AIBU if you have a cold, stay at home...

[kateskates]

... and don't bring tour germs into work. Everyone at my DHs office has caught a cold and are sneezing and coughing. My three month old DS has caught it. :(

You can't genuinely be serious? A cold.

Last year I had 12 colds over 5 months - I counted! - so pretty much all the time... how would I afford to pay my bills if I stayed off work with every cold I caught?

I am astounded and horrified people on here rock up to work when they are sick.

That’s a lot different than a cold.

Stop being so selfish and thoughtless.

How the fuck are you being productive when you are like that?

Not to mention that there could be people who are immune compromised whom you could infect and make them very, very unwell.

Unbelievable

@worra - how would you feel if your immune compromised child died because a staff member came in with a cold or sore throat because they were too scared to call in sick?

@sirzy - you don’t know anyone who works for good quality hospitals then.

I know plenty of people who do. Many of whom have saved my sons life over the years.

The world can’t stop due to a common cold though!

half my family is in the nhs (paramedics, nurses, consultants) and if they have a cold they do non-patient duties

Really?

Can any nhs workers on here explain exactly how that works?

Do you, as a midwife, nurse, GP, surgeon, SaLT, radiographer etc turn up to work with a list/ward of of patients to see and are told to do filing for your shift instead if you have a cold?

I didn’t think the NHS was staffed adequately as it was?

It needs to stop if that cold can kill someone.

@worra - how would you feel if your immune compromised child died because a staff member came in with a cold or sore throat because they were too scared to call in sick?

Awful beyond belief. However, if half the staff were home with a cold or on non patient duties, the chances of the child dying were be extremely high anyway, would it?

And that's if they were accepted into the hospital in the first place, given the lack of staff.

I notice you didn't answer my questions though Roo?

RavingRoo DS1 has cystic fibrosis. He's 27, and he's in hospital right now. Hang on while I ask him if any of his doctors or nurses have colds. The way I was told, the reason he's in isolation is that there's more risk of him infecting other patients than the other way round. He's pumped up to the eyeballs with antibiotics.

A recent one is "The Weenies" for "The Sweeney".

Wrong thread.

I have to say an awful lot of Mumsnetters seem to get colds that are just ‘the sniffles’. Am I the only one getting properly sick and needing to take Paracetemol to get through a cold?

YABVVU. It's a cold not ebola. Germs are everywhere. Most experts say it's fine to keep working through a cold. Lots of people can't afford time off sick either. And a lot of workplaces would be at someone calling in sick with a cold!

RavingRoo DS1 says they go into work just the same.

YABU

It's a cold. The world doesn't stop because someone had a runny nose and a sniffle.

S&D, flu, chest infection etc then be off work (because coming in would be silly and employers should have to offer sick pay to avoid people feeling they should be in work after vomiting becayse they have bills to pay).

But off for a cold? That's ridiculous unless someone has an underlying health issue.

Kate, next time DH gets a cold he should try sleeping and eating in a separate room, binning all tissues straight away, washing hands after blowing his nose and keeping his distance from the baby. My DH has a heart condition and I have a chronic illness. We've found keeping away from each other if one of us has a cold usually stops the the infection spreading. DH's office also allow anyone infectious to either work from home or in the meeting room with a box of tissues, plastic bag and hand gel. (Obviously this isn't possible if you work in a school, shop or hotel etc)

People can't go off sick with a cold but I think many could be more thoughtful about spreading germs around.

I totally get where you are coming from OP. All I've seen on this thread is me me me from people who are trying to justify spreading their germs around. If everyone stayed at home with D & V or a cough/cold for 48/72 hours then we'd all be so much healthier, but there's no social responsibility from anyone these days. No one is going to starve to death from 3 days of no pay are they? I've got a poor immune system due to diabetes and am fed up to the back teeth of people coughing and spluttering their germs everywhere, it's disgusting. What I don't think people see is that not only are you infecting your work colleagues but you are also infecting all of their families too. I can't get my head around it.

Yabu.

It’s just not viable for most people to miss work for a cold. People could be off for weeks at a time over the winter!

Kids get colds all the time, you really can’t be too precious about it. I know it’s hard thoughas there’s not much you can give them at that age.

No one is going to starve to death from 3 days of no pay are they?

Ever lived hand to mouth?

3 days for some can be extremely significant.

If you want people to take time off every time they are slightly ill it won't be just 3 days either would it.

"No one is going to starve to death from 3 days of no pay are they?" oh how lovely it must be to be so naive.

I've got a poor immune system due to diabetes

And if you couldn't get to hospital due to all the staff staying at home with colds, presumably you could die?

If you saw someone bleeding to death in the street due to a stab wound for example, would you be ok with the fact our already overstretched police force/ambulance crews couldn't make it there, due to having coughs and colds?

I love that you've never known anyone who's in a zero hour contract job where missing work means not only no pay for those days, but also less pay going forward as you're seen as unreliable and so your hours are dropped on the rota. You won't be fired so you can't claim jobseekers. You can't afford to quit because you won't be eligible for benefits. You can't really afford to remain on ever decreasing pay, but it's the least worse option. Honestly the closed mindedness of some people on here. I'm glad you've only ever been treated fairly at work.

I'm sorry you're baby is I'll.

But seriously? The country would grind to a halt if everyone stayed at home when They got a cold.

Before Christmas I'd say over 50% of the staff I work with had a cold, and pupils too. Unfortunately that means babies at home and younger siblings would also catch colds, but it really is part of life.

Sickness and diarrhoea is an entirely different story.

JaneEyre you can't stay off work or school for a cold. I'd get a shitty text if I kept my DC off.

All I've seen on this thread is me me me from people who are trying to justify spreading their germs around. If everyone stayed at home with D & V or a cough/cold for 48/72 hours then we'd all be so much healthier, but there's no social responsibility from anyone these days

A cold is not the same as D+V.
It's a bloody cold.

It's about 'boohoo there is no social responsibility people are saying it is ok to spread germs'. There are germs everywhere in life. There are germs on money, door handles, the air.

A cold is a cold. Not some sort of horrifying illness. Lemsip up, accept you feel a bit rough and use tissues and hand sanitiser.

I'm not going to get sacked to prevent your ds catching a cold, ffs.