To go when I've been sick

[glittergoat]

DC3 spent yesterday afternoon being sick. Has seemed much better since about 5 m and kept food and drinks down. I had an upset stomach last night and have spent half an hour vomiting.

I have a big work meeting that I am running this afternoon. It can't be moved as it's in preparation for something critical next week. One of the team is heavily pregnant. I can't go in can I ? Even if I feel better I just can't risk this for my colleague.

Next, I have a funeral tomorrow. It's someone I feel a great deal for and I want to support my parents. It involves a couple of hours travel each way. Again, the last people I want to give anything to is mourners. My current rule of thumb is I'll go as long as I haven't been sick within 24 hrs of the funeral time, I'll go, with lots of antibacterial gel and great caution in touching anyone. Does this sound OK?

Oh and DH is of course away with work for the next few days...week is already shaping up to be a 🍑.

Please do NOT go in to work

No. Giving a stomach bug to a pregnant women knowingly is just unkind. It’s unkind to give it knowingly to anyone but especially a pregnant women.
The funeral I’d probably go to the service if I was 24 hours clear but avoid the wake. No handshaking or kissing though.

Can you dial into the meeting?

It’s 48 hours after you last vomit or have a bout of diarrhoea. You need to ring in to your meeting and be there over the phone rather than in person and no attend the funeral.

Antibacterial gel may well do NOTHING. Soap and water is the rule to get rid of D&V bugs from hands.

Ideally you need to be 48 hours clear. It would be beyond awful to pass this onto anyone.

I'm afraid you can't go. Can you do the meeting from Skype instead?

Sounds rubbish for you but you definitely shouldn’t go to work and probably not the funeral either as it’s clearly very contagious. Rule of thumb isn’t 24 hours, it’s 48. I hope you feel better soon.

I think it is 24h for adults. 48 for kids to be sure

Ffs people like you get on my tits. You're ill. Why should everyone else get your stomach bug because of your selfish reasons. Stay home for 48 hours

???? What an unnecessarily nasty post. Op is ill and tying to keep everything running smoothly and us asking for advice. In which universe is she selfish??

For what it's worth op, I do think you should stay at home, for everybody's benefit, including your own.

Can you skype/FaceTime into the meeting?

You must NOT go to either. Knowingly spreading your highly contagious ( i.e Norovirus) germs around is anti-social and deeply selfish. 48 hr rule applies to all.

I stand corrected

48 hours after your symptoms have subsided is the rule - regardless of your own ‘rule of thumb’

I spent Saturday night throwing up. Finally finished at 6am Sunday morning so won’t be going anywhere today.

No you can't go to either, and do not send your child to school today either!

I would just also add please don’t send your child to school today either, these things spread around classes so quickly as kids often don’t wash their hands and are so close together. Also, I would maybe go to funeral but nowhere after.

I've never quite known how your bugs could pass to another person in a meeting? Are they air borne? I thought you would have to touch something that they touched? Doesn't help answer your question, just intrigued really. Hope you feel better soon!

No to both.

My friend has something called Addison’s disease. She is steroid dependant. Her having a sickness bug could kill her very easily. In fact. It is the biggest killer in people with AI. However it is very rare. But you might not know she had it. Other people who are immunocompronised might also die from being sick.

Think of others first. This isn’t. I could pass this along and make someone sick. This is. I can pass this along and kill people

It’s 24 hrs for adults. 48 for children.

OP I think you have to skip the meetinq, but I don’t think I would miss a funeral of someone I cared about because I had been sick 24+ hours ago. If you are genuinely symptom free day then I would think you will be fine. Boots has antiviral hand foam in the first aid section that kills norovirus.

No, you can’t go OP... can you dial in?

Tummy bugs are not airborne.

I would contact the pregnant woman and ask her.
But first and foremost, I would ask if you can join the meeting as a teleconference, assuming you are well enough for that.
That’s assuming your company is understanding. If they are going to use that as a stick to beat you up with (and insist you can do also do x and y at home or you aren’t that ill etc....) then I would just say you are ill and not turn up.

24h seems good for the funeral.

They can be airborne.

www.nhs.uk/%2Fconditions%2FNorovirus%2FPages%2FIntroduction.aspx

Whose rule ethelfleda? My understanding is it is applied in schools. If it's a general rule for the whole population I'd love to see a link please.

Thanks for the helpful posts @LadyJaneGrey56 in particular.

I posted because the meeting is a huge deal for me and the team. This is also the first time I have been sick in over 20 years and first time I have caught anything from my kids. DC3 is not of school age and has at home care so isn't going anywhere today. On reflection I had already emailed my boss and will try to run the meeting on the phone. Meeting already had to be moved for the funeral, so yes this is very much about being a working mum and keeping all the balls in the air.

I'm just going to see how the day goes re funeral and make a decision tonight. I may just attend the ceremony and nothing else.

General question. We've had sickness bugs before and sometimes all three get them, sometimes not. I've usually found it tends to take a week to run through them all when it does. What do you do then ? I never send my kids back to school with less than 48hrs clear from illness but should I just keep them off for the week anyway?

I would yes. As I said. Some people can die from sickness bugs.