Throwing Up in Public

[va32h]

Anyone have a child vomit in public? Were people sympathetic or really annoyed with you?

Today we went to our local mall, which is an outdoor mall. My son (7) had complained of a stomach ache, and I thought it was just because it was lunchtime and he was hungry. So we went into a fast-food place....while waiting for our order, he got that look on his face and I knew he was going to throw up.

We ran as fast as we could to the back of the restaurant, but the one and only bathroom was occupied. The bathroom was located right next to the back door of the restaurant, so we just ran outside and my son threw up all over the sidewalk. Now this was not the front walk where most of the traffic is, but back by the parking lots.

Some passers by made some rude comments and gave us some glares - I'm sure it was totally gross to come upon someone throwing up, but I figured better outside than all over the floor of a restaurant where people were eating. One person did very obnoxiously point out that there were more public restrooms farther down in the mall, which I did know, but I really didn't think he could have held it that long.

It's not like I just left it there either - as soon as I could, I went back inside and told the manager, and he sent someone outside to hose off the sidewalk.

 

[Lars624]

It's a shame that people can be so rude....I'm sorry you had an experience with such insensitive people & I hope your DS is feeling better soon
My DS has gotten sick like that in public quite a few times......Pittsburgh airport.....Port Orleans Riverside.......& we've never had any comments that weren't sympathetic

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

Yep - my DS had strep throat and I took him into Rite-Aid to fill an rx for it. The doctor's office had faxed in the script before I arrived. When we got there they told me it would be at least 30 min. before it would be ready. WTH! they weren't even busy. About that time DS puked all over their waiting area by the pharmacy. I took him in to the bathroom and when he was done we left. I had the pharmacist send the rx to a Rite-Aid closer to our home. They really gave me dirty looks for DS puking on their floor - but hey, there is no reason why they couldn't have filled that for us in the 15 min. it took to drive there. I don't think I've been in there since...

 

[CF'er]

My DD9 used to have to throw up during meals routinely. She can almost throw-up at will. Most of the time I could get her to the restroom in time but sometimes not.

I don't remember anyone saying anything but I'm sure we got looks and rude comments behind our backs.

My heart goes out to you.

 

[nuttylawprofessor]

My little one barfed all over himself while he was sitting in his stroller in the grocery store. Not spit-up, full out hurl. I didn't notice it when it happened, it took a few minutes for me to realize something was amiss. I couldn't understand why I was getting all of these terrible looks. Then I started to smell something foul. I walked around the stroller and BLAMMO! I took little one to the bathroom, cleaned off the big stuff, then checked out with the groceries that were piled up on the bottom of the stroller. I'm sure people thought I was mental for checking out with the groceries that we had. The cashier commented that "your baby needs a shirt, he's freezing!" I couldn't help myself, I showed her my son's fouled shirt and said, "You better hurry up. I'm not sure how long until he blows again."

 

[Hannathy]

My DS threw up all over me, himself and the floor at the gate area in Detroit back when you had to take the shuttle bus to the plane days. He was about 14 mos and not one soul offered to help including the gate agent, in fact she said about 30 seconds after he had thrown up that she was closing the door and if I wanted to be on the plane I had to go, I asked for a paper towel she said again I'm closing the door very rudely , ignoring the fact that we both are dripping and there is a pile on the floor. So I'm carrying this baby covered in puke and me also covered in it while my 6 yr old grabs the diaper bag and her backpack and we drip out to the bus. Amid dirty looks. We smelled lovely and we sat on the bus for 5 minutes so it wasn't critical to board that instant that I couldn't have grabbed some baby wipes out of the bag.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

My boys have thrown up in MANY places. They all had sensitive gag reflexes and my youngest must have had motion sickness or something else going on because he threw up very easily. And yes, they threw up in restaurants, stores, etc, etc. I never had anyone make a snide comment and I remember one time years ago when one of my boys let loose in a Taco Bell and another customer came over and helped me clean things up. I was SO appreciative! Sorry that you encountered some people who made comments--you were doing the best you could!

 

[TinyLittleMouse]

I've vomited in public...when I was 12. We were at Six Flags and I was riding the Texas Chute-Out (a parachute drop ride) for the first time. When we got up to the very top, I realized how high we were, leaned forward over the lap bar and puked on whoever was below.


TLM

 

[Talking Hands]

My youngest DD threw-up at the entrance to MGM. Boy were we embarassed. Thank goodness for kind and efficient CMS who used the pink stuff and told us not to worry.

 

[Aidensmom]

My son has acid reflux, and though we have pretty good control over it, sometimes it acts up suddenly and he throws up out of nowhere. It's like a sudden "I have to throw up NOW" and he does within a minute. We don't always make it to a bathroom. He's thrown up in the bridal department of Macy's (it's right next to the bathroom) and in the middle of the walkway at Animal Kingdom, among other places. Its a mixed bag, about 50% are sympathetic, kind, and even helpful, the other half act like you are the worst mother to roam the earth.

 

[pospisil]

DS only did this once, and he was with DH at the time. I guess he was about 3 at the time. It was at a take-out only Dominos pizza place, and there were no other customers there. He said the people working there were really nice, he tried to clean it up, but they wouldn't let him, they were very sympathetic. I don't understand why one earth anyone would be rude about this. It's not like the poor kid does it on purpose.

