Survey question:

[Terabith]

If you or your child has a bug and can’t control vomiting, do you prefer the sick person to use a bowl/ other container that they keep with them, or do you expect them to make it to the bathroom, even if it results in camping out there?

[Jean in Newcastle]

Bowl.  I would not expect someone to camp out in a cold bathroom when sick. 

[barnwife]

Bowl. Who wants to hang out in a bathroom, feeling well or not? Generally, our rule of thumb is "try to make it to the bathroom, but here is a bowl if you can't." When they are little, I do have to make sure the bowl follows if they move (like from the couch to bed, or whatever). 

[fraidycat]

Small-medium garbage can, lined with bags as a "back-up", but get to the toilet if possible. Camping out is optional, if the sick person prefers it or feels comfortable in there (I've done it before - the cold floor was the most comfortable place to be! + close to the sink to rinse mouth) but we have a 2nd bathroom so other household members are not terribly inconvenienced.

[wathe]

9 minutes ago, Terabith said:

If you or your child has a bug and can’t control vomiting, do you prefer the sick person to use a bowl/ other container that they keep with them, or do you expect them to make it to the bathroom, even if it results in camping out there?

bowl.  We have a designated "barf bucket".

[marbel]

Oh for sure a bowl or other container!  I would never expect sick people to hang out in the bathroom. Sick people need to be as comfortable and restful as possible; most bathrooms are good places to relax.

[Loowit]

Usually a bowl that I sanitize between uses.  Sometimes my youngest prefers to hang out in the bathroom, his choice.

[Pawz4me]

We generally use a small trash can lined with a plastic grocery bag just in case. Making it to the bathroom is preferred.

[Indigo Blue]

I prefer toilet so I can use the sink immediately. As a family, we generally made it to the toilet, but a bucket was usually there as backup. 

[Danae]

We encourage trying to get to the bathroom but provide a "just in case" bag or bucket.  When we went through a period of frequent kid vomiting I bought a bunch of the barf bags with plastic rings that they give you in hospital emergency rooms.  They're awesome, and I keep one in the glove box of my car.  They're compact and handy to have.

 

https://www.amazon.com/MP-MOZZPAK-Vomit-Bags-Disposable/dp/B08SVWLZYH/ref=sr_1_5?crid=K03RAQK3IBUP&dchild=1&keywords=emesis+bags+disposable&qid=1629739982&sprefix=emesis+ba%2Caps%2C325&sr=8-5

[Terabith]

Personally, I need a bucket for when both ends are occupied.  But it’s so miserable, I usually would rather be in my own bed.  

[JustEm]

I expect the person to have a bowl for emergencies if they aren't used to recognizing the signs that puke is coming so I better run to the toilet.  

[Danae]

I also emphasize that if you don't have a bag and can't make it all the way to the toilet, barf on the floor or the counter NOT IN THE SINK.  Cleaning chunks of vomit out of the bathroom sink drain is one of my least favorite memories.  And the kid thought he was doing the right thing.

[Beth S]

PSA = If you line the bowl with a WM bag & a folded thick square of papertowel, the vomit bag can be taken directly to the outside trash bin.

If you are alone, you can have several backup bag/paper towel combinations & replace them, even if you're sick.

Hope your family members(s) feel better soon!

[Terabith]

How do you non bucket people handle things when they are simultaneously coming out of both ends?

[Terabith]

10 minutes ago, Beth S said:

Hope your family members(s) feel better soon!

Fortunately (I guess), so far I am the only one stricken with this this time.  

[MooCow]

My daughter and my oldest son and I are all pukers. I keep a paper grocery bag lined with a trash bag in several spots in my house and my car. My daughter has a tendency to get car sick.

[prairiewindmomma]

We are bowl people, with a preference for toilet use. I want to be able to flush contents of the receptor and then wash and sterilize the receptor.

We do bags in vehicles, but no one wants to haul vomit to a trash can here and then have it fester all week until trash pickup. Ew.

[fraidycat]

6 minutes ago, Terabith said:

How do you non bucket people handle things when they are simultaneously coming out of both ends?

TMI.... seriously gross female issues referenced below. Read at your own risk. 
 

 

 

 

 

You have been warned!

 

As a teenager this was me when I got my period. The "hormone poisoning" and cramping was terrible, creating the "one end" and the pain was so bad I puked - "the other end". My flow was horrendously heavy, so I was also so weak and shaky that I could only walk about 5 steps before needing to sit to rest. I sat on the toilet with the puke pail on my lap and expelled from 3 orifices at once. This is what I was referring to above when I said I have camped in the bathroom on the cold floor. 

[mommyoffive]

Use a bowl or other thing.

 

[WildflowerMom]

27 minutes ago, Terabith said:

How do you non bucket people handle things when they are simultaneously coming out of both ends?

