If you contracted the H1N1 flu virus, would you go to work while contagious?

[LoZoccolo]

[safeinOhio]

Hey, I'm retired, but I'd think about

going to a couple of tea parties.

[dsc]

1. I voted no but I have paid sick days if I didn't and were faced with

the choice of going while sick or not paying my bills I am unsure it would be as easy a decision.

[havocmom]

2. Since it is pretty much just the hospitalized and dead who are being tested

how would I know if I had that particular strain?

Personally, I am a firm believer in people staying home when sick. But I do understand the realities of a lot of peoples' lives. Too many don't get sick time and are barely surviving paycheck to paycheck already. Too many have employers looking to keep them in fear of losing their jobs.

Our society makes us sicker.

edited for typo

[bettyellen]

7. the regular flu isn't going around yet, and this one heavily leans toward respiratory symptoms +

exhaustion/ muscle aches + fever. not so much from the nausea or chills. I got it form a coworker who said she had a respiratory infection, a fever and aches. Doh!

[havocmom]

29. Your description of H1N1 sounds amazingly like the flu I had four years ago

They all do the fever, aches, respiratory thing. Since most don't get tested, it seems rather a bit speculative to say everything now is H1N1 and other flu isn't going around. Hells bells, half the viruses one looks up will say 'flu-like symptoms'. Assumptions without testing seem rather iffy and unscientific.

People in my area have been dealing with flu for months now and only one case was tested and confirmed H1N1.

Sorry, I'm from Missouri and old skepticism dies hard ;)

[Ms. Toad]

33. Go to the CDC site and see the statistics.

Very few routine tests are being done (to confirm H1N1). There is little point - it is costly and takes a week to confirm, and by that time either it has gotten very serious or you are nearly over it. They are testing a sampling of people.

Of which test positive for the flu, they are overwhelmingly Type A (which includes H1H1) 99.9% v. .1%. They do not subtype all samples (79.5% were sub-typed - 20.5% were not)- Of the Type A strains they attempt to subtype, a small percentage can't be sub-typed (.3%), and an even smaller percentage were something other than H1N1(.1%); the rest were H1N1 for the week of Nov 8-14 (the week I had it). In sum: Of the strains they were able to specifically identify, 99.83% were H1N1 (2468/2472). It isn't really assumptions without testing - it is the extrapolation of the testing being done to the population of people as a whole.

Flu is flu, basically. There are some subtle differences (in my experience):

Very rapid transmission - I was exposed around 10 PM on Thursday by someone who was still asymptomatic - and I had symptoms by 9 AM on Saturday (and full blown flu by 3 PM Saturday). My daughter (who was asymptomatic on Thursday when I picked her up from college to take her to the airport) had a fever by Friday afternoon.

Very easy transmission - the exposure consisted of a quick hug, a keyboard shared enough to send one e-mail, and two car rides together. No shared drinking glasses, food, face to face breathing, or other close contact.

Very high fever that is hard to break. I ran a fever of 103-104 for three days. Even on a double dose of ibuprofen the fever only dropped to 102. I haven't had a fever that high for more than an hour or two since college (and I get the flu every other year or so), and normally when my temperature gets to 102 or so taking ibuprofen drops the fever to around 99 pretty easily.

[havocmom]

37. I get several CDC updates a day

But, with so few tests done, there is more speculation and guessing. Since they recommend not testing, it seems just sorta unscientific to say the count is such and such.

[Ms. Toad]

46. I agree as to predicting overall numbers -

That isn't what I was addressing. I was addressing this issue you raised: "it seems rather a bit speculative to say everything now is H1N1 and other flu isn't going around"

The tests they are doing pretty well establish that if you have the flu right now, chances are nearly 100% that what you have is H1N1 (99.83% in the week they last tested). No other flu is going around - if it was, the sampling of tests they are performing would show that.

[MrSlayer]

3. Probably. I have to be near dying to miss work.

Fortunately, I very rarely get sick. Maybe once in the past 15 years. I've never had the flu. Hell, I never even get colds.

[HughMoran]

25. So you'd endanger the health of others just to show how tough you are

wow.

[MrSlayer]

64. No, I need to get paid.

You don't get sick days in construction. But as I said, I never get sick so it doesn't really matter.

