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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be mad at my dh for inviting his dd over when she has vomiting bug?

85 replies

parrotsandcarsnips · 18/12/2012 23:55

Ok my dh's adult dd lives nearby & she has been vomiting with earache. Dh offers her some home comforts & tlc at our house which is great EXCEPT he didnt tell me she had vomiting just earache . We have 2 small children here I don't want a sick house over xmas. Dh thinks I'm a cold b.... As I'm really mad at him. Aibu?

OP posts:
allnewtaketwo · 19/12/2012 09:49

Where's the hysteria? Confused

Allonsy · 19/12/2012 09:51

She is an adult i would be putting my foot down, a vomiting bug can spread like wildfire the best place she can be is in bed or he could go to her, but even that risks bringing it back to the house. Dh, i and the 2 children have been ill with norovirus recently ds2 still isnt quite right over 2 weeks on. If they were adults they would be told to stay away.

shenaniganiser · 19/12/2012 09:56

How old is DSD?

FeckOffCup · 19/12/2012 09:59

YANBU, your DH should not have invited a sick person to stay in your house and risk infecting everyone else if it is something contagious she has. I've had the norovirus the last time it was going round and it wasn't pleasant but it was worse seeing my 1 year old DD going through it so I would be seriously unimpressed if an adult who should be able to look after themselves with a bit of support (DH checking up on her, taking food and drink round if necessary) came round and infected the rest of the family.

catsmother · 19/12/2012 10:09

I wonder what the reaction to this thread would be if the OP had complained her DH was bringing over his sick mum/sister/best friend ? Chances are there'd be less of the "oh but everyone needs some TLC" and "you wouldn't ship your own child out if they were ill" comments and more of the "FFS, they're an adult, best stay away until recovered" remarks.

FWIW, the OP's stepdaughter isn't being "shipped out" as she already lives elsewhere - as many adults do. Clearly, most people wouldn't ship out a child who lives with you all the time - to where exactly? - though having said that, my MIL very kindly (and sensibly) held onto my DC for a few extra days years ago when they fell sick while staying the weekend with her so the possibility of infection spreading elsewhere needlessly was minimised ....

.... which is what this thread should be about, regardless of the relationships involved. The OP even said that her DH hadn't told her that his daughter had been vomiting (until, I presume, she'd already arrived) thus preventing OP from potentially taking sensible precautions and/or trying to keep much younger children away from older adult child. Which is very stupid and selfish on DH's part.

Okay - yes, it's nice to be nursed, hot drinks, baths run and so on. But most adults would manage on their own if they possibly could and if they really were extremely incapacitated and genuinely needed someone to help them would understand they should keep away from as many other people as possible. It may well be the adult patient in question here is rather young and perhaps hasn't thought this through when her dad offered, but he should certainly know better and it's damn rude, apart from potentially unpleasant/miserable or even dangerous to expose your family to possible infection without even discussing it first. The best option as others have said would have been for him to visit her while paying attention to hygiene etc.

I too would be very very angry about this .... especially just before Xmas which is the last time anyone wants to be sick.

On a similar-ish note, one of my DCs had severe D&V (again) a while back - projectile vomiting, over and over - really nasty, had seen out of ours doctor - and my DP's ex still insisted that his older DCs came here for their usual visit as she wanted "her time". How bloody irresponsible to expose them to that. However, DP IMO could and should have refused to have them - which would have been easy as he has to make the 200+ mile round trip to fetch them - and he didn't. I was furious with the selfish pair of them - for exposing the kids unnecessarily, but also for him being out of house for 10 hrs plus that weekend leaving me to cope and clean a child (plus bed/carpet/sofa/me - at one lovely point I had DC's vomit in my bra) who was being sick so much. Really really selfish.

The relationship here shouldn't influence common sense.

takataka · 19/12/2012 10:15

I wonder what OPs views would be if her own adult dd wanted to come and stay for some tlc when she had an ear infection...

Or indeed, how this thread would read if her dh had raised objections...

freezingmytitsoff · 19/12/2012 10:16

YANBU, after me and my 2 dd's getting the vomiting bug (hell) i would sooner deeply offend someone than have all of us be that ill. she is an adult, your little children should not have to be exposed to nasty bugs in there own home.
and i know someone said that hand washing and good hygiene should protect them but with the norovirus it doesn't. in my experience if you come in to contact with someone who has it you WILL get it.
why couldn't your DH just go to her house?

takataka · 19/12/2012 10:17

It's not bloody norovirus....you have diarrhoea with norovirus. You do NOT get earache with norovirus

freezingmytitsoff · 19/12/2012 10:18

takata, i think the OP's only problem is having small children. it would be completley different if her dd was an adult.
who wouldn't want to protect there kids from getting ill?

KellyEllyChristmasBelly · 19/12/2012 10:23

At the end of the day if there's a chance she's contagious she should stay away rather than come and infect everyone else - especially small children. Chances are (if she's contagious) she'll be better by Xmas and you'll all be sick. She is an adult and shouldn't need to be looked after by her dad for this kind of thing. If she's recovering from an operation or something like that then fine but in this situation it's ridiculous.

I wonder what OPs views would be if her own adult dd wanted to come and stay for some tlc when she had an ear infection... I would imagine if she had small children who may be infected her view would be the same Hmm

catsmother · 19/12/2012 10:31

To be fair, none of us know what is wrong with adult daughter ...

