Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

I have flu and a work thing i can't get out of tomorrow- how do i make it through the day?

108 replies

MsRosewater · 09/04/2024 19:48

i have the flu- i have been ill since Thursday with horrible body aches that don't respond to paracetamol and lovely cough. Am alternating paracetamol with ibuprofen 2hrly to feel comfortable/ sleep and have zero appetite

FWIW i'm generally healthy- gym/ spin 5 x a week, healthy weight and had flu jab as nhs person

i have a conference tomorrow that i'm very disorganised for so can't really delegate. i'm an active participant so can't not show either , Also. i'm on temporary contract that i'd like to be made permanent so fessing up to my lack of prep is not a great plan (though the reality is other pressures are most of the reason)

so, backstory/ excuses over- please hit me with your coping-for-the-day remedies? then i will be sensible and see a GP and stay in bed etc

OP posts:
VapeVamp12 · 10/04/2024 00:05

When you have actual flu, going out isn't even a question. I'm not sure I could have even written a text when I had it a few years ago.

Flu or not though, I think if you're ill you should stay home.

DianaTaverner · 10/04/2024 00:04

HummingbirdChandelier · 09/04/2024 23:49

Because if you have flu you have no choice but to stay in bed

You know how during flu outbreaks there are signs on GP's doors saying Please Don't Come In If You Have Flu?

Why do you think they put them up, if nobody with flu could ever get to their GP's surgery?

DianaTaverner · 10/04/2024 00:01

theduchessofspork · 09/04/2024 22:46

Because flu flattens you completely - no one with actual flu would think about going in, because they’d be lucky to drag themselves out of bed to shiver in a boiling hot bath.

We call nasty colds (and they are nasty) flu all the time

Show quote history

Aches, loss of appetite, inability to sleep because you feel so shit all sounds a lot like the milder end of flu - though you couldn't rule out a really nasty cold without a swab.

HummingbirdChandelier · 09/04/2024 23:50

So if you’re well enough to go dose up and do it

HummingbirdChandelier · 09/04/2024 23:49

Because if you have flu you have no choice but to stay in bed

Maddy70 · 09/04/2024 23:25

Please don't go. I am.immune suppressed but no-one would know. Think of others as well as yourself

I would. Call in sick just before sp you dont have to pass any work onto others

ChaoticCrumble · 09/04/2024 23:20

theduchessofspork · 09/04/2024 22:46

Because flu flattens you completely - no one with actual flu would think about going in, because they’d be lucky to drag themselves out of bed to shiver in a boiling hot bath.

We call nasty colds (and they are nasty) flu all the time

Show quote history

This isn’t true actually. How long does flu flatten you for then? How long are you insisting she is ‘flattened’ for?

I’ve had flu and spent a couple of days out of my mind delirious and then weak after. But I would’ve been able to type on mumsnet by day six!! I think you are mythologising flu.

RosesAndHellebores · 09/04/2024 23:15

HunkMarvin · 09/04/2024 23:07

Working for the NHS but going to go and infect other people at a conference? Seriously?

Precisely. The op's NHS but seeking the advice of MNet. It says it all.

HunkMarvin · 09/04/2024 23:07

Working for the NHS but going to go and infect other people at a conference? Seriously?

nevertrustanyoneagain · 09/04/2024 22:55

I have a friend who goes about her normal business with'flu'. Every flipping few weeks, every time she has a bug it's 'flu'. Last time I had flu i was admitted to hospital for oxygen. The time before that aged 14 over Christmas, I laid on the sofa staring at my Christmas presents for days and couldnt' even open one. Flu completely floors you. Please don't go.

canyouletthedogoutplease · 09/04/2024 22:55

Surely this will just answer itself? If you're too sick with a virus to go in, you won't be there, regardless of how important the meeting is. If you're well enough to go in and get through the day because you simply can't miss it, then... take some more painkillers, and get your shoes on.

Sparklysparklylights · 09/04/2024 22:54

theduchessofspork · 09/04/2024 22:46

Because flu flattens you completely - no one with actual flu would think about going in, because they’d be lucky to drag themselves out of bed to shiver in a boiling hot bath.

We call nasty colds (and they are nasty) flu all the time

Show quote history

This is not true and we learnt that during swine flu, never mind covid. They tested households where people were properly ill and other family members had barely a sniffle - all equally positive for swine flu. You can get the influenza virus badly or mildly or even asymptomatically.

Regardless of what the particular virus is it's clearly something potentially nasty enough to have made the OP quite ill so the last thing she should be doing is sharing it around her colleagues. OP please stay home. Spend a couple of hours sorting out all your notes and pass the best ones on, or ask to present via Teams?

AssassinsEyebrow · 09/04/2024 22:48

Have you taken a covid test?

theduchessofspork · 09/04/2024 22:46

ChaoticCrumble · 09/04/2024 22:30

Sorry, how do you know this? Aches (and let's assume a fever to go with it) are a classic flu symptom. If she took ill on Thursday and it's now Tues eve - how can you tell from her post that it's not flu?

Show quote history

Because flu flattens you completely - no one with actual flu would think about going in, because they’d be lucky to drag themselves out of bed to shiver in a boiling hot bath.

We call nasty colds (and they are nasty) flu all the time

MillicentMaybe · 09/04/2024 22:45

I’m immunocompromised, and if you turned up because your thing is so bloody important, I’d be raging at you spreading your germs around. Don’t be so stupid and think of others.

theduchessofspork · 09/04/2024 22:44

You don’t have flu you have a flu-y cold - they are nasty.

If you can participate online then do that

If they are the sort of company that expect you in even if you have a broken leg, then lemsip and caffeine up and go in. Tell people to give you space, and be in and out quick as you can.

Elebag · 09/04/2024 22:43

Do not go in. Your colleagues will be really pissed off with you spreading a virus around.

Springtime43 · 09/04/2024 22:39

Lesina · 09/04/2024 21:40

Message now and tell them you have tested positive for Covid: there is still enough residual fear of that to give you a break.

Excellent idea, your colleagues will be grateful you’ve stayed away

Kitkat1523 · 09/04/2024 22:38

Are you always this selfish?

IfYouSawwhatISee · 09/04/2024 22:34

If it's flu you can't move.

Don't go people will be thankful.

ChaoticCrumble · 09/04/2024 22:30

HummingbirdChandelier · 09/04/2024 22:23

You don’t have flu. Paracetamol, ibuprofen, otrivine nasal spray, tons of makeup. Get through it

Sorry, how do you know this? Aches (and let's assume a fever to go with it) are a classic flu symptom. If she took ill on Thursday and it's now Tues eve - how can you tell from her post that it's not flu?

HummingbirdChandelier · 09/04/2024 22:23

You don’t have flu. Paracetamol, ibuprofen, otrivine nasal spray, tons of makeup. Get through it

ChaoticCrumble · 09/04/2024 22:23

She's been ill since thursday! Why are people so unable to believe she might be on the mend but still have flu? Jesus Christ, it is possible to move and have flu, you know. I've had to look after a baby with flu before - I didn't have a choice.

But OP, the reality is that if you're not well you won't do a good job or make a good impression. Far better to call in sick.

dirtyblond · 09/04/2024 22:22

Obviously, don't go in to a conference when you are infectious with something horrible, whether or not it is actual flu.

Don't even think about it.

Swipe left for the next trending thread