[BlooInBloo]

4. Almost certainly, since the odds of me knowing I have it are slim to none.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

15. You can't read a thermometer then I guess?

[BlooInBloo]

17. I'm still looking for the notch on it that reads "swine flu"...

Possibly your sooperdooper thermo is better than mine.

It's all pretty irrelevant anyway, since I haven't felt sick a day in my life (assuming hangovers don't count).

Some might also think the ubiquity of symptom-free contagiousness might also be worth noting.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

18. Since you lack any experience, how can you possibly think that you could have the flu and not know?

[MiniMe]

5. Unfortunately, you are infectious before you come down with it

[Electric Monk]

44. That's true, from what I've read. Also, for a couple days still after being symptom free, too.

:shrug:

[Ian David]

6. Only long enough to sneeze on the phone of the person who wouldn't give me sick leave. n/t

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

16. For real, Ian. I'd breathe all over his/her keyboard to boot. LOL!

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. Depends on whether or not I like my co-workers

:evilgrin:

[ret5hd]

9. I don't know. Where do you work?

[elocs]

10. Unfortunately there are millions of American workers who do not have a choice.

They have no sick days and not working means the pay is lost and even a risk of losing their job in this economy. Those who are able to stay home when sick should appreciate that luxury that other workers do not have.

[stray cat]

24. or those able to get immunized should take advantage of the opportunity as well

[varelse]

11. No

I don't need the death or miscarriage of a pregnant woman on my head. Not to mention, the downing of most of an office full of busy people for a couple weeks. Wish my co-workers had felt the same way (still coughing) :(

[glowing]

12. Honestly, I might now know I have the swine flu.. It is flu season..

AND as all of the flu's I've had.. if depends on my abiliy to be verticle for 8hrs.. If I can't, I wouldn't go in.. But sick time is a ridiculous notion in our company... Its running on shoe strings.

[Coyote_Bandit]

13. Ummmm......

I haven't seen a fucking doctor in nearly 15 years. If I contracted the H1N1 flu I doubt I'd know it - unless I became very ill and had to seek medical treatment. A few sniffles, some mild upper respiratory smptoms, a bit of a cough are not stopping me and keeping me in. I'll stay in if I am aware that I am running a temperature.

Work? What the hell is that? There are no jobs to be had around here.....

[KT2000]

14. Had the swine flu and did

go to work. Did not know that is what I had. I eventually developed pneumonia but before that I still had energy and just bronchial irritation so it did not occur to me NOT to go to work.

[ddeclue]

19. Given that my employers never give me paid sick leave and won't let me telecommute damn straight I'l

be there!

I took an actual day off due to illnes (perhaps H1N1) earlier this fall and was sick with flu like symptoms for the better part of three weeks over all. I only took that day off because I was not safe to drive to work because I was so sick. Of course I got dinged for a a days pay - about $400 - never mind that over all in that two week period I worked 80 hours, that was their policy.

Of course the management at the same time was very much paranoid (sanitizer everywhere, memos about coughing..blah blah) about getting sick and other workers getting sick yet their pay policy really left me no other choice and clearly other people were coming down with similar illnesses - I didn't actually start it though, it was my supervisor who apparently brought the bug back from a convention in Atlanta.

Being a contract engineer, I had no medical coverage and even if I was direct, the deductible is so high that it isn't worth it to go to the doctor unless limbs are severed and arteries are spurting.

Hopefully my new job will work out better in that regard.

Really we need to start thinking about incentivizing telecommuting in this country. It has SO many advantages.

[Island Blue]

20. From what I understand (from someone who likely

had H1N1 week before last) you're lucky if you can get out of bed, never mind going to work for the purpose of infecting your co-workers. Of course I call bullshit on anyone who says they had the flu (no matter what strain) but that they were still able to function on any level other than getting out of bed to go to the bathroom.

[ezgoingrl]

21. I did get it and I stayed home, except for the day that I noticed

I was getting sick. I walked into Wal-Mart(my only choice for groceries etc, sorry) anyway... I felt kind of tired walking in from the parking lot and by the time I got forty feet into the store, I thought I was gonna fall over. My legs felt like they weighed 200 pounds each and I couldn't breathe. I have asthma, though it rarely bothers me anymore, but it hit me like a ton of bricks. Anyway, spent the rest of the week doing nothing but giving myself breathing treatments every couple of hours. I am not running a temperature anymore, but the breathing difficulties and exhaustion are still a big deal. After my shower today, I had to sit on the floor and take a break in the middle of drying off because I just couldn't push through it but, I'm managing to go 3-4 hours in between breathing treatments for the first time since Tuesday.

