Working While Sick

If your office is like mine, there are quite a few people at this very moment sniffling, coughing, wheezing, and otherwise sharing their cold germs with co-workers. It's flu season and, while I hope you got your flu shot and are protected from the flu, sadly there is no protection from the common cold. Yes, there are the preventative steps of isolation, hand washing, and wearing a facemask but no shot or pill will kill the cold virus that gets past these barriers.

Ideally you would stay home and rest when sick but you might not have that choice. If must work, here are 7 tips for working while sick from the blog Mind Your Decisions.

1. Get as much rest as you can. Get to bed early while sick.

2. Reschedule meetings and phone calls that you conduct. The idea is that you want look and feel your best when making a business presentation or conducting business. I would argue that you should not be in a small room with others when sick. Use the phone instead.

3. Work in short shifts.  You'll tire quickly when sick so work in short bursts and try to recuperate in between.

4. Do mindless tasks. Now is not the time for accounting or detailed work; you'll make way too many careless mistakes. Catch up on email, clean the desk, plan future assignments.

5. Use Home remedies to feel better:  soup, tea, healthy foods.

6. Ask for help. Delegate

7. Be considerate of co-workers.

"Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, throw the tissue in the trash after using it, and wash your hands frequently. And do not share your food or drink!"

Bottom Line

For remedies that work and those that don't check out the Mayo Clinic at www.mayoclinic.com/health/cold-remedies/ID00036

Time for Flu Shots

“Chain letters are the postal equivalent of intestinal flu: you get it and pass it along to your friends”
-Bob Garfield

A friendly reminder, get your flu shot! Many health plans cover the cost and some pharmacies like CVS will have low cost flu shoot events. Having the flu is nothing to sneeze at. During a typical year in the United States, 20,000 to 50,000 persons die as a result of influenza viral infection. About 5-10% of hospitalizations for influenza lead to fatal outcome in adults.

The flu is like a super-bully of a cold. There is extreme exhaustion and total misery. I came down with the flu at a Square Dance Convention in Vermont. Then my wife and a traveling companion got it the next day. Fortunately his wife did not get sick and drove us all home. There is no way those of us who were sick were in any condition to drive.

Bottom Line

If you're still not sure if you have the flu, here's a comparison of symptoms with the common cold.

Cold Symptoms
Slow onset.
No prostration.
Fever Headache is rare.
Runny nose, Sneezing.
Mild Fatigue.
Cough, chest discomfort.
Sore Throat.

Flu Symptoms
Swift, severe onset.
Prominent Prostration.
Flushed, hot moist skin.
102-104 degree temp.
Chills, body aches.
Extreme fatigue,
can last 2-3 weeks.
Cough, sore throat.

Zinc for Colds?

“A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold”-Ogden Nash

According to the Archives of Otolaryngology (try saying that 3 times fast) a recent clinical trial has found that zinc nasal gels and sprays were ineffective in preventing or reducing the duration of the common cold. Moreover zinc applied to the nasal cavity can lead to a loss of smell, possibly permanent.

An earlier study that showed that zinc therapies reduce the severity of a cold was funded by the makers of the medicine used in the study. So perhaps there was a bit of bias?

It's important to know that homeopathic products that treat less serious illness, such as the common cold, can be sold over the counter and are exempt from "the rigorous premarket approval process" of the FDA.

Bottom Line

Be very careful of any "herbal medicine" or homeopathic drug sold over the counter. See my blog from last year about Dangerous Diet Pills.