When sickness strikes we need that certain someone

Sarah and Martin.

It's fair to say that a lot of people have recently needed that special someone's help to get through the effects of the gastro outbreak.

It's certainly a tough thing to deal with alone and well done to those who did, in fact, battle it single-handedly.

It's a natural reaction when you hear about someone who has a stomach bug to cast your mind back to the last time you were sick. We got chatting about this and it seemed common that most people need a particular person around them to get them through it.

Recently we visited Room 7 at Napier Intermediate School, part of our weekly school visits with a competition we call Term 3 Freebies.

We sit down and have a chat with the kids, they can ask us anything about our jobs and we round off the visit with giving them some cool, free stuff.

We also record and play back on air their answers to a random question. After the recent wave of sickness in Hawke's Bay, last week the question was "When you're sick, who's the best person to look after you?"

Here are the results according to Room 7.

Mums topped the list, with just under 40 per cent nominating them for reasons ranging from "because she just makes me feel better by being there" to "because she's awesome".

Thirty per cent nominated dads as best to help them through "because he makes mean chicken soup" and "he tells me to rub some concrete into it".

Fifteen per cent need their pet to make them feel better. The remainder wanted best friends and one child needed Stan Walker! An interesting insight into who or what comforts you the most when you're feeling terrible.

This week we also brought up the topic of sickness etiquette: what not to do when you've been ill or when you're hearing about someone's nasty experiences.

For those who were sick, it's important not to give all the details and make sure you keep the personal problems personal. The number one offence for those who didn't catch anything is, upon hearing of someone's illness, immediately reflecting on the time that you were ill and implying that it was much worse than what they're going through!

Sarah has been sick the past few days but hopes to be back at work today. I'm going to remind her of the etiquette before the show.

- Don't miss Martin Good and Sarah Van Der Kley on The Hits Hawke's Bay from 6am to 9am Monday to Friday.