Do you have a throw up bucket?

[DawnM]

We have just overcome the stomach flu here and it made me curious how others handle throwing up in their home.

 

Do you have a bucket?

[SKL]

We have such items, but it is much preferred that everyone make it to the toilet. Still, in the bucket is better than on the carpet . . . .

[TravelingChris]

First of all,. now that I think about it, my kids have hardly ever thrown u. I think with my oldest it may have been once or twice in his life, with the second, i think only once. but my third has asthma and gets coughing fits that sometimes lead to it so more. I am the one with a problem, though, since in about the last seven years, I have developed abdominal migraines to coincide with the regular headache migraines. I don't normally use anything, just get to the bathroom. And take a medication that stops the vomiting.

[Ottakee]

We use a 5qt. icecream pail. It is nice as it has a lid and has traveled with us in the car before. If it is used for throwing up we just toss it out.

[quark]

We have one and use it exclusively although son does manage to make it to the bathroom most of the time. On very rare occasion, the bucket, cleaned out thoroughly, is also used for sponging him with tepid water when he gets very high fever.

[kwickimom]

everyone has their own ice cream bucket with their name on it. I line them with many walmart bags and tie the bags and toss them and bleach the bucket and reuse.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

We use a large bowl that later gets cleaned and sanitized. I prefer them to keep bowl handy than risk them not making it to the bathroom in time. For car trips we keep plastic grocery bags handy, double layered, that can easily be tossed in the trash.

[kbpaulie]

Varies btwn a mop bucket and s mixing bowl. We prob wouldn't make it to the toilet in time and this is a huge help. Sorry to hear you're sick!!! Best of luck!

[Erin]

my kids are finally to the age where they can usually get to the bathroom when they're awake. But at night, they still can wake up completely disoriented when they're sick. There's always a bucket at bedtime if we have the flu...

[Parrothead]

We use what ever trash can the sick person has in his/her room. Said person carries it from bedroom to living room. I use trash can liners to make clean up and sanitizing easier.

[Rjmakmom]

If I had to hang my head over a toilet, I am guaranteed to vomit. Ew! We have a stainless steel bowl that has been used for everything from salad to mixing plaster paris, to a barf bucket. I have had it forever (it may have even come from my Mom's house, honestly). It is also the perfect popcorn bowl. With 5 kids who tend to get sick in pairs, we have a whole set of stainless steel bowls that get used for the duration of the cooties then sanitized and used for whatever. My Mom has a fit about it, but it works for us.

[Firefly]

We just use our regular stock pot. Afterward, it gets rinsed and run through the sani-cycle in the dishwasher.

[Miss Peregrine]

Yes, and doubles as the popcorn bowl.

[Firefly]

Oh, and I have a serious fear of splash-back, so I cannot bring myself to throw up in the toilet. Wish I could though-- it would make clean up so much easier!

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

My Granny when I was young would make a "puke bag." She lined a paper grocery bad with newspaper on the bottom and put a plastic grocery bag inside the paper bag. The paper bag kept it upright and open, and she could throw it away once it had been puked in and it was free to make.

[Flowing Brook]

we use a small garbage can lined with a garbage bag.

[Belacqua]

We use a plastic mixing bowl that came with a kitchen scale and never got used in the kitchen. It has a handle on the side, which has proved surprisingly useful.

 

That's kind of how we gauge the severity of illness around here. If the answer to, "Do you need The Bowl?" is yes, we know things are grim.

[Unicorn.]

This thread is completely grossing me out. I don't think I will ever eat at anyones house, ever again. No potlucks either! We use the trashcan from ds's room, with a plastic liner, and several paper towels in the bottom. When we are done, we close up the bag, and carry it straight to the outside trash. Clean the can, and put in a new liner.

[Dory]

Normally I expect everyone to make it to the bathroom, but I did allow my youngest to keep an ice cream pail nearby the last time he was sick because he was having a hard time going anywhere for anything. It's not the norm here though and we don't really have a pail that is designated for that job.

[Cinder]

Other. We expect them to try to make it to the bathroom for the first time--toilet, sink or bathtub is fine with me as they're all easy to clean. I tell them if they can't make it to the bathroom try to throw up on their blanket (if in bed) or on the tile part of the floor. Also reasonably easy to clean. Then I usually clean out one of the small bathroom trash cans and line it with a bag and some newspaper for any follow-ups that might occur while the person is lying around incapacitated. But we don't vomit frequently enough to have a designated bucket.

