down to jet lag and too much partying mutated into feelings of paranoia and guilt.

What if I had brought the infection from Mexico to London? What for the elderly or young people that I'd come into contact with since then who might be at risk? For one irrational moment I thought I had just tipped the first domino of what would be an endless domino effect across the country.

News of the swine flu had barely broken in Mexico when I left there last week. When I landed in Heathrow on Friday afternoon I still hadn't heard about it – news must have started reverberating about it when I was on the plane. I had happily taken the train and bus through London to get home and even been out around Fulham several times since.

Strangely my concerns were – and still are – far more about other people than my own health. I was sure I would just shake it off with some rest. So on Saturday night I took an aspirin and went to bed.

But after an abysmal night of being unable to sleep and further news coming out of Mexico, I decided to call the NHS Direct helpline yesterday. Initially, I spent five minutes talking to a health professional who referred me to a nurse who called me about half-an-hour later. She then recommended I talk with a GP who called me about an hour afterwards.

Their response was relatively calm and reassuring, asserting that if I don't have fever I'm probably OK. Though they advised me to stay indoors as a precaution and to contact them again if the symptoms become worse or I felt feverish. The odd thing is that I can't actually go out at all – technically not even to see a doctor – for risk of exposing others if it is the deadly flu.

I was on holiday in Mexico for a friend's wedding and spent 10 days touring places including Morelia – three hours out of Mexico City – and Ixtapa on the Pacific Coast. My biggest concern is that I was there with a number of friends who I still haven't heard from to check if they are OK.

The most frustrating thing with the media coverage is that no one has told me what to do. I'm being told that over 80 people have died in Mexico, yet I'm just sitting here in London wondering what to do. I've had to stop watching the news because it's making me too paranoid.

Being quarantined indoors I'm not allowed to return to work at least until Tuesday once I have been given clearance. Generally, I'm not too worried about my own health as I don't believe I actually have it – and I think there are plenty of vaccines available as long as the symptoms are detected early enough. Some of my friends have been calling, obviously concerned for me. But I'm sure I'll be alright.

Kate Corbett is a 29-year-old journalist from west London who was on holiday in Mexico from 13 to 23 April