Stay home from work you selfish nimrod.

michak86

So there is this lady at my work, she is kind of new. She has had NO voice the past three days. I am (like so many other mommy-to-be's on here) really not wanting to get sick. There is another pregnant woman in my office. How selfish and rude is it for this lady to be coming to work spreading her germs on the copier, printer, door handles etc. when there are people here who really can't afford to get sick!!! STAY HOME IF YOU'RE SICK! vent over.

kciriello

liv97

I don't know, I think I disagree (although I know most people agree with you).  Not everyone has enough sick time, and can't always afford to take an unpaid day.  Also, at least in my office,  taking a sick day is seen as something reserved for when you're on death's door - it's just not done. 

I think you should do everything you can to stay away from her and wash your hands a lot, but I don't think it's reasonable to expect people to stay home from work everytime they are feeling under the weather.  I certainly don't do it, and don't expect others to. 

epphd

Generally I agree with you, but hoarseness/loss of voice doesn't always=sick. It can also be a problem like spasmodic dysphonia.  My mom's voice disappeared literally overnight for over 2 years.  Turned out acid reflux had damaged her vocal cords.

Also, laryngitis isn't terribly contageous, and she could have some sort of allergy induced issue.  If she isn't sneezing/coughing/etc, try to just avoid her, wash your hands, and exercise caution.

adriennevla

If she's new, even if she's sick, she probably doesn't want to be taking sick days already, since it kind of looks bad when you start a job and are having to stay home at the start.

JessikaLyn

I get about 50 hours of paid sick time a year. However, I get guilted pretty hardcore if I need to take a sick day to the point where I try not to take them. My ob directed me to go the the ER immediately one day for a problem I was having and my boss looked at me and asked: "Can't it wait until after you're off work?" If I'm not dying on the floor, I'm expected to be at work. I hate my job :-(

larsos

I can totally understand where you're coming from. I had a meeting with my boss yesterday and she went on for about ten minutes about how she felt like she might be getting the flu. I told her if she came to work with the flu, I would be working from home until she was better. Then we both laughed. Then I said: No, seriously.

On the other hand, I have worked at places where taking sick days is completely frowned upon. If you're concerned, I would suggest taking it up with your manager/supervisor. They can't really fault you for it and may be able to bring it up with this new employee so she doesn't "feel bad" for taking time off.

Goldiefrocks2

epphd:

Generally I agree with you, but hoarseness/loss of voice doesn't always=sick. It can also be a problem like spasmodic dysphonia.  My mom's voice disappeared literally overnight for over 2 years.  Turned out acid reflux had damaged her vocal cords.

Also, laryngitis isn't terribly contageous, and she could have some sort of allergy induced issue.  If she isn't sneezing/coughing/etc, try to just avoid her, wash your hands, and exercise caution.

That's true but some people don't know what they have and/or don't differentiate well between infections. The volunteer in our lab who thought she had laryngitis and then a cold for 3 weeks actually was eventually diagnosed with H1N1 the day I arrived back to work after a trimester of bedrest. They had to disinfect the whole lab and after finding that out I didn't come back to work for 2 weeks to make sure no one else in the lab was developing it too. 

I also don't trust people who have been sick to know when they are no longer contagious unless they have seen a doctor to confirm it because I have been burnt one too many times, catching the flu from people at work who thought they were just fine. And I am a germophobe, following all precautions of hand washing and such but there is nothing you can do except hold your breath and run when it comes to airborne infections. But cramped elevators with people sneezing and coughing without covering their mouths are unavoidable.

epphd

Goldiefrocks2:

epphd:

Generally I agree with you, but hoarseness/loss of voice doesn't always=sick. It can also be a problem like spasmodic dysphonia.  My mom's voice disappeared literally overnight for over 2 years.  Turned out acid reflux had damaged her vocal cords.

Also, laryngitis isn't terribly contageous, and she could have some sort of allergy induced issue.  If she isn't sneezing/coughing/etc, try to just avoid her, wash your hands, and exercise caution.

That's true but some people don't know what they have and/or don't differentiate well between infections. The volunteer in our lab who thought she had laryngitis and then a cold for 3 weeks actually was eventually diagnosed with H1N1 the day I arrived back to work after a trimester of bedrest. They had to disinfect the whole lab and after finding that out I didn't come back to work for 2 weeks to make sure no one else in the lab was developing it too. 

I also don't trust people who have been sick to know when they are no longer contagious unless they have seen a doctor to confirm it because I have been burnt one too many times, catching the flu from people at work who thought they were just fine. And I am a germophobe, following all precautions of hand washing and such but there is nothing you can do except hold your breath and run when it comes to airborne infections. But cramped elevators with people sneezing and coughing without covering their mouths are unavoidable.

