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

Hasn't COVID taught us anything? Do not turn up if you're ill, it really is that simple! No one wants to catch your horrible virus whatever it might be

There's no such thing as 'I'm ill but can't get out of it!'.. you're not well. You can't make it. The conference will go on without you!
Hope you feel better soon.

Have you done a covid or flu test?
Either way you are inconsiderate to go to a conference and spread your virus.

Could you knock something together to present via video link or get someone else to do it. Explain you have been unwell since Thursday and isn't as polished as you would like due to illness.
Hack your way through the video presentation and seek the sympathy vote.

Hope you feel better soon.

It would be incredibly selfish of you to go tomorrow. It’s not fair to others, particularly if they have a weakened immune system where they could become seriously ill.

OP, I was in that situation once where I worried everyone would judge me if I didn't go.

I infected the whole team because I wasn't brave enough to call in.

If it is in-person, you can’t attend. There will be people there who are immune compromised or who have immune compromised household members.

what you need to do is get your notes in order and pass them off to the correct person.

Have you done a covid test @MsRosewater?

Exactly.
I had it in January and there were two or three days where I could barely turn over in bed.
Could barely get to the toilet and was falling into walls.
I was so incredibly miserable.

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.

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.

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?

If it's flu you can't move.

Don't go people will be thankful.

Are you always this selfish?

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

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

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.

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.

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

Have you taken a covid test?

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?

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.

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.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2014/03/17/290878964/even-if-you-dont-have-symptoms-you-may-still-have-the-flu#:~:text=But%20just%20because%20you%20don,t%20usually%20linked%20to%20flu.

I had swabbed for swine flu and didn't feel even remotely unwell. Maybe a slight runny nose. I ran a half marathon the day before I was swabbed.

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