Do you wash when you are ill?

[booksandnooks]

Yabu - I wash daily even if I'm on death's door
yanbu - I wash when I'm better

If I am really really unwell E.g I have to muster up all my energy to go for a wee then no I can't wash. If I'm poorly with a heavy cold then yes I would wash. D & V? Once danger of puking or shitting myself has passed yes, but not in the full throes of a bug, despite needing it more than ever!

Everyone needs to shower daily

No, they don't.

To answer your question OP, it obviously depends how you feel. When I had bad flu a couple of years ago I don't think I showered for 5 days. But then I didn't eat properly for about 2 weeks or do any of the other usual day to day things usually required for life.

Was I gross? Definitely. Did I care? Absolutely not. All I could do was take paracetamol and sleep. Having to get up to go to the toilet would wipe me out, having a shower was out of the question.

When I had swine flu, I didn't wash for almost a week. I felt like I would faint every time I stood up and could on!y just drag myself to the loo and back on my hands and knees for the first 4 days so no I did not wash

Yes. I'm a great believer in the benefit of washing when unwell (and bed- bathing sick people). The skin is the largest organ of elimination; so washing off the sweat and germs of illness will help you recover faster. And make you feel fresh and more comfortable.

Mastitis is an absolute bastard!

I remember feeling so cold when I had it.

If I can't get out of bed for a shower, then I know I'm ill!

If you don't feel up to it then don't.

Or use some wet wipes or some form of bed bath if you feel the need for a "freshen up".

Yes 100%. My husband is the opposite though when he's ill he wants to fester in his own filth 😂

I shower at least once a day, including hair wash.

I had flu once and possibly went a day or two without showering then but otherwise I think being clean always makes me feel better. My hair is naturally oily so not washing my hair always makes me feel gross.

If I was in danger of fainting I would definitely leave a shower until I felt right.

If I’m feeling terrible then I’ll not be up to having a shower, but I’ve never been too ill to have a bath. Especially when I had mastitis. Get your DH to give you more support and be on call to wrap you in a warm towel when you need to get out.

Had swine flu several years ago and felt like I was dying so didn't wash for a number of days. Many many days in fact.

Depend on how ill. Upset stomach - d&v 3 days straight - couldn’t risk it, and anyway slept 23 hrs a day.

Flu - only got out of bed to go to the toilet for 2 weeks. Think I might have managed to wash my face and pits a couple of times.

Anything else, a bath generally makes me feel loads better. Though I’ve needed help to get in and out sometimes.

I've been fortunate never to have had any really serious illness, but I can honestly say that since puberty (more than 30 years) I have never had a day when I didn't shower and wash my hair. It always makes you feel better. I haven't always dried it and done make up etc but always clean.

I have actually spent time worrying about what would happen about hair washing if I did have to spend a period of time in hospital!

Anyone who says they would wash irrespective of how ill has obviously never been really ill . A few years ago I was very ill for 3/4 months and some days I could literally only manage to swish some mouthwash .

Had covid and a chest infection over Christmas. Didn't wash/shower/change for 6 days. Came home from shopping felling headachy, then it hit and I crawled into bed and stayed there apart from going to the loo until Xmas Eve.
op. I've never had mastitis so can't comment on what is best but I hope you feel better soon.

DH is currently dying and bedbound. He loves a thorough wash every day, even though it causes him a lot of pain.

I’m sure you’re right Floral. I personally have never spent an entire day feeling so ill that the beneficial effects of a nice hot bath weren’t worth the effort of getting out of bed and staggering down the landing to climb into it. But I can certainly imagine that it would be possible to be that ill.

I hope you've been to the doctor and started antibiotics OP?

I didn't shower for 4 days or something when I had the flu, I felt so awful standing up and getting out of bed to even go to the toilet, everything was painful and I was so wobbly, I literally couldn't.

If I am ill no I don't wash - I am ill.

Its usually a sign that I am on the mend that I want to and can wash.

@Schrutesbeets

Do people all really shower every day? I do every other day on the whole, but I'm on maternity leave not really a sweaty person. Am I a total scruff?

I won't leave the house without a shower. Most days I shower in the morning and have a bath in the evening.

@Floralnomad

Anyone who says they would wash irrespective of how ill has obviously never been really ill . A few years ago I was very ill for 3/4 months and some days I could literally only manage to swish some mouthwash .

I guess I haven't then. When I had anorexia in my teens (bmi of 14) I was often dizzy in the shower but I've never been unwell enough that a shower didn't make me feel better rather than worse.

Oh god mastitis . I have never felt so ill. Snowy January and I was in a vest sweating like a beast. You poor thing OP. I needed antibioticsboth times. Give 111 a call. Once they kick in you can worry about your shower.
I'm a 'shower at least once a day' type, but missing a day or 2 when you're ill isn't the end of the world. It might help you feel better if it's a snotty cold but nothing worked for the hell of mastitis except the antibiotics. Hang in there

Depends how sick really. I’ve only ever had the flu once as a child and I definitely didn’t wash for about a week, I couldn’t even move and had hallucinations.

With my condition it puts me in hospital for a week at a time so I can’t wash daily there: if I’m there I have a shower and wash my hair once in the week but every day I’ll wash my face, do my teeth and use deodorant etc.

If I’m ill at home then it’s normally the same. If it’s a cold or flu etc then yeah I’ll have a shower or bath but if it’s my condition then I barely have energy to sleep and eat let alone bath. Still use deodorant and dry shampoo but I can’t physically stand up in the shower or sit down long enough when I’m ill.

Yes, even when I was in hospital with food poisoning that resulted in the most horrific bowel movements, I still showered and washed my hair every day.

When I'm ill I usually feel really cold or sweaty so a shower makes me feel great.
When my kids were ill a bath seemed to make theM feel better too.

The skin is the largest organ of elimination; so washing off the sweat and germs of illness will help you recover faster

I can confidently tell you that "germs of disease" aren't excreted through the skin and can't be washed off.

Unless, perhaps, you have Ebola, or similar, but then you have much bigger worries than having a shower or not and it still won't cure you.