Colleague illness

[marrybarry]

I'm so stressed right now. I am emetophobic and my colleague was off sick yesterday because she was vomiting (sickness bug)

As if that wasn't stressing me out enough she is back in work today. Sitting opposite me, heavy breathing and still feel unwell.

Aibu to say she shouldn't be in???

Also what can I do to avoid catching it off her ??

It's a small office with nowhere else to sit.

I'd be reaching for the hand sanitiser for sure! What a difficult situation though. Any managers to have a word with?

People with the sickness bug shouldn’t be in for 48 hours and definitely if still not feeling well. Try and stay away wash hands a lot, don’t put anything in your mouth, use tissue to open doors, don’t touch toilet with hand, use a tissue. I would have to say something, unfortunately the damage could already have been done as if it’s norovirus it’s really contagious.

My colleague has done this too.

I've dc and the rule is 48 hours after last episode, which is extreme but I definitely think as an adult you need to wait until you feel well until you come back to work.

It was during covid when my colleague did it, so I masked up and left the building for my breaks.

Very inconsiderate of her, she is contagious for up to 48 hours. Is there any way you can go home and WFH today?

The 48 rule as such is for schools . There is no such "rule" for workplaces as far as I am aware. Perhaps she is worried about losing her job if she takes too many sick days or making herself a target. Just use sanitisers as suggested.

She's only been in an hour and only been at her desk (I have not moved from mine)

She said she's going to ask if she can work from home. Unfortunately my job you can't work from home.

I'm keeping my head down behind my PC (which is luckily quite big)

Nobody comes to work sick because they want to - they do it because they feel like they have to. Don’t get mad at your coworker, be mad at corporate policies and/or culture that make her feel like she needs to come in.

I'm not mad at her. Just worried for myself. Our boss is very flexible and lenient so he wouldn't have expected her in and would pay her to be at home.

Sympathies, another emetophobe here.

Firstly, are you sure she's genuinely unwell and wasn't just pulling a sick day?

Don't rely on hand sanitiser, unfortunately it's a non-enveloped virus which alcohol doesn't kill. Soap your hands for 30 seconds and rinse to kill it.

It's not airborne so don't worry about her breathing near you. It transmits via the faecal-oral route, so in other words particles of faeces or vomit have to come into contact with your mucous membranes (such as mouth, eyes, nose) in order to become infected.

As long as you don't touch your face after touching anything she's come into contact with, you'll be ok. And you might be ok anyway, because not everyone who comes into contact with will get it. Also, she might not have a virus, could be something she's eaten etc.

To be honest, my phobia is so bad I'd be asking to go home.

@Somatosensational

Thank you. She's not really moved from her desk. She's not been to the kitchen or toilet.

She's definitely unwell. She's leaving at 12.

Once she's gone, will I be safe. I hate this.

If she's not moved from her desk then you'll be fine. Just don't touch her desk and wash your hands when you get home (I do this anyway).

I know it's scary. But it's not airborne. Breathe, breathe, breathe.

Honestly my kids have had lots of sickness bugs and I’ve cleaned more diarrhoea and vomit than I care to remember. I also always sleep with them when they’re ill. I have never picked it up. I’m also emetaphobic but have had severe exposure therapy

@Somatosensational

Everyone seems to have bugs at the moment. I am not coping at all.

I got over this phobia once, but it's easy so recreate it.

She's touching a folder, her desk, the front door.

@toomanyleggings wow you are lucky not to pick it up !

Was exposure therapy from being sick yourself? How did it work?

I would hate this too. So selfish.

Remember hand sanitiser doesn't kill norovirus germs (haha one of the things I constantly harp on about to my kids to get them washing their hands properly with soap after school)!

I would also not touch anything (door handles etc) with my bare hand - use a tissue if you can.

Unlikely that you've got any antibacterial wipes in your bag just in case, but if you do I'd be subtly using a few of those on surfaces when she isn't looking.

However, as a mum of three I've had my fair share of dealing with sick bugs and I've only picked one up off them once, so hopefully you'll be fine.

Emetophobe here too, in case you can't tell!

OK so can you avoid touching the folder? The front door you can get around by using a couple of paper towels to open it, or something like a jumper/scarf that you can put straight in the wash when you get back. Bleach kills it so you could wipe your own door handles with some diluted bleach if you wanted.

Are there cleaners at your office? I mean you could raise it with someone that you're concerned about anything spreading and wipe down where she's touched with bleach?

But also, remember that you come into contact with people/stuff all the time and don't get ill. The only difference here is that you know she's ill.

Sorry I was joking. I meant I’ve had to deal with vomit so much in the kids it’s like exposure therapy. There are quite a few sickness bug types that you do develop immunity to though anyway.
I’ve had CBT in the past for health anxiety and emetaphobia and I have found reframing it by telling myself it’s the body showing it’s working properly to rid itself of nasties helps.

Btw, it's on the WHO's priority list and there are several vaccines in the fairly late stages of development. There is hope.

I just wanted to reassure you I had a horrible v&d bug recently. My 4 family members didnt get it despite being close contact with me.

Keep washing your hands and wipe down communal areas with sanitizer.

How amazing would a vaccine be.

If she's showered since she's been sick last, will she still be spreading it when she's touching things. I'm worried by boss is going to ask me to do work with the folder when she goes home

I'm not sure showering makes much difference if it was a while ago - depends if she's touched her mouth/used the toilet since showering and how often she washes her hands!

This thread is making me very glad I work from home 😅

Can you go out at lunchtime and buy some disposable wipes with bleach in (I used these a lot during Covid) and once she's gone wipe everything that she might possibly have touched including the folder, taps, etc down with it? 🌹

But she's not been sick or used the toilet since at work.

She's going soon. I'm hungry but too scared to eat .

I am sure you'll be fine @marrybarry but I hear you.

I'm an emetophobe and someone came into work with a sickness bug once, vomited in a bin after an hour of moaning how ill they felt and that was it, I left (I was able to WFH thankfully and had a line manager who was very sympathetic about my severe phobia and was annoyed colleague had come in and potentially spread it about). The poorly colleague also went home but only after insisting they were fine to be in office but "used the loo" several times and puked in another bin. I couldn't have stayed around for that!!!

I was part way through exposure therapy when Covid arrived. I was on session 4 of 10. I was never told the finer details as we were still very much in the 'talking' phase of my sessions but the therapist was based in a busy Dr's surgery (counselling services used a different floor) and I gleaned I'd be exposed to sitting in the Dr's waiting room [a massive fear of mine was / is being around poorly people in case they vomit!!] and I also expected to have to look at images. I had listed ways my life was effected by my phobia (I was limiting travel for example incase someone got travel sick) and I expect I would have had to expose myself to some of the situations I was actively avoiding.

I did ask the therapist if she was going to get someone to vomit on me and she laughed, but she didn't say no.

Sadly the therapy never started up again after Covid, although I do manage a bit better now.

I also have 3 DC do yep I've had to deal with my fair share of sickness which is a form of exposure therapy I'm sure.

48 hour rule is for schools and working with open food. Dont go and lick her face or anything but I think you're being OTT.