What is a normal level of vomiting bug fear?

[NotaNorovirusFan]

My kids all have the dreaded vomiting bug for the 2nd time in 12 months. Think last time was around Easter.

Nothing strikes fear in my heart quite like hearing one of my kids throwing up in the middle of the night, knowing that it will be days of living in fear, waiting for the next victim to suddenly projectile vomit all over their bed/toys/my face. I get quite upset and stressed trying to manage the spread and keep everything clean, bleaching everything until my hands are literally burnt with the amount of bleach then have been exposed to. Then trying to keep sick kids away from healthy ones, making sure everyone is washing their hands more, managing the mountain’s of extra washing etc.

I don’t think I have a phobia of vomiting, although I do want to avoid it if I possibly can and also stop my dc having to go through it. it’s more that I am a single parent of 3dc and self employed, having to take time off work is really difficult and expensive. When it’s a vomiting bug I will often have to take 2/3days off per dc with the next becoming unwell as soon as the previous one is able to go back to school and then I will catch it at some point to, which is a logistical and financial nightmare.

I’m interested to know how other people manage stomach bugs in their house? Is it futile to try and stop the the spread? everyone in the house usually ends up with it anyway and maybe if I just let it spread quickly it would all be over and done with faster!

Similarly how much effort do you put into avoiding your kids catching them in the first place? Would you say, let your child go to a play date at a house where they had recently had a vomiting bug, or would you have a child at your house if they had a sibling who was currently sick? I would very much try and avoid these situations but I know other people who don’t seem bothered about this kind of thing.

It’s disgusting but I don’t go over the top managing the spread. Obviously I clean up with bleach and do the washing but at the end of the day, with something so virulent I think you’ve just got to let it run its course. Your other kids would probably have caught it before the symptoms showed anyway.

I think I’d wait 48 hours before play dates and wouldn’t want a sibling around when someone in their house was currently affected. I think that’s just common sense

I hate it for the reasons you say - the amount of work it means and having to rearrange everything etc.

we tend to manage to contain in our house these days - mostly I think because we have more than 1 bathroom so quarantine the sick person to only use one bathroom and keep the non-vomiting child away (again easy because they don’t share rooms). Sickness in the night/on beds can be hard to deal with without spreading though.

I don’t think a pp is right in saying others have probably caught before symptoms show though, NHS advice on norovirus says it’s spread by the vomit/faeces of sick people so I think you only spread/catch it while symptomatic.

im always extremely careful in public toilets, particularly in winter and especially ones where ill people might go (eg hospitals, doctors, supermarkets, transport). Since having dc though they always catch them from school…

@Blaggingit123 yea I feel the same abiut public toilets tbh, I avoid those kind of ones at all costs! I think the same about it mostly being spread once you have symptoms but I think if diarrhoea is involved the start of symptoms might be a bit less clear and kids not washing hands properly after being at the toilet 😬

We've never had a vomiting bug in the house. I've never had one ever. But I can't imagine I'd be arsed trying to stop it spreading between the 4 of us if someone did get it. I would just assume we were all going to so what's the point?

Same as covid. I got it first, didn't bother trying to isolate from the family. It was in the house so seemed pointless.

I'm a bit the same. I've got better as the years go on. If they've been sick once we just get a load of old blankets, towels and sheets to put on carpets near the bed, cover the sofa etc... we've started using nilaqua hand foam/spritz on the kids' hands before they eat or when they've used public toilets or been in soft play or something. Everyone's gone crazy over the alcoholic hand gels since COVID but they don't protect against stomach bugs and things like norovirus. You can buy Nilaqua from Boots online. Used by NHS

@DappledThings I wasn’t bothered about Covid either but vomiting bugs are far worse for most of us! We just had Covid last month and I would have it again over this.

also some blood types are naturally immune to Norovirus so maybe you are one of those lucky ones?

@MummytoAAandX i thought bleach was the only thing that killed Norovirus type bugs? I will have to have a look at that gel!

That's not logical. Ds had Covid; he isolated and none of us caught it.

Same with sick bugs. We isolate the ill person, bleach the house, and it doesn't tend to spread.

I get mildly grumpy (pissed off), not fearful. I'm pretty susceptible & it's painful. Fundamentally harmless but so inconvenient, very gross & is painful to puke. I could do without it.

Not uncommon that several of us escape & don't get it. Not inevitable.

ps: we don't bleach, I only own bleach to deal with mouldy walls and windows.
I would handwash a lot if someone has noro.
xH wouldn't do anything different. He just doesn't catch noro easily.
He's the blood type that is supposed to catch it easily, I'm the blood type that is supposed to be resistent: reality is opposite how likely we are to catch it.

Just seemed like a lot of hassle trying to isolate to one room away when there was an excellent chance it had already been passed on. Can't imagine being that arsed about a vomiting bug to go to that hassle either. Certainly not going to not comfort a sick child by isolating them from the adults.

I've never bleached anything except the sick bowl! 5 kids, they've never all had it at once or all caught it off each other. I've never caught it off the kids. I just wash my hands a lot! The level of anxiety and work you're putting yourself through sounds awful!

True, @DappledThings, it depends how old your kids are. You can isolate a 16yo, not so much a 5yo!

I don’t exactly feel fear - I feel frustration at all the extra washing and arrangements being trashed. And if I know someone gave it to us carelessly and knowingly, then my frustration is anger instead (yes a selfish ex friend did this to my kids - she didn’t cancel a play date - brought child with diahorrea and looking really unwell - apparently it’s was ok as was no longer vomiting - apart from it wasn’t ok as we all got it)
[bitter rage]

My children are now adults but we’ve never had a sickness bug that has spread through the house although we’ve obviously all individually had d & v bugs at different times . I’m pretty much immune having been a nurse .