So, if anyone who is reading this has any sort of lung disease, get the shot! I've been through some hairy moments this week. I don't have insurance, so I didn't get the shot and didn't go to the dr. On the upside, next time the Swine Flu rears it's ugly head, I'll have immunity!! Whooohooo!

[stray cat]

22. You are contagious for 10-14 days - are your really staying home for two weeks?

maybe a week after your symptoms are gone. I decided not to close down my small business and lay off my few workers for two weeks as none were capable of running the place as they were new hires.

[ezgoingrl]

30. I'm lucky in that I can stay home.

I might have to do a few things. Honestly, right now walking to the kitchen to get something to drink wears me out. It's like nothing I've ever experienced before. I just can't push through it, and I'm the type of person who gets done what needs to get done. I can be sick later, when I have more time. But I can't this time. It's a very humbling experience. I washed my daughter's hair tonight. I had to stop and rest 2 or 3 times to get it done. It really sucks.

[Ms. Toad]

34. CDC guidelines are 7 days after 1st symptoms,

or 24 hours after last fever of 100 degrees or more, whichever is later. In my case, I had a fever of at least 100 for 5 days - so 7 days and 24 hours after last fever were pretty close to the same.

[HughMoran]

23. My idiot coworker DID and practically shut the place down

I left work when what he described sounded like H1N1. It was and many people were out for 3 days at a time. Anybody who goes in while contagious is a selfish fucking ass hole.

[RavensChick]

27. True dat!!

There is no way in the world I would go near an office with something like that and my office is small enough as it is!

[Posteritatis]

28. Assuming they have the choice, of course

If they don't, then their boss is the selfish ass.

[nyc 4 Biden]

26. Yes... I work at the RNC.

jk.

[Ms. Toad]

31. Lost 5 days a week ago. n/t

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[liberalhistorian]

35. This poll is bullshit without an option of

"I have no choice because I don't get sick days" and "I have no choice because I'd likely get fired or disciplined if I called in sick". That is a very strong and real reality for millions of workers. It's not as simple as just being able to automatically stay home and, if you don't, you're a selfish idiot. It really isn't that simple.

I remember one former workplace had a very strict policy on attendance and only gave three sick days per year. If you used those up, you not only didn't get any pay for the rest of the time if you were sick, you could only be absent one more time without facing major discipline. Didn't matter what the reason was, whether you were in intensive care or your spouse or child were. They didn't care. One year I got bacterial bronchitis that actually put me in the hospital for a few days and then recovery at home for another week; even when I returned because I had no choice at that point, I was not yet physically ready and got sicker after a few days. Then, a month later, I broke my wrist and had to have surgery on it, which put me out for a few more days. When I returned from that, they called me in and made me sign an "absence warning" which made it clear that if I were absent one more day the rest of the year, no matter the reason, I could be summarily fired. And this was only February. I asked if they didn't think I'd rather be at work, much as I hated the job and the people (of course I didn't say THAT part of it!) than being sick as a dog in the hospital then at home, and then having to deal with the pain of a broken wrist and surgery. Stony silence from them. And the fuckers wondered why morale was so low and turnover was always so high. They would do "anonymous" surveys and focus groups and everything else instead of looking in the fucking mirror and in their policy handbooks.

And too many American workplaces are like that, people really have no choice.

[Hekate]

40. Your point is well-taken, despite what I said in my post. :-(

[Electric Monk]

41. +1

[progressivebydesign]

36. Some people are incredibly selfish, and think only of themselves, apparently. n/t

[shanti]

38. hell no!

:eyes:

[Hekate]

39. I believe in not spreading disease. My first-ever case of strep throat was from a co-worker...

... who was just so goddam devoted to her job that she couldn't stay the hell home when she was sick, and this was in a place with a good sick-leave policy. But no, she was that devoted. So my boss got it, and he used my phone... In fact it ran through the department. Streptococcus is not nice.

Both my younger sister and my daughter were susceptible to strep and I never got it from them. But I got it from where I worked, and while the lab was taking its time I was given a partial Rx and relapsed before getting the rest of the prescription.

