How on earth do people get through the work day with a cold?

[Forgetaboutit]

I don’t know whether I get colds badly or whether I’m just bad at handling them and other people just get on with it!

I was reading a post the other day that was asking how ill you have to be to call in sick and pretty much everyone said they never stay off with a cold. I have a cold right now (although I’m on day 4 now and starting to feel a bit better) and I have felt the same as I always do with a cold. Sore throat, streaming nose, headache, body aches and chills, my eyes hurt so much that it’s hard to look at a screen or have any lights on, I have such intense pressure in my sinuses that my nose and cheeks hurt. Sometimes I can’t even get up. It’s not the flu though, it is definitely a cold. When other people get a cold, do you just get the sniffles, or do you have all these symptoms and just power through somehow?! And if so… WHY?

Drugs.

When I get up I have a hot bath with eucalyptus oil in it.

Use sterimar which clears out my sinuses

Alternate paracetamol and ibuprofen

Just use good cold and flu medications . Day/night nurse are the ones I use.

There are levels of cold- I would imagine the severity of the one you currently have is not what people are talking about when they say they just get on with it.

A sniffle and a bit of a cough, I'd probably load up on Lemsip and get on with things, purely because otherwise I'd be having a week off from work several times a winter. For what you describe I'd be off work for sure.

I’m the same as you OP. Fortunately I don’t seem to get that many but will tend to need 1 day at least off work - usual issues being feeling very unwell, very lightheaded/dizzy. When that’s passed I can better cope with the runny nose stage. Then the rest of my family get it and they manage to keep going.

Yes people have been coming into work with colds and then whenever someone says “are you ok to be in?” They’re like yeah it’s just a cold. Which makes me feel bad for calling in sick because I think if they can do it then surely I can? Or I think my manager and team will expect me to come in because everyone else does with colds but I honestly just can’t imagine sitting staring at a computer screen for 8 hours under the bright harsh lights and the temperature of the room going up and down to extremes as people battle over the air con/heating while I feel like this

I've had a cold the past week and have just got on with it. Luckily I work from home, so I can just sit in my pyjamas, with a cup of hot coffee and be a couch potato whilst working. When I used to get them and work from an office, I always found it 10x harder

Dose up on cold remedies and just crack on. I might WFH if particularly bad but I have a sedentary job, so it’s not like I’m doing anything physical.

I'd rather be at work, being occupied, that sit at home feeling sorry for myself.

I would WFH with a cold (although probably not if it's as bad as you describe). I absolutely would not rock up at my workplace and share it around though. No-one would thank me for spreading my germs.

There are different levels of cold though from mild to heavy. You need to make a judgement call on it. With severe symptoms I would not be going in to an office.

Any body aches/pain/fever implies to me that it’s more serious.

Drugs. I make sure it's not covid then just dose up with everything I've got, take a box of tissues and get on with it. Very rarely call in for