[gardenmom5]

people are expected to get to the bathroom, but . . . we know about good intentions. we'll use a bucket (that then has to be disinfected.) or a large metal bowl.

[dirty ethel rackham]

We rarely get hit with stomach viruses around here so throwing up is (thankfully) a rare occurrence. So rare, that I don't think my kids are always aware that they need to get to the bathroom until it is too late. "Clean up in aisle 5." Those are usually in the middle of the night. We don't have a designated vomit receptacle ... we expect them to figure out after the first offense to make it to the bathroom. We do make them sleep with an old towel. The one exception was a particularly bad virus - used some emesis basins leftover from my mom's frequent hospitalizations in her last few years of life.

[Jayne J]

We use a deep dishpan. It is generally single purpose, but is sanitized afterwards and has served other purposes, non food related.

[Melissa in Australia]

We are all trained to make it to the bathroom.

[MrsJewelsRae]

I refuse to use a toilet for vomiting, ew! I have bad memories of hovering over toilets in my childhood and having toilet water splash on my face as I threw up! *shudder* We use buckets and dump in the toilet. Not to mention, we only have one bathroom and tend to get the flu at the same time- which makes buckets a necessity. I keep an old ice cream pail under my bed, one under the kitchen sink, and one in the van. I'm paranoid! We throw up a lot at our house, we've usually gotten the stomach flu every year, same as when we were kids. I get the flu violently, vomit at least a dozen times and have passed out several times. I.hate.the.flu.

[magnificent_baby]

Bathroom garbage can, but that is rarely ever utilized. In reality it's the toilet, or wherever they happen to be sitting (when we don't know they are sick in the first place).

 

Probably the reason I would really, really hesitate to buy any kind of used furniture that has fabric or cushions.

[gingersmom]

A bucket would not have saved my sons carpet as he was on the top bunk of his bed and it was projectile :crying: Thank you stanley steamer for letting me book an appointment at 3am.

 

I did give my daughter the trash can (with bag inside) in case she could not make it to bathroom.

 

I just never left the bathroom.

[Garga]

Trained to use the toilet. But at bedside, they can use one of the small trashcans we have all around the house. Rinse it out, spray some cleaner in there, line with plastic grocery bag (uh oh!) and it's good to go.

[NotSoObvious]

My kids have always been good about getting to the toilet.

 

Honestly though, I can't remember the last time someone threw up!

 

We use a plastic bowl, then just rinse it out. Who cares? Puke isn't any more disgusting than raw meat or eggs.

[NotSoObvious]

Oh yeah, and we do the towel thing. After the first puke, there isn't much left and a towel is usually sufficient.

[TinaBlue]

We use a plastic trash can that gets cleaned afterward.

[mamakven]

we use plastic mixing bowls- i LOVE the ice cream bucket idea though! with bag liners! awesome!

[RoughCollie]

We use large, stainless steel, mixing bowls.

[4kidlets4me]

I can count on one hand the number of times my kids have thrown up. I don't have a dedicated bucket.

[Jeannie in NJ]

we have 2 throw up buckets. Used to only have one but one night ds got sick, my dh took care of him (they didn't even wake me up yay) but dh could not find the throw up bucket (it was under our bed) so he got my good pasta pot and had ds use it. It became our 2nd throw up bucket and the next day, my dd went out and bought me a nice new pasta pot.

 

Wow, I just reread my post and my family treats me nice. I mean a dh that takes care of throwing up ds in the middle of the night and does not even wake me up and a dd that runs out and buys me a new pot the next day.

[MiniBlondes]

We have multiple puke buckets. I'm emetophobic, so I actually 'collect' things that would be good vomit catchers. I think we have 2 extra trash cans, 2 buckets, and several large ice cream bowls with lids. I generally expect them to make it to the toilet though. If someone complains about not feeling well before bedtime, that person usually gets a nice soft bed made for her in the bathroom floor. They actually enjoy sleeping in there, they said they feel like they're camping. :huh:

 

Oh, and we have middle of the night puke rules. If you wake up and feel sick, try to get to the bathroom. If you are certain that you can't make it, STAY IN BED and puke. DO NOT puke on Mommy's carpet because her puke germ fear will cause her to have a nervous breakdown. Also, under no circumstances is anyone allowed to come stand next to my bed and announce that they think they're going to puke; because that just never ends well. If you think you're going to puke go to the bathroom and call me from there. My puke germ fear causes me to be the lightest sleeper on the planet. I promise I'll hear you.