It was a long time ago, and it still irks me. Do yourself and everyone else a favor and stay home when you're really sick. I am very sympathetic to people who take 3 months to "get over" a case of the flu, but so often they tell a tale of doing too much too soon and relapsing badly. It sucks not having good sick-leave, but being sick for 3 months sucks worse.

Hekate

[liberalhistorian]

55. I agree that it's selfish as hell for those who are, indeed,

fortunate enough to have a good sick-leave policy and understanding bosses where they're not in fear of losing their jobs, to play macho and insist on coming in and endangering everyone else. That is truly selfish and irresponsible.

But the economic and workplace reality for many others is not that simple at all. I agree it's best to stay home and not endanger others, but too many don't have sick leave or would be disciplined or fired. I understand the costs to employers when employees are not on the job, but they're very short-sighted if they don't see how making sick workers come in will cost them a helluva lot more in lost productivity when they spread that illness. Not to mention the simple humanity of allowing sick people to be able to recover without economic and job fear.

[Hekate]

56. I agree. When I wanted to change jobs, the one that looked best on paper had stingy sick-leave...

... and as a mother with two young kids I just couldn't go there. They rolled less sick-leave and less vacation time into "personal time off" and tried to pretend that was a good thing.

As it was I was always scrambling to accrue enough extra hours to cover my butt for taking the kids to the pediatrician, and if my own mother hadn't taken the Greyhound to stay with kids when they got chicken pox I probably would have lost my job, the one with the good benefits.

Hekate

[Iggo]

42. Fuck no! Of course not.

Really. What the fuck?

[guyton]

43. voted yes, but ....

I telecommute!

[Jack_DeLeon]

45. Yep, might aswell share it...

[Forkboy]

47. Depends on how much I like my coworkers.

[mmonk]

48. I can't believe some people said yes. Economic desperation?

[Ms. Toad]

50. Never worked a job where you don't get paid sick leave,

you get scheduled for fewer than 40 hours every week, and what you do earn get barely pays the bills?

That is the economic reality for far too many people in the US - and yes, it is also economic desperation and that is a sad commentary on what is supposed to be one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

[mmonk]

53. That's why I said economic desperation.

[Ms. Toad]

57. I was reacting to the tone - which sounded as if you were incredulous

that anyone would go to work sick, and frankly - a little bit disbelieving that it could happen to anyone under normal circumstances. I think of desperation as being an out of the ordinary circumstance - and what far too many people experience that would compel them to go to work ill is (unfortunately) all too ordinary.

[mmonk]

58. Common flu, I probably would not have said anything.

[VOX]

49. Absolutely not! n/t

[Ichingcarpenter]

51. What if you worked at Faux News with Hannity, Beck or O'really?

Nah, I still wouldn't do it but it I would have to think twice.

[Robb]

52. If I felt well enough, I would absolutely go to work.

...I would also wear an N95 respirator.

They're about four bucks each. :shrug:

[Dogtown]

54. Voted "No", but......

Dogtown would damnsure go to church!



:patriot: :rofl:

[LWolf]

59. Not sure. I hope not.

If I have flu symptoms, I'll stay home until there is no fever. That in itself is an exhausting thing to contemplate. As a teacher, I have to deliver sub plans, and I have to do all paperwork that piles up while I'm gone. It can take a full week of putting in extra time to catch up from just one day gone. It's not like I'm getting time off work and "resting." I'm still responsible for every minute of every day I'm not there. So I have to know I'm contagious to stay home.

I had about 1/3 of my class absent, most with flu, all through October. During that time I caught a cold. Respiratory congestion, sore throat, itchy ears.

No fever, no aches. So I didn't stay home. A cold can last for weeks. I still have a lingering cough, although it's mostly gone now.

As long as a mild case of flu can't present without fever or body aches, I won't go to work with it.

If it presents just like a common cold, I'll probably end up at work.

We've been scrubbing down tables & chairs and hand-washing until skin is chapped at school. We had vaccination day for all students whose parents opted in.

All just in time for the regular flu season.

[Name removed]

60. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[yawnmaster]

61. Probably yes, since I'd be shedding virus before I knew I had the flu...

but once I felt it, I'd probably stay home.
Feel shitty - I stay home.

[branders seine]

62. no workie

no pay


no benefits

work or starve

[La Lioness Priyanka]

63. yes. only cos i detest my coworkers. the ONLY reason i would not go

is cos i dont want the random strangers on the bus/subway to be the unintended victims

i may or may not be joking