By: Blonde One
WARNING! DO NOT READ if you are eating, drinking, thinking of eating, thinking of drinking!
On a recent trip to Glastonbury with a coach full of excitable 11 year olds I had the misfortune to be required to ponder the humble sick bag. It seems that when on a trip it is the First Aider who is responsible for any type of sickness, although I am fairly confident that any person, first aid trained or not, could deal with this horrible situation. Over the years, I have had to deal with it on numerous occasions, so I suppose I could actually add it my list of other questionable talents!?! This time, however, was a bit of a revelation as I realised that there are several types of sick bag. Let me explain … In an emergency the humble supermarket carrier bag will do, although there is an obvious problem caused by the tiny little holes that are designed to prevent suffocation. The next step up is the sac mal de mer. These are perfect for the job except they are a bit tricky to deal with when used. I have made 2 very exciting discoveries in the sick bag department. The first is a plastic bag with a draw string top that contains an absorbant piece of wadding inside. Almost perfect! The perfect solution however comes in a tiny little pack and contains a pair of gloves and 2 bright yellow bags with a sticky sealable top.
It is a fine line, creating an interesting blog without making you lovely readers feel the need for a sick bag yourselves. I can only apologise if I crossed the line!
One head I remember used to tell all susceptible children, with great confidence, that they couldn’t possibly be sick if they were sitting on a pile of newspaper. It usually worked. However, as they get older, faith dims!!!
As an ex – seasoned teacher, I can offer my on -the- bus solution to this problem. A small amount of cat litter of the wood chip variety in a plastic container (I had round margarine tubs) with a few drops of disinfectant and a folded piece of kitchen paper usually means that the user can control the vomit and contain it safely! I never travelled on a coach with kids without a few of these prepared – in fact in the depths of my garden room there is still a box labelled “Mrs M’s Useful Box” ans guess what was inside…? There was one youth who had be en particularly greedy with the raw carrot; when he got off the bus he asked my where he should put the box. I am glad I checked later as the box he had put back with the others was still warm! Yes. I did later check all the other boxes in my “Useful Box”!
Happy travelling! Blonde2Mum