 

[poohandwendy]

Aww, I hope he is feeling better. Throwing up is bad enough, but not too much fun when you are not in the comfort and privacy of your own home.

i have to tell you, I think your experience is sort of a common phenomenon. I remember many times, when working in retail stores, when someone threw up...people have a really strong negative reaction to it. I am not sure why? It's bizarre. Many people are sympathetic, (especially moms) but it's amazing and alarming how many people are down right hostile about it. Even when it is a child.

It made me want to scream at people who gave rude looks and made ignorant comments "Um, of course they would have preferred NOT to throw up right here/right now! I am sure their day is far more ruined than yours. How about some compassion people?!?"

sheesh!

I hope your son is feeling well and sorry you had to deal with ignorant people. Yes, it's no fun to witness vomiting. It's a whole lot more fun than being the one doing it or the parent having to deal with it.

I remember others I worked with compared notes about this and all had the same experiences. People can handle other illnesses like fainting- but bring body fluids into it and the sympathy seems to go right out the window. It's really wierd.

 

[MosMom]

DD threw up in her plate at the Norway princess breakfast. I apologized profusely & everyone was very kind. I can't imagine being rude to someone who is ill.

 

[LoraJ]

Maybe they don't mean to be rude. If I see or hear someone throw up it can make me physically ill where I feel like I want to puke too. My instant reaction will be to high tail it away from there so that I don't join in. I feel bad for the person, I really do, but I don't want to make it worse.

 

[va32h]

He's feeling better now. I think he just got a little carsick on the drive. I guess, to give them the benefit of the doubt, people outside the building wouldn't have known that the bathroom was occupied, so they didn't realize that we had made the effort to "do the right thing"!

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, since my own husband is very squeamish about any bodily fluid. But if he saw someone throw up, he'd just run away screaming like a little girl, not make snide remarks!

 

[jmskinner]

I can't believe people can be that rude when it is a child. It's not really something you can control.

My DS threw up on me on the plane back from Disney World. Couldn't get the brown bag out quick enough. I thought the flight attendants would kill us, but they were very helpful. I've learned, carry extra clothes onboard even on the way home.

And just recently we were headed into the bowling alley and he got sick in the entryway. Luckily they were able to just drag the large mat outside and hose it down. I felt so sorry for the kid that had to do it, but everyone was very nice about it.

 

[TwinsinCA]

I've had it happen a couple times, but the worst by far was the time we were on our way to WDW. We were on a layover at DFW and DD threw up in the gate area. I went to the bathroom to get her cleaned up and change her clothes. The women there were just wonderful about offering to help (I just asked someone to please get more plastic bags).

Then I went back to the gate where my DH and other DD were waiting. Turns out another passanger in the gate area saw her get sick and went to the gate agent and demanded we not be allowed to board our flight. The gate agent was clearly annoyed that she even had to bring this up to us. But we had to wait until she cleared it with someone else before we'd be allowed to fly that day. I understand how someone wouldn't want a sick kid on a plane. But that would have effectively stranded us in Dallas. It wasn't as though we lived there and could just take her home. Had this happened before our first flight out of L.A. -- we would have done just that.

They did let us board and I found out later another child had gotten sick in the gate area prior to departure (no idea if they were nearly denied boarding as well) and yet a third child threw up all over themselves during the flight. I passed that poor dad in a bathroom trying to clean up his child and I told him we just went through that and he had my sympathy.

FWIW my daughter didn't get sick again and was back to her old self by the time we landed in Orlando. I have no idea what set her off. It was just one of those things.

 

[MoniqueU]

Kids throw up all the time, I thought we were going to share our adults drunk in public heaving stories.

 

[julie_yet]

While at a convention during the lunch break my brother, who was 5 at the time, started to get sick. Since it was so crowded he never would've made it to a restroom anyway so my mom held up a paper bag for him to aim for. For the record we come from a long line of projectile vomiters. That being said, he threw up over the bag, hitting my mother's sandaled feet and splashing up her dress. The second round he threw up in the bag. So my mom put's that bag into another bag to prevent seepage.

Now comes the task of walking through the crowds in vomit shoes with a bagful to the restrooms. It's slow going and the double bag trick is starting to fail, and "Excuse me" isn't working so my mom yells at the top of her lungs "I'm carrying vomit here!". It was like the parting of the Red Sea.

Nobody made any nasty comments because I think they were all glad it wasn't them.

 

[Katy Belle]

Oh my...it has happened to us many times. We usually get sympathy, but often get grossed out reactions(fair enough) and occasionally rude reactions. The worse one was in a convenience store in the middle of Oklahoma. We were driving from TX to Nebraska and my oldest son, probably 7 at the time, complained of a stomach ache. We didn't think much of it, but made a stop anyway. He HURLED right in the middle of the store, walking to the bathroom. It just hit him, he didn't know it was coming. It was horrible, think splatter. We felt bad and did what we could to help clean up. Some people that were walking in the door at the time turned and walked out I may have too in the same situation.

We fly a lot and two of my boys get airsick occasionally. Usually people are helpful or at least polite. One very nice man gave me his water bottle for my son to have a drink. I was desperate, so I let him drink the germs of a stranger!!!! I knew if he didn't clear his mouth he'd start all over. By the way....flight attendants are NO help if it happens during landing, which it always does!

Hugs to you You did great to get him outside!
Katy