Diarrhea - off for 48 hours or not?

[Notfeelingwell232]

Hello, i was up with diarrhea last night, very little sleep, painful stomach and feeling sick.

Messaged boss to say I won't be in, here's what I would have been doing today and tomorrow. Boss seems surprised and asks if I think I'll be off tomorrow? I said, well i thought you have to be off for 48 hours after diarrhea? Boss says, no it's flexible if you're feeling better.

Is that right? I work with children. I thought it was a very strict 48 hours off after either diarrhea or vomiting.

Check your local public health guidance. Ours is definitely 48 hours in schools.

When I worked in a nursing home it was very strictly 48 hours after symptoms had cleared.

It depends on the role but as you work with children I would have expected the 48 hour rule to apply.

I am a teacher in a primary school.

Everything I can see online says 48 hours.

I would assume it’s 48 hours for children in school as it can be upsetting to have a reoccurrence at school and tricky for younger ones to clean themselves up. For adults 24 hours or so is probably ok for a bit of a dickie tummy, for an office job or something, so long as you have good hygiene, wash hands a lot, but if it’s full on d&v and working in a school or somewhere with elderly people I’d expect the 48 hour rule to apply.

Unless you are likely to lose control of your bowels at work tomorrow, it would be fine to go in.

It’s 48 hours, surely it’s the same for the kids at the school too?

Whats your schools sickness policy?

I can see why it may differ for staff though, as they're better at washing their hands etc than children

I also work in a school, we say if clear over night they can come in. Same for sickness. We don't use 48h anymore

Def 48 hours from last episode and unless you're sure you've eaten something dodgy, it's highly likely to be viral.

This is why it spreads so quickly. People don't follow the 48 hour rule.

It does not differ. It’s NHS guidance for everyone 48 hours.

That’s stupid. Why does your school think it knows better than the NHS?

Probably because most schools are so focused on attendance that they would rather sick kids come in - they can’t see the big picture that it risks spreading and more kids being off sick!

Our school only make people be off with temperature. No 48 hour rule anymore.

48 hours AFTER symptoms have stopped

A lot of people think it's 48 hours from the start of being ill. Many don't understand how people end up in hospital from D&V.

I think as an adult d&v probably does mean you are ill and likely contagious.
However it was only once my kids went to state school i ever heard of it.

My kids dont stay off 48h, because they get sick from food allergies and migraines.

The main risk with d&v bugs is the aerosol of being sick so avoid doing that in class.

You're right. The general NHS advice is to stay off work until you've had 48 hours without diarrhoea or vomiting, even if you're feeling better. Especially as you work with children, I wouldn't risk passing a stomach bug on. I'd stick to the 48-hour rule and explain that to your boss.

NHS guidance is 48 hours for pupils and staff. Naughty that your school is suggesting you can still come in whilst potentially still being contagious.

Since your boss seems to be rather slack with regards to health I’d make sure you follow your school policy with regards to sickness. Don’t assume that they’ll realise that you’re off again. Follow the procedure with regards to staff sickness.

48 hour rule doesn't apply at my DD's school nor many others locally.

It's all about presenteeism these days.

Both my children’s school have revoked the 48 hour rule. If they feel better, they are in school. I imagine work places will follow suit if they haven’t already.

It seems the 48 hour rule is dead in the water.

Gosh I am so surprised at these responses! Why on earth would schools go against NHS advice?! Seems crazy to me.

Wow this is worrying, as my child has an extreme phobia of D&V its hard enough in the winter time, one child going off will send her into panic for days. with tummy bugs going around, if people, schools are not following the guidelines, won't it spread more?. (Yes she is receiving help for her anxiety,from professionals).

I'm amazed at the responses. The 48 hr rule is not to avoid the risk of "losing control of your bowels" or vomiting at work - it's because you might be shedding virus in your stool, so any bathroom visit where people don't wash their hands properly will still spread it around even if they feel better. No wonder stomach bugs are so rife, gross.

If you have an upset stomach that caused diarrhea you would be fine after a day. If you had a bug that is contagious you would need the 48 hours.
It really depends on why your stomach was upset.