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

[MsRosewater]

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

Is it in person or online? You can't go to work with flu - you're only going to make yourself more ill and spread it around.

I'm impressed that you could get out of bed to attend if you have flu. When I had it earlier in year I could hardly manage walking to the loo.

I don’t think you can if you have flu unless it’s online. If it is, you’ll have to start by explaining you aren’t well and that there will be several breaks. Can anyone fill in for any part of it?

If you had flu you’d not be on here or even contemplating it! Also you’re going to give ‘the flu’ to your NHS colleagues by going too… thoughtful!

If you've got flu you would be in bed thinking you are dying.

Pre workout.

You cannot go and infect other people. That is really irresponsible. You should switch to delivering your talk remotely. Or cancel.

I’m feeling similar OP, have had something for the last week that I’m struggling to shake, and have a work meeting I really need to attend tomorrow.

My plan is to hydrate, medicate and go to bed early to get as much rest as possible and hope for the best. Plus a healthy breakfast to start the day tomorrow.

Good luck with your conference. Hope you can get some much needed rest afterwards.

Unless you genuinely feel better tomorrow, I don't think you should go. The conference feels be-all and end-all to you at the moment, but it really doesn't matter in the scheme of things.

Aside from your own wellbeing, you might pass your flu onto others. I wouldn't be very happy if I went to a conference and someone obviously ill was nearby; even if I had been looking forward to their presentation, I'd be wishing they'd stayed at home - the best presentation in the world isn't worth a fortnight or more feeling rubbish.

I hope you feel better soon!

.You can have the flu and have no symptoms. You can have mild flu, moderate or severe. Why must everyone perpetuate the same tired old myths?

And yes OP may or may not have the flu virus. Unless she’s tested she won’t know for sure but being able to move around doesn’t mean that it can’t be flu.

I went to A&E in my early 20s thinking I had TSS - the doctor told me it was flu..I laughed saying I'd had flu before and never felt so ill, and he said that is because people always say they have the flu when they just have a virus. Flu means you can't move your head off your pillow to type.....regardless of whether you do or don't have flu, if you are ill, then you can't go to work, and especially not a conference where you may infect loads of people....!

If you actually have flu, you wouldn’t even been thinking of going. Whatever illness, it’s not fair to spread it round.

Please stay at home and don't spread your germs around.

Stay at home and don't infect others would be my advice.

I can't believe people still trot out the "if you actually have the flu, you wouldn't be able to get out of bed" crap. It's like Covid never happened. It affects people differently. Not everyone is bed-bound and incapacitated by the flu.

You've been ill since Thurs. You should have told them before this that you wouldn't be able to do the conference. You'll just have to contact them first thing tomorrow.

You can't go in. I'd be fucking furious if a colleague came into work that ill

Not only is flu a spectrum virus like other viruses, 75% of people don't even know they have it. That's three quarters of people with nary a symptom. The other quarter will range from a mild couple of symptoms to feeling terrible.

Doesn't matter how many times you say it though, people blindly post about Real Flu and Couldn't Type On MN Flu.

It's not being sensible if your attendance then means that you make other attendees ill. It would be par for the course with the NHS where staff are disposable to management and they don't care if patients get harmed as long as the staff sickness absences are below Bradford for their department, but that doesn't mean it's ethical or acceptable.

Don’t go. Send them a message tonight and explain. They’ll get over it.

So how does the OP know and can state she has "the flu"?

Regardless of how fluey your flu is, you really can’t go in. It’s not fair on other delegates and I think the vast majority of people accept that sometimes others are ill, need to be off work and won’t think any less of you for it.

Don’t go in if you’re this ill it’s just selfish, either do it online or whip up some kind of vague organisation tonight and send it over for someone else to do.

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

I would be absolutely furious if someone turned up at an event like this and was unwell. What on earth makes you think that anyone else would want this virus?

Don’t go if you’re still feeling unwell. It’s a bad idea from the point of spreading it and could make it take even longer for you to recover. Last minute changes and cancellations happen at conferences. If you’re giving a presentation or on a panel then the organisers will manage….conference attendees may quite enjoy the unexpected chance of another coffee break or more networking time!