About vomiting in public

[Beingsickoutside]

If you are unwell and need to be sick and this comes on you quite suddenly, what’s the equitette? Is there one?

It seems really horrible to leave a puddle of vomit on a road or car park but what else can you do, realistically?

DS threw up on the pavement once. In that sudden, no warning way kids have. I used our water bottles to clean him and it up. Seemed the right thing to do.

I'm generally healthy but if I get a headache sometimes it makes me very sick, DM had migraines and said that it was probably that even though my headache isn't as bad as you would think a migraine would be it does make me very sick. I didn't get morning sickness at all when I was pregnant though. Once I had a tooth extracted and had a migraine afterwards and was very sick, it was awful with my freshly plucked gum that I was trying to protect.

I once did this in Haworth. Went shopping there and suddenly just needed to vomit - I did it in the gutter near a drain. Felt awful as I thought people would think I was drunk whereas I was stone cold sober and just had some strange sicky thing come over me.

I'm sick a lot. I normally aim for a bush or try to rinse with whatever liquid I have, normally diet coke.

Drunk in a taxi in my 20s, felt like I was going to puke. My mate of ample norkage luckily knew me well enough to recognise the signs so whipped off her bra in seconds (thank you 2000s boob tube fashion!), shoved it under my chin just as I boaked. It was the finest act of quick thinking, quick acting and friendship I have ever witnessed 😂

I was once sick in Morrisons car park (I was walking with 3dc).

Lovely old lady gave me wipes, water and asked where we lived. Dc were old enough to walk 1/4 mile home alone, and she insisted on giving me a lift (we lived so close and no roads to cross that running dc got back first).

I thought it was very brave of her given that I'd just chundered all over the car park. But I couldn't have walked, I was too wobbly (turned out I had an ear infection).

Better than the time I vommed in the booze aisle while pregnant.

@Beingsickoutside you asked a question and I answered it, and used a confused face.

Yes I am lucky to be generally healthy. No I have never considered what I would do if I needed to be sick outside.

So sorry I can’t answer you on etiquette, but yes I think it’s unusual.

Does that answer your question better? Would you have rather I reported your post like others clearly did else I assume you wouldn’t have mentioned people thinking you’re a troll?

Depending on where you are, if you are sick on the pavement outside or near a cafe, pub, restaurant or shop, pop inside and tell them.
As a former bar manager and hotel manager I was quite used to cleaning up vomit and had plenty of tricks and tools to help. Plus no one wants vomit outside their venue and it's easier to clean up 'fresh'

Failing all that, vom in a bush, a bag or a drain, wash down with some water if you can.

If out in a field, try and avoid any obvious paths and then blame the dog

@NewlyGranny

If you're anxious, carry one of those airsick/seasick bags in your handbag for emergencies. It will give you peace of mind.

Don't do this if you are genuinely worried and for no real reason (ie no morning sickness, etc). It's an unhelpful behaviour and will only lead to more anxiety.

Find a drain. Always carry a bottle of water to wash down any excess.

Ugh... those saying they headed to the nearest bin brings back memories of many years ago on my regular commute home waiting at a bus stop during a heatwave. Horrendous, vomity smell coming from a nearby bin, which was there for several days until the council changed the bin

@nicebreeze
NewlyGranny
If you're anxious, carry one of those airsick/seasick bags in your handbag for emergencies. It will give you peace of mind.

Don't do this if you are genuinely worried and for no real reason (ie no morning sickness, etc). It's an unhelpful behaviour and will only lead to more anxiety.

Of course carrying a vomit bag it won’t lead to more anxiety. Why on earth would it? I carry one often, and always when travelling. It leads to peace of mind.

SkepticalCat the culprit is probably somewhere on this thread :o

[quote Ginandplatonic]@nicebreeze
NewlyGranny
If you're anxious, carry one of those airsick/seasick bags in your handbag for emergencies. It will give you peace of mind.

Don't do this if you are genuinely worried and for no real reason (ie no morning sickness, etc). It's an unhelpful behaviour and will only lead to more anxiety.

Of course carrying a vomit bag it won’t lead to more anxiety. Why on earth would it? I carry one often, and always when travelling. It leads to peace of mind.[/quote]
@Ginandplatonic - it's a common route from mild yet unnecessary anxiety into a full blown phobia - carrying around a bag can become a hook for anxiety and can give rise to irrational feelings that your behaviours (ie having a sick bag with you at all times) will keep you safe from things you fear (vomiting in public).

I'm not trying to be contentious or difficult - I've just spent years of misery overcoming phobias and suicidal thoughts triggered by carrying around sick bags and getting drawn into other avoidance behaviours. CBT was the only thing to pull me out of it. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. The likelihood of the average person throwing up in public is so small that carrying around a bag is completely unnecessary.

@nicebreeze I’m sorry you’ve had a tough time with your mental health, but I think you might be projecting your own problems onto this issue a bit. If, like me, you just have a fear of vomiting in public/your child vomiting in public having a bag with you solves that problem completely and removes much of the anxiety. Your situation sounds much more complex.

[quote Ginandplatonic]@nicebreeze I’m sorry you’ve had a tough time with your mental health, but I think you might be projecting your own problems onto this issue a bit. If, like me, you just have a fear of vomiting in public/your child vomiting in public having a bag with you solves that problem completely and removes much of the anxiety. Your situation sounds much more complex.[/quote]
I'm not projecting anything. The advice "if you're anxious carry a bag around with you just in case" is terrible advice.

I don't have special circumstance, I've never had issues with vomit before or since. It was a small adjustment I made to my behaviour (like keeping a bag in my pocket) which spiralled out of control and it can literally happen to anyone 🤷🏼‍♀️

If you're worried about something that's very unlikely to happen to you enough to source a special bag and carry it with you everywhere you go then my advice would be to question why that is.

Aim away from people.

Don't aim in a bin as someone will then have to pick up a bin bag which is dripping sick juice.

'I’m not projecting anything. The advice "if you're anxious carry a bag around with you just in case" is terrible advice.

I think it depends on the individual phobia. I’m enetophobic in that I can’t bear to see anyone vomit. I’m not afraid of doing it myself and I can clean up afterwards if my children are ill- but I can’t witness the event. I literally start hyperventilating!

It’s daft, but I think I was traumatized decades ago at Brownies when another child literally puked all over me. 🤣 So I normally have a couple of bags to hand over if anyone feels ill so they can be more discreet... and now my children are teens, I’d probably walk around the corner and wait until it was over.

I also carry bags because I’m guessing that I can’t be the only person on the planet who reacts like this so I’d never want to puke visibly in public either. I don’t want to cause someone else’s panic attack.

You can imagine what I’m like on planes....headphones on and eye mask on if anyone looks even vaguely queasy.🤣. If I ever sit next to a vommer, I’d have to ask to be moved.

*emetophobic

Oh god, I had severe sickness in all three pregnancies.

I had to puke in bags (I made sure they had no holes in!) where ever I was.

I was sick around 30 times a day at points though and in my second and third pregnancies had to do school runs so had no choice.

If there is time, I'd at least try to go behind a bush, unfortunately not always possible.