To ask how to avoid flu in the workplace?

[Supermagicsmile]

Colleague has been off for a week with flu. Really unwell, barely able to get out of bed, feeling dreadful flu. Has posted all over Facebook that they'll be back tomorrow but is "coughing like a trooper" and "constantly blowing my nose."
The office is small, our desks are all next to this colleague within coughing/sneezing distance with no window nearby.
How do we avoid catching it? Colleague is awful for covering their mouth when they cough etc too.

Lots of hand washing!

Get the flu jab in future?

All you can really do for now, is disinfect/anti bac and see if that helps.

People travel on buses/trains/tubes in far closer proximity every day and have to manage.

Wash your hands as often as possible, don’t touch your face, suck on a couple of strepsils or similar to nip it on the bud.

If you drink anything make sure it’s covered so it won’t get sprayed with germs.

Use First Defence spray up your nose which will hopefully catch a virus before it takes hold. Use anti bac spray on your hands. Ask the colleague to stay off work if possible, it's not fair to come in if still really ill. Although apparently it's the first five days when most contagious. Remind them to put hand over mouth when coughing.

Dose up on vit C.

Hand washing and hindsight for the flu jab

Get the flu jab...

Not much help to you but I often wish we would adopt the Japanese practice of using face masks if you're ill or if you don't want to catch a virus. It looks so odd to us but makes a lot of sense.

I was just thinking that Laurel. I'd be interested to see statistics on whether it does actually reduce sickness.

Japanese mask, scarfs round face.. Hold breath close eyes when they sneeze.. Talk to manager about work s d flu... More people will be off..

Op I really feel like for the you.
Wear the mask!

Pro biotics, vitamin c etc. Get your immune system working properly and you won't get sick. I was a medical receptionist for 15 years and rarely got sick despite being constantly surrounded by illness

He's unlikely to still be contagious after a week. You are an alarmist bunch.

Sorry should also mention that yakult (probiotic drink from grocery store) is mostly just sugar. Go to your pharmacy and invest in a decent one. The ones kept in the fridge are usually better. This probably won't help you for tomorrow but will in the long term

I've been using cold and flu block for the last maybe 5 years; that plus Dettol (Lysol in the States) spray that can clean the air plus surfaces; lots of alcohol gel and cleaning wipes too. I've been known to sterilise everyone's mugs too... I can't afford to get sick and whilst I can't say that it's all definitely worked, I know I haven't been sick when others around me have.

At home we use cheap kitchen roll instead of towels for drying hands. I picked that up as a habit when my DH was neutropenic but I prefer it now.

Google says most people are contagious "up to seven days" after starting to show symptoms, so you should be fine.

And vaccination.

Hardly, Whats.

Most suggestions here have been for OP to wash her hands often, that's just common sense.

Image below, or just work from home

Thank you for the tips.

He's unlikely to still be contagious, and you are more likely to either be incubating it and sharing it yourself from him, or to have caught it from someone else during this period.

Basic hygiene and looking after your immune system (exercise, sleep, nutrition).

Face masks are not really very effective at preventing spread of infection unless they're special FFP3 masks, sadly.

As someone else said, he's unlikely to be infectious still - you're probably more at risk from the people he infected before he went off sick