Sit on the toilet with a double-bagged Walmart bag.   
 

eta: a bag is better than a bowl to me because I don’t have to see the contents of what just exited my stomach staring me in my face, ykwim? 😱😆.  It’s why both bathrooms have ‘vomit bags’ underneath the sink at all times.  

Edited August 23, 2021 by WildflowerMom

[bensonduck]

We tell the kids vomit is kind of like pee and belongs in the toilet. So we encourage getting to the toilet if possible.  We also give them an empty plastic trash bin to keep near just in case the person can’t make it to the toilet. I had one kid vomit while running to the toilet to vomit, slip in it, and bang their head. I felt so bad. I’d much rather have had them use the bucket. 

Edited August 23, 2021 by bensonduck

[Not_a_Number]

Bowl. Although we do encourage going to the bathroom. 

[Scarlett]

I can't get over people using a bowl.....we use a small plastic trash can and line with a couple of plastic bags.  But everyone prefers to make it to the toilet if possible.  

And yes, I have had both ends before and created a terrible mess in the bathroom.  I had been married about 2 weeks. It was horrible.  Dh wanted to come in and help me.  I hollered through the door, 'I don't know you well enough.'  

[Faith-manor]

We had a bucket for this when the kids were little. We don't really get the stomach bug here much anymore now that it is just dh and I and adult college kids coming and going. But, I would just not want anyone who was already so miserable to then lay on the bathroom floor, however I did make comfy beds on the floor near the bathroom when they were teens because they much preferred to make it to the bathroom. 

[Scarlett]

1 hour ago, Danae said:

We encourage trying to get to the bathroom but provide a "just in case" bag or bucket.  When we went through a period of frequent kid vomiting I bought a bunch of the barf bags with plastic rings that they give you in hospital emergency rooms.  They're awesome, and I keep one in the glove box of my car.  They're compact and handy to have.

 

https://www.amazon.com/MP-MOZZPAK-Vomit-Bags-Disposable/dp/B08SVWLZYH/ref=sr_1_5?crid=K03RAQK3IBUP&dchild=1&keywords=emesis+bags+disposable&qid=1629739982&sprefix=emesis+ba%2Caps%2C325&sr=8-5

These are the best.  Dh keeps one in his car....he is prone to being sick a lot.

[JFSinIL]

We have an old stock pot we use as the barf pot. With only two bathrooms here - just one up stairs by three bedrooms - no one can take over 50% of the toilets to be sick.

 

[Arcadia]

My kids and I are pukers so we are used to barf bags for car rides and other situations. We are good at dashing to the bathroom unfortunately. For us, barf bags are more convenient than buckets. 

[Corraleno]

After one particularly horrible night in which DS (~12 yrs old) tried to make to the bathroom and ended up puking all over the hall floor, bathroom floor, bathroom sink and IN THE BATHTUB (because the toilet seat was down and he "didn't have time to lift it"), I made a rule that kids had to use a trashcan lined with a plastic bag and should not attempt to make it to the bathroom even if they think they have enough time. I was not feeling well myself, and having to not only clean up the floor but clean chunks out of the sink and bathtub was not an experience I ever wanted to repeat.

I haven't had a bad stomach bug myself in more than a decade, but the last time I did I just camped on the bathroom floor for two days while alternating which end was in the toilet.

[kbutton]

1 hour ago, Terabith said:

How do you non bucket people handle things when they are simultaneously coming out of both ends?

This stage was usually short-lived because what was coming up wasn't passing through anymore after a certain point. Exception: food poisoning, and the one time we did this, we were both ill, and we were so glad to have two toilets. 

We're puke bucket people but haven't had to put this to the test in about 15 or 16 years. My younger son has never had a stomach bug, and he's 13. He would vomit (without warning, projectile, and all over the floor) if he was getting a migraine, but now he knows the other signs of a migraine to avoid the puking entirely (take ibuprofen when the aura comes).

If someone can make it to a toilet, that saves some steps, but they better take the bucket with them just in case. Some of us have little warning it's coming, and others of us have way too much warning. 

Our bathrooms have mostly been small with doors that opened inward, but we do have an oddly large 1/2 bath that might be somewhat comfy for camping out. 

[gardenmom5]

I give them a deep metal bowl - no plastic.

I once had my face planted in a bucket as it took three people to extract me from the car at the ER.   (if I didn't move, I was ok.   . .  1/4",  .. . . . . not. pretty.   They immediately took the rubbermaid bucket to disinfect it.)    they shot me full of drugs and sent me home.  (with more drugs)

[gardenmom5]

2 hours ago, hjffkj said:

I expect the person to have a bowl for emergencies if they aren't used to recognizing the signs that puke is coming so I better run to the toilet.  

sometimes, there isn't warning.  I'm used to being nauseated long before emptying my stomach.  (and wishing I could just get it over with)  But when I was pg with 2dd, I recall walking down the hall when the imminent sensation I was going to lose my lunch hit.  I RAN the three feet to the bathroom, and still barely made it.