[*********]

Ours is a big blue plastic mixing bowl. And that's all we use it for. We even store it in the big closet in our bathroom. It's our puke bowl. Nice, hunh? :D

[Mimm]

We have a big mixing bowl, stainless steel. It rarely gets actually thrown up in. Mostly it's to make people feel better. My kids are really good pukers and make it to the toilet no problem most of the time. It has been puked in a few times, and it gets cleaned out very thoroughly.

[Tita Gidge]

We have a plastic mixing bowl, one for anyone who has sick.

 

It lives in the laundry room, far away from the kitchen lest someone accidentally use it for food prep. Ick! LOL

 

I get monthly migraines, and vomiting is a part of that. I could make it to the bathroom if I needed to, but I vastly prefer to stay put and use the bowl. So I give everyone that same option :) I have some that ask for the bowl and some who keep the bowl nearby (at my @nal insistence) but who prefer to make their deposits directly to the porcelain pot.

[Hilltop]

We have two large, plastic bowls that are used exclusively when someone is sick. They are both referred to as "the sick bowl".

[Alexigail]

We use whatever but I line them with a plastic bag.

[Forget-Me-Not]

I have a collection of 1-gallon ice cream buckets that are used for that. They double as cleaning containers too--soaking something in bleach or transporting hot soapy water to clean the patio furniture. I don't use them for food prep/storage. I wouldn't have an issue with glass or stainless steel containers, but plastic? No.

[Belacqua]

Is anybody else surprised at how popular this thread has been? Who knew we'd all be so enthusiastic to share our puke bucket situations!

[AMJ]

We even have one in our car!

 

Basically, we live in hot, humid, Houston (TX) and summertime can bring on bouts of carsickness. We have a trash can my DH made in our van -- he took a Rubbermaid cereal bin, cut the middle out of the snap-on lid (leaving a ring to snap on to hold a plastic bag in place inside), and added Velcro to the bottom to grip the carpet. If someone gets carsick we yank the bagged trash out and hand them the bucket to use. We then pull over when we reach a safe place and use bottled water to rinse it out.

 

At home we have plastic trash cans in each bedroom, again usually lined with plastic bags. If someone needs to throw up and they can't make it to the bathroom they can use the trash can again. Also, once someone does have that level of queasiness we generally lay towels on the bed and covers, in case they don't make it that far. And we have our own carpet cleaner when needed. If covers/bedding get messed on and we are really tired we just strip the bed and pull out one of the sleeping bags to use for the rest of the night.

 

And, yes, this IS a popular thread! Always good to hear and share our learnings from the school of life!

[AMJ]

Oh, and when I was pregnant I had 4 1/2 months of nausea with my first, and 3 months with my 2nd. I had my pilot Dad and family and friends who flew anywhere bring me regular supplies of airsickness bags to take on the commuter bus and have at work. I set in such a store for my 2nd pregnancy I had some left over when it was all over and was able to give some to another gal with strong nausea.

 

You can actually BUY such bags online, but if you can get them from airplanes they are often better quality. Get the ones with waxed paper for better retention. Or you can put ziploc freezer bags in your car or purse.

[6packofun]

I voted that we do have one. We use one of those buckets that had cheap vanilla ice cream in it. However, we use the bucket for one round of sickness, throw it out, and soon after buy another bucket of ice cream to keep a new one on hand. lol I don't know why that became the barf bucket, but there it is!

[vonfirmath]

We have one receptacle on permanent duty as a puke bowl because we have one member of the family that has something that is not quite vomit, but is more than just normal phlegm, nearly EVERY morning. Said member considers this "normal"

[sbgrace]

I have a kid prone to puke. I prefer he make it to a trash can with a bag liner so I can dispose of the smell quickly and easily. If we see it coming though, or he has a known bug, I give him a pan to carry around with him. I use whatever pan. I just rinse and put it in the dishwasher. We have a sanitize cycle.

[2squared]

No one in our house vomits in the toilet. That's just gross. If I don't do it, I don't make my kids do it either.

[Joker]

We use a lined trash can. The absolute last thing I want to do when that kind of sick is try to run to a toilet. Uggh! We try to be calm and restful here and if one does need to vomit they can just lean over into the trash can. It's a very easy clean up as well, which is handy when everyone feels ill.