Everyone has a cold at work

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Since September there seems to be an everlasting epidemic of bad colds and coughs going around at my work. One worker gets it, then another, then another, then when they're finally over it they all get it again and again, and it's been going on like this over 4 months. We don't work with the public.

Everyone has been taking covid tests and are all testing negative, so it isn't that. And other viruses do exist besides covid. I remember 3 or 4 people had a bad cold before Christmas and it's after Christmas and they still all have the same cold.

I'm in a huge panic because I really do not want to catch it. I've been lucky so far but if it's continuous like this then it's inevitable that I will catch it sooner or later . I don't fancy having a sh***y cold and a cough for weeks on end. I can't stand it. I get enough trouble with my sinuses as it as, and having a cold is just disaster for me.
No matter what tips I follow to help me sleep with a cold, I still cannot sleep, and then I feel too groggy to come into work. But there seems to be a thing at work where if you take a day off with a cold you're called a wimp, but really, I cannot function mentally when I have a cold, and I don't think it's wimpy to stay off work with a cold anyway. If they did take a few days off sick then they might actually start to recover.

I feel like staying away from work because I really don't want to catch this cold that they've all got that lasts several weeks. But I won't be allowed to do that, and I don't want to cry wolf (pretending I have a cold when I don't). Is it scientifically inevitable that I will catch it, or is it possible to not catch it? I haven't caught it so far, in the 4-5 months it's been repeatedly going around. I think they're going to be catching it off each other for the rest of their lives.

I hate being a human sometimes.

Stock up on the Lemsip..

Lemsip doesn't always clear the sinuses during a cold. That's why I hate colds, nothing can really prevent your sinuses from being inflamed and really you've just got to let it run its course.

But if I had a cold that lasted 3 weeks I'd probably die from lack of sleep. I remember the last time I had a cold (back in 2019) I literally didn't sleep for 3 whole days. The cold was too distracting. And I took lemsips.

Maybe some Vicks vaporub on you chest and a nearby window open to help you breathe, and a glass of water and a box of tissues on hand.

If I get a cold, I'll be thankful that at least it's all I have instead of the 10 billion and one other illnesses right now that are much more deadly.

But then again, if the cold is because my immunity is weakened from age, stress, isolation and 19 kajillion other things, it might "open the door" for worse infections, one right after another.

influenza, covid, pneumonia, sars, bronchitis, norovirus, freaking ebola, even. I hate being a human because humans are pathetically weak and delicate, and nothing makes me feel more human than being sick.

We are in the middle of summer and everyone is sick at work.

I had a cold just before Christmas and then I got another one after christmas I had a covid test and it came back negative.

It sucks having a cold in summer

I am a bit of a germaphobic, but only virus germs (viralphobic?) If someone announces they have a cold and I'm unavoidably close to them I get so paranoid.

I'm wearing a mask today at work, although I do feel embarrassed like I'm being silly. Nobody's said anything but they're probably thinking I'm overreacting. Also I worry that I'm offending people by wearing a mask but I'm not, it's just that I don't want to suffer the same recurring cold they seem to have, and I don't want my partner catching anything off me. This cold seems to be a nasty cold and a bad cough. It has turned into flu with one of them and he's been off for two days - and he's never the sort to take sick days.

My boyfriend has had the flu vaccine so hopefully he'll be more protected if I do catch it and pass it on to him.

I can understand you not wanting to catch a cold, the flu, or whatever. You work in relatively close quarters.....so I guess a mask would be appropriate in your case.

I'm lucky. At the library, I'm not really in close contact with people most of the time. I don't feel I have to wear a mask when somebody has a cold.

I hope it isn't disrespectful of me to be wearing a facemask but I like to avoid catching a cold if I can help it. Some of the guys at work are unhygienic and don't put their hand over their mouth or wash their hands. They're coughing and sneezing and spluttering all over the place and I'm in the midst of it.

I'm still wearing a mask at work and on the bus - it seems only sensible, given the number of chances I have to catch and spread stuff there. (Also, this seems to have dealt with the severe sinusitus I had in 2018-19.) It's amazing, though, how many grown adults feel the need to cough as theatrically as bloody possible when they see me.

Are people still wearing masks at work? Could help.

Do the basic things covidtimes taught us. Keep 6' from people, wash your hands, don't touch your face.

You already ate some garlic recently. Keep that up. Add oil of oregano to your arsenal. I've found that at the slightest touch of a sore throat coming on if I down a dropper (or even half, or less than) of oregano oil 2-3x/day for a few days I can kill it off before it takes hold and has a chance to ruin anything.

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No for supporting trump. Because doing so is deplorable.

I am on tenterhooks about it though. I'm just worrying that if I catch it I may not be able to get rid of it like they can't. Taking a few days off sick is probably the best treatment for it, but if I catch it and take days off sick then I'll look like a wet weep. But I don't think it is weak to take time off sick with a cold. It stops you spreading it around for one thing, and if you give yourself enough rest then you'll likely recover quicker. I'm the lowest paid at my work because I'm a cleaner, but the others are engineers on a good salary so they can afford to take time some sick days. We're lucky to work in quite a relaxed environment where if we're short-staffed we're not running around trying to do the work of two or three people.

I thought I was coming down with it this morning. My chest felt a little tight and my head hurt, but after waking up from an afternoon nap I felt all right and my chest wasn't tight any more. So maybe, thanks to the healthy diet of mine, my immune system is in full gear. But there's only so much my immune system can fight off before it becomes exhausted, and if these colds carry on going round at work on a continuous loop then sooner or later I'm going to catch it.