Believe me, IT IS FERAL!!!
When I wrote this post about the job everyone hates doing; there is one that is far worse; a job that tops any job regarding parenting.
That job would have to be tending to sick and vomiting children in the early hours of the morning and throughout the entire night. This IS something that all parents have had to deal with sometime or another.
We have all been woken by a moaning, yelling, vile sound that echoes through the house; or having the older child come to you in the dead of the night covered from head to toe. And believe me, IT IS FERAL!!!
Normally the mother is the one to wake first and deal with the onslaught of the night. Of course fathers can and do play their part in helping too (mine is one of those men ~ he sees to the child, while I clean part of the mess).
Vomiting and tummy bugs are one of those things that can turn you right off wanting to be a parent; yet the ironic part of this is; one is not aware of this until AFTER having children!
If both parents are on hand to help with the above predicament; here are a couple of suggestions on how to tend to vomiting children.
Tend to the child
- Deal with the child first before the mess.
- If they are old enough to to be left alone in the bathroom, strip them from head to toe (trying not to get covered yourself) and run them a warm bath or shower. This will calm them down as well as remove any lingering smells.
- While in the bath, give them a glass of water, also wash their face and their hair too.
- Dry, dress and keep them warm.
- Place them in an area that is free of carpet, with a bucket while their room and the mess is being tended too.
Clean the feral mess
- Depending where they were sick; and if all over their bedding, there is nothing else to do other than strip the beds, even if it means the blankets, quilts and pillows as well. (It is also hard to avoid the feeling of being sick while doing this).
- Don’t leave the bedding to sit overnight in your laundry; doing this will not only smell the room out (there nothing worse than dried up vomit) but will also leave the germs and ‘bug’ in the open.
- Hot rinse all the bedding and soiled clothes, then either place into washing machine on a HOT WATER cycle (if clean enough) or soak in a sink of HOT water with Nappy Soaker over night ready to machine wash first thing in the morning.
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If on carpets; use rubber gloves or place your hand in a plastic bag to pick-up or clean off the floor (of course dry-retching is part of this process) sponge it off, then make a paste of water and bi-cab soda and place a good amount onto the mess and leave overnight. You can place an old towel over the top to avoid walking on it (see this video I found on youtube), and deal with it in the morning.
- If on hard floors, clean as described and mopping must be done.
- Wipe all areas down and spray with a cleaning disinfectant.
- Spray either Bosistos Eucalyptus Spray or Glen 20 etc all over the room, mattress and floors.
- Remake the bed and cover the pillow and top half of the bottom sheet with some old towels.
- Re-spray the pillow and sheets with more Bosistos/Glen 20.
- Don’t forget to give the child a bucket to place beside their new pillow.
Don’t be alarmed if you return to bed feeling rather ill now as well; this may or may not be a sign; however I recommended you also grab a bucket beside your bed just in case!
Be assured that you may need to take an extra shower or two yourself during the night; sometimes it can not be avoided.
Prepare to be washing for the entire next day (if more than one child is ill); in most cases your child will be sick during a week of rain.
There are lots of ideas found on google on how to stop or get rid of vomiting; yet a mother knows best. In this household we do and try the following:
- Drink freshly squeezed lemon juice – it will settle the acidic stomach and helps stop the vomiting (truly it does work).
- Coca Cola is also known to help stop vomiting and kills germs – it will also settle the stomach and bring back the energy and sugars one has lost ~ (it may be the only thing that will stay down) so drink up!
- While sticking your finger down the back of the throat might help rid the body (if it works), please only try this at home.
- Dry crackers and toast are a good meal to start back on; however do not allow dairy until the vomiting has stopped…otherwise go back up and read the above again.
- Crying in a corner will not help the situation (if you may feel like doing this); try to keep calm and soldier on – it will END!
So the next time the feral bug sweeps through your house, perhaps you might come back here for a little advice (or humour on the subject). Do you have any further tips to share? Please comment below; otherwise I certainly hope I haven’t jinx your household after reading this post.
Meanwhile, I hope you don’t need a bucket.