[BakersDozen]

3 hours ago, wathe said:

bowl.  We have a designated "barf bucket".

To this day I cannot stand the sight of stainless steel mixing bowls - the nesting ones with the handles on the side. Those are what my mom used.

[JustEm]

48 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

sometimes, there isn't warning.  I'm used to being nauseated long before emptying my stomach.  (and wishing I could just get it over with)  But when I was pg with 2dd, I recall walking down the hall when the imminent sensation I was going to lose my lunch hit.  I RAN the three feet to the bathroom, and still barely made it.

Oh I know it can come that suddenly but on occasions it isn't like that one usually needs to learn the warning signs that puke is coming

[Pamela H in Texas]

I would use the bathroom regardless of what that meant. Rushing to trash can  might work also.  But for my little or special needs kids, I'd give a container if they were less likely to make it to the restroom (with the encouragement to make it to trash or restroom if they can).

 

ETA: for double ended issues, a trash bin with a liner bag will work

Edited August 23, 2021 by Pamela H in Texas

[Ditto]

If they can make it to the bathroom, awesome.  If not, then I have a "vomit bucket" available.

[Tap]

We use an old Tupperware juice pitcher. If they make it to the commode that is great, or even the kitchen sink with the garbage disposal......never the bathroom sink....I hate when they do that!!!!!!!

[wathe]

5 hours ago, BakersDozen said:

To this day I cannot stand the sight of stainless steel mixing bowls - the nesting ones with the handles on the side. Those are what my mom used.

Ha.  We use. A plastic juice pitcher.  Has a handle and the narrow tall shape prevents splash.  We don’t drink juice..... hopefully my kids won’t be traumatized by juice pitchers later in life 

[wathe]

1 minute ago, Tap said:

We use an old Tupperware juice pitcher. If they make it to the commode that is great, or even the kitchen sink with the garbage disposal......never the bathroom sink....I hate when they do that!!!!!!!

Great minds.......

[J-rap]

I lined their bed with a big towel and gave them the designated bowl.  As they got older, they'd rather make it to the bathroom, but if that didn't work, they knew they had the fall-back bowl.  🙂 

[SKL]

Camp out in or near the bathroom.

[SKL]

9 hours ago, Terabith said:

How do you non bucket people handle things when they are simultaneously coming out of both ends?

Plastic garbage bin in front of the toilet.

Thankfully, this has not happened to my kids so far.

[sbgrace]

It's great if a person makes it to the bathroom or even a trash can, but I never had that expectation. I line a bowl with a bag. Sick person takes it with him wherever he is.

Edited August 24, 2021 by sbgrace

[saraha]

9 hours ago, fraidycat said:

TMI.... seriously gross female issues referenced below. Read at your own risk. 
 

 

 

 

 

You have been warned!

 

As a teenager this was me when I got my period. The "hormone poisoning" and cramping was terrible, creating the "one end" and the pain was so bad I puked - "the other end". My flow was horrendously heavy, so I was also so weak and shaky that I could only walk about 5 steps before needing to sit to rest. I sat on the toilet with the puke pail on my lap and expelled from 3 orifices at once. This is what I was referring to above when I said I have camped in the bathroom on the cold floor. 

You are not alone, this was oldest dd until I convinced her birth control pills would help. Dh was like seriously, women should just expect to be completely I unable to function 1 or 2 days a month?!? I told him he’s an idiot. He agreed 😆

[saraha]

10 hours ago, Terabith said:

Fortunately (I guess), so far I am the only one stricken with this this time.  

I am SO Sorry 

[AbcdeDooDah]

Bowl next to them if they can't make it to the bathroom. Or don't want to. If they miss, I clean it up. Our barf bowl doubles as a popcorn bowl. 🍿

[hippymamato3]

15 hours ago, Scarlett said:

I can't get over people using a bowl.....we use a small plastic trash can and line with a couple of plastic bags.  But everyone prefers to make it to the toilet if possible.  

And yes, I have had both ends before and created a terrible mess in the bathroom.  I had been married about 2 weeks. It was horrible.  Dh wanted to come in and help me.  I hollered through the door, 'I don't know you well enough.'  

I would still say this after 17 years of marriage!! lol

 

[mom2scouts]

I prefer a bowl or bucket. I can't expect a sick person to always make it to the toilet in time and a bucket usually prevents having to clean up a mess on the floor.

[kristin0713]

Definitely a lined bucket or garbage can, although it's great if they can get to the bathroom. 

[Ausmumof3]

An old ice cream bucket is the go to round here.  How do you trash bag people dispose of the contents?