To take time off work to care for DH with gastro

[Fanningme]

I'm due to do a shift tomorrow at work . DH has started with some kind of D & V - It seems pretty bad. I don't think I could go to work knowing DH is at home vomiting with no adult to take care of him - I'd be constantly worrying. My teenager will be in but will probably be asleep mosr of the morning. DH is saying he wants me to stay home to take care of him.

Assuming he's still vomiting tomorrow morning is it reasonable for me to miss work to care for him as I am not ill. Would it be on an unpaid compasdionate leave basis? Sorry - I've never been in this position before.

@tachetastic - it can be coming out of both places at the same time? I know which one I’d rather clean up off the floor.

@tachetastic The thankfully rare times I've has gastro, if I turned round to vomit in the toilet I would have shit on the floor 😂 It's a 'happening at the same time' thing, like an exorcism

Bit difficult if you are puking and shitting at the same time - unless you shit all over the floor .
I’ve had noro where my heads been in a bucket while my world was exploding out of my backside

Indeed they are, but unfortunately the human body hasn't evolved to puke and shit out of the same orifice. So if it's coming out of both ends at the same time, something ends up elsewhere.

Each to their own though.

In which case, if I was OP I'd be at work and telling DCs to keep their ear buds in.

DH will work through it (or it will work through him) eventually.

I think it is comforting knowing another adult is about, but I don't think you can really take time off if it's just a normal bug.

My SIL would probably have to though. Her DH often faints when he vomits, so she's ended up cleaning up blood when he's cracked his head on the toilet, and sick when he's keeled over with a bucket...

As an aside I wouldn't personally take paracetamol. Chances are you'll vomit most of it back up, and you'd still want to wait 4 hours to be safe before taking the next dose.

So she should be sitting with a bucket to catch his poo? I'm not sure what your solution is, but he is a grown man and should be able to cope.

Why are people recommending paracetamol for D&V?

It's a painkiller surely?

If I was your boss or fellow colleagues, I'd personally rather you didn't come into work if you have someone at home with D&V - they may be highly contagious and you could now unknowingly be incubating it. So I would call work, say YOU have D&V, and need to stay home.

My solution is DH deals with it.

All I said is I would think about staying home because if I felt very unwell I would prefer to know someone else was around.

Stop infantilizing your husband, OP. He’s got a barf bucket and a bog for company. Leave him in peace and get on with your life.

DH got norovirus. I moved into the kids room to try and not get it. One of the kids got it. DH got better went back to work. The 2 other kids and I then got it so I ended up looking after 3 sick kids and myself. DH went to work because even though it was awful he has to work. This thread is pathetic.

He is an adult and does not have additional needs, he has a stomach upset.

You do not require compassionate leave and it won't be paid if you take the day off. It will be recorded as a staff absence.

He can empty his vomit bucket when he has to leg it to the bathroom for a pooh

I'd think you were being ridiculous. He doesn't have any additional needs, he can look after himself. Taking a day off because your husband has the shits, when is an allegedly capable adult, would make me very confused. You want to mop his brow? Is this some kind of reverse, and he's asked you to take the day off because he has the shits, and you're garnering people to your side as to why this is ridiculous? Give him his dressing gown of doom, and he'll be fine

Mop his brow? 😂 I wouldn’t be going near him. The household does not need two adults with D&V.

He is a fully grown adult.

He's an adult not a young child jezz never heard anything like it. No you go to work.

Just set things up for him before you go to work. Buckets, medicine, water to drink etc.

You would not be granted leave at my workplace for this.

I'm sorry, but my work would come first in this situation. Unless there was some reason I absolutely HAD to be at home.

Most mature adults could cope by themselves??!

There is an adult at home to take care of him. Hiself.

Who will cover your work?

Nope I'm afraid your boss won't like it if you're off for your husband's d&v bug.

I need 24/7 care, which is provided by my husband who WFH full time. The only compassionate leave he's ever been granted is when I was hospitalised in an emergency and he was required to remain on the ward as the staff didn't have the capacity to take on my additional needs. Even then he was expected to return to work after the first week, from my bedside.

You take time off, your job is in jeopardy.

This has to be a joke

There is literally nothing so trivial that someone would not post on Mumsnet about it.