.... she might have an ear infection, she might have something else entirely - having earache does not necessarily mean she hasn't got norovirus or any other type of infection as it could have arisen spontaneously and independently of her being sick (who knows, she could have been swimming lately and got water in her ear). Or she might not be infectious at all, she might have had a bad reaction to something she ate. Whatever.

The fact remains though that if someone's vomiting, there's a possibility of infection, and until someone medically qualified calls it one way or another it's emminently sensible to keep away from other people and especially very small children (or other vulnerable people).

I can't speak for OP, but if my adult child was vomiting etc I wouldn't want them round regardless of how much sympathy I had for them. Doesn't mean I don't care - just that smaller children's well being should take priority.

Have no idea why, if this thread was about OP's adult daughter, and her DH had objected to risk towards younger ones, anyone would not be equally as critical of her for exhibiting such a lack of common sense.

SDTGisAChristmassyWolefGenius · 19/12/2012 11:24

Audrina - no, there is no need for you to apologise at all. I wasn't clear, and you called me on it - thank you. Xmas Smile

SDTGisAChristmassyWolefGenius · 19/12/2012 11:30

I think that it is very unfair to be calling the adult stepdaughter a kidult and entitled etc, because she has taken up her father's invitation to come and be looked after at his home. Yes, she is an adult, and yes, unless she is very ill, she is probably capable of being in her own home, with caring visits from her father - but when you are ill, it is pretty miserable to have to cope with all that on your own, and if your dad offers to have you to stay for a bit of TLC, you might well a) assume his wife is OK with it and b) accept because you are feeling poorly.

lottiegarbanzo · 19/12/2012 11:47

SDTG I haven't seen the word entitled. I think I'm the only person to have used kidult - that is 'an indulged kidult', thus being indulged by someone, in a sentence and post that was clearly criticising her father.

I do think the dsd is being thoughtless, if she visits before being sure she's not infectious but agree that primary responsibility lies with her father for issuing the invitation.

Personally I don't think it matters if it's norovirus, some other virus or not a virus. The default option is that adults stay at home when ill. If and when they are confident they are not infectious, they can visit people, applying extra caution and consideration to small children.

perceptionInaPearTree · 19/12/2012 11:49

YANBU - an adult with a sick bug is irresponsible if they feel it's ok to go and spread it to another family with young children - that is just selfish. I wouldn't dream of doing it.

SDTGisAChristmassyWolefGenius · 19/12/2012 12:02

If the word entitled hasn't been used, lottie, it has been pretty clearly implied - hence my use of it. I didn't mean to have a poke at you by mentioning kidult - I used it because it did seem to sum up pretty accurately what people on the thread were thinking about the stepdaughter. I apologise if I upset you.

I do think it is pretty normal for a parent to want to look after their child when they are ill, even if they are grown up - and probably pretty normal to want to be pampered a bit, and therefore to make not-particularly good decisions, when ill.

ProudAS · 19/12/2012 15:04

"The fact remains though that if someone's vomiting, there's a possibility of infection, and until someone medically qualified calls it one way or another it's emminently sensible to keep away from other people and especially very small children (or other vulnerable people)."

I think that's going over the top - in my teens and early twenties I would often vomit at the start of my period. Of course there was a small chance that the syptoms could have been caused by a bug but no greater than the likelihood of my catching something at other times of the month and being infectious but symptom free.

allnewtaketwo · 19/12/2012 15:29

What a silly post, that's a pretty unusual example, and I'm sure if the vomiting was monthly the OP would know Hmm

ProudAS · 19/12/2012 15:45

Not necessarily - I used to keep pretty quiet about it especiall where my (unsypathetic) parents were concerned.

SantaIAmSoFuckingRock · 19/12/2012 15:51

unidentified vomitting= stay put to avoid spreading infection.

it's common sense. she is an adult, has her own home. her dad can visit her there when the alternative is to possibly bring a stomach bug into another house that has small children.

this isn't a step issue, it's a common sense one. any adult i know would avoid bringing a bug to another person's home.

allnewtaketwo · 19/12/2012 16:06

Right ok, her vomiting is far more likely to be related to her period that a bug Hmm

Alisvolatpropiis · 19/12/2012 16:07

As she lives close by it would make more sense for you DH to visit her at her own home.

But,I have seen people really lose it with ear infections,completely unable to function etc. so maybe she is in a lot of pain and can't look after herself?

How old is she? Are we talking 19 or 35?

maddening · 19/12/2012 16:14

Are you still a step child once you are grown up?

What if it was the op's adult daughter who had come round vomiting with 2 small children just before Xmas.

The dh should have gone to look after her at her house.

SantaIAmSoFuckingRock · 19/12/2012 16:22

just thinking about this now. there is no way i would expect to move in to my parents' house while i was sick. i'm an adult and have my own home. that's where i stay when i'm sick. my mum would come in and help out with dcs and take washing to her house etc but she wouldn't expect me to coem and stay with her.

SDTGisAChristmassyWolefGenius · 19/12/2012 16:29

The step daughter didn't (as far as we know) 'expect' to move in with her dad because she was ill - he offered, which is very different. As I said earlier, it doesn't sound to me like she is being demanding or entitled or spoilt - she has taken up her dad's invitation, probably because she is feeling ill and wants some TLC. And she probably assumes that, as he has invited her, his wife is OK with it.

I have an adult friend, who is a single mother, and when she got bad tonsillitis, she moved back in with her parents, along with her little boy - because it was easier for her parents to look after her at their house than at hers - and no-one said she was being selfish, or 'expecting' this to happen.

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