Would it look unprofessional to take a hot water bottle into the office?

[riotlady]

Hi :) I’ve been off for work for a week with food poisoning and desperately need to get back into the office. D + v has mostly settled down (was still throwing up yesterday so working from home today) but I’m still getting terrible pains in my stomach and back. A hot water bottle is helping a bit. I really need to go into the office tomorrow to do some work that can’t be done from home- would it look really unprofessional if I was sat at my desk with a hot water bottle on my tummy? I work with a lot of older gents and a natural assumption might be that I’m having period cramps

if you have been vomiting within the last 24 hour, do not go into the office! No one wants your bug.

I had terrible sciatica for months.
I was well enough to be at work but I also needed a hot water bottle as it really helped with discomfort.

It was not unprofessional. You could barely notice it.

It's not unprofessional to have a hot water bottle, happens a lot in our office with 'air con wars'.
However it's unprofessional to be going to the office when you're unwell.

Don't go in if you're still vomiting. There's the commute to consider too.

If you really do feel well enough take the hot water bottle with you. I used mine all the time and it's wrapped in a penguin shaped cover! People used to borrow it, they were happy as long as we were comfortable and capable of working.

Talk to a pharmacist. If they recommend Buscopan for the cramps, it's available over the counter and can help a lot.

You shouldn't be going back to work with intermittent vomiting you should be speaking to your doctor.

You can’t go back if still vomiting! 48 hours clear of D&V before you do that. Unfair to anyone you work with!

Flipped the other way round. I can't see how it would ever look professional. But in the grand scheme of things, who'd even care? If you're in pain and you're allowed, it'd be mad not to.

I am trying to speak to a doctor but it is a bit of a nightmare unfortunately. Saw the nurse on Friday as the pain was so bad, she said my stomach is probably just irritated/inflamed from the food poisoning which has passed

If I throw up today I won’t go in tomorrow, but my last vomiting was yesterday afternoon so crossing my fingers I’ll be ok

I used to take one of those microwaveable heat pads to work when I’d pulled a muscle or something.

If you had symptoms yesterday (D + V) as in your OP, then you can't go back into the office tomorrow. With D + V, it has to be 72 hours since the last symptoms before you can go back. So you won't be going back into the office this week.

I bet if one of these guys was in your situation, they would be whining and taking off sick for two more days. Do what helps you cope with the day at work.

If you’re in London there’s a d&v virus going round.

I thought it was food poisoning at first but it wasn’t.

I wouldn’t want you anywhere near me in the office if you are throwing up. You need to reconsider this and prioritise getting a doctor appointment and getting signed off if work are putting this amount of pressure on you to go into the office

Not at all! I manage a team and some of the women in my team bring them in to help aches and pains, and some just bring them in during their period. I think it's a brilliant idea.
You really don't sound well though. Tasks can be delegated and the world won't collapse if you take a bit more time to rest and recuperate.

Have you tested for covid?
It sometimes presents as d & v.

Even when I worked with vulnerable children it was 48 hours, not 72!

If I don’t throw up today by the time I go into the office it will be over 36 hours since last throwing up.

Not in London and not Covid thankfully :)

Secondary schools dont require 48 hours after D&V, its usually only 24 on the basis that people over 12 can be trusted to actually wash their hands.

Op is fine to go in if she feels well enough too. Using a hot water bottle to make herself a bit more comfortable with the occasional digestive cramp is completely fine.

I used to have a hot water bottle at work for when my sciatica and prolapsed disc pain flared up. No one batted an eyelid as far as I knew, and it was regularly borrowed by a few colleagues too.

However if you are not well enough then don’t go in yet.

I used to use one for period pain, it was also fab for drying my clothes if I got caught in the rain. No one batted an eye.

at how the ‘older gents’ the op works with (probably in their 50s) morphed into as you're working with elderly people!

Yes they do - www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-in-schools-and-other-childcare-facilities/chapter-3-public-health-management-of-specific-infectious-diseases

OP - if you're not feeling well and you've only recently stopped vomiting then don't go in. Have you had it confirmed as food poisoning, or could it be a virus?

I wouldn't say it's unprofessional, but it might breach local H&S risk assessments to refill it in the office. After two seperate burn incidents there's a flat ban on hot water bottles being filled in our office, however thermal heat bags that can be zapped in the microwave are still permitted.

Just thought it worth mentioning because if you're feeling delicate being berated for breaching H&S rules is the last thing you need.

Hope you feel better soon 💐