OK, that is just ludicrous - decontaminating the lab?  She had the flu - spray some 70% EtOH around and call it good.  You make it sound like a hazmat disaster   It's the flu - not ebola.  The transmission rate even in close family is only 18%.

https://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/surveillanceqa.htm

What is the secondary attack rate of the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus in the household setting?

The secondary attack rate reflects the risk of someone being infected with a disease by an ill close contact (for example, a family member, classmate or co-worker). Epidemiologic field studies in several states found a secondary attack rate in household contacts for acute-respiratory-illness (ARI) was 18 % to 19% and 8% to 12% for influenza-like-illness (ILI). ARI is defined as two or more of the following four symptoms: fever, cough, sore throat, and rhinorrhea (runny nose). ILI is defined as fever and cough or sore throat. In general, these household secondary attack rates are slightly lower than what occurs in seasonal influenza. The use of antiviral medications (which can reduce viral shedding) to treat cases or prevent influenza in household contacts may have decreased secondary attack rates.)

****

I understand being cautious, but that's just silly! (and yes, I understand labs - I did my grad work and postdoc in cell bio, and DH is an immunology PI)  I guess whatever helps you sleep at night, but not everyone who sniffles or coughs is carrying TB or H1N1.

Goldiefrocks2

epphd:

Goldiefrocks2:

epphd:

Generally I agree with you, but hoarseness/loss of voice doesn't always=sick. It can also be a problem like spasmodic dysphonia.  My mom's voice disappeared literally overnight for over 2 years.  Turned out acid reflux had damaged her vocal cords.

Also, laryngitis isn't terribly contageous, and she could have some sort of allergy induced issue.  If she isn't sneezing/coughing/etc, try to just avoid her, wash your hands, and exercise caution.

That's true but some people don't know what they have and/or don't differentiate well between infections. The volunteer in our lab who thought she had laryngitis and then a cold for 3 weeks actually was eventually diagnosed with H1N1 the day I arrived back to work after a trimester of bedrest. They had to disinfect the whole lab and after finding that out I didn't come back to work for 2 weeks to make sure no one else in the lab was developing it too. 

I also don't trust people who have been sick to know when they are no longer contagious unless they have seen a doctor to confirm it because I have been burnt one too many times, catching the flu from people at work who thought they were just fine. And I am a germophobe, following all precautions of hand washing and such but there is nothing you can do except hold your breath and run when it comes to airborne infections. But cramped elevators with people sneezing and coughing without covering their mouths are unavoidable.

OK, that is just ludicrous - decontaminating the lab?  She had the flu - spray some 70% EtOH around and call it good.  You make it sound like a hazmat disaster   It's the flu - not ebola.  The transmission rate even in close family is only 18%.

https://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/surveillanceqa.htm

What is the secondary attack rate of the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus in the household setting?

The secondary attack rate reflects the risk of someone being infected with a disease by an ill close contact (for example, a family member, classmate or co-worker). Epidemiologic field studies in several states found a secondary attack rate in household contacts for acute-respiratory-illness (ARI) was 18 % to 19% and 8% to 12% for influenza-like-illness (ILI). ARI is defined as two or more of the following four symptoms: fever, cough, sore throat, and rhinorrhea (runny nose). ILI is defined as fever and cough or sore throat. In general, these household secondary attack rates are slightly lower than what occurs in seasonal influenza. The use of antiviral medications (which can reduce viral shedding) to treat cases or prevent influenza in household contacts may have decreased secondary attack rates.)

****

I understand being cautious, but that's just silly! (and yes, I understand labs - I did my grad work and postdoc in cell bio, and DH is an immunology PI)  I guess whatever helps you sleep at night, but not everyone who sniffles or coughs is carrying TB or H1N1.

Excuse me for using the term decontamination but that's what they told me they did. They probably did just "spray some 70% EtOH around" to get rid of any contaminants. Is the word "cleaned" better for you?

My lab is at UCLA hospitals so the hospital took it very seriously. Although my lab is in psychiatric, it's bad enough that hospitals already house sick people so they don't need H1N1 to exascerbate things. Furthermore, I stayed home at my doctor's recommendation for two weeks until all was clear and I am a postdoc so they don't need me there every day anyway. My mentor didn't think there was a reason to risk the baby when I could work from home and you may call that silly but we don't. Lastly, no one said everyone who sniffles or coughs has TB or H1N1. I don't know where you read that. I was talking about a diagnosed case of H1N1 and the fact that not everyone is as smart as you to self diagnose laryngitis. So there is no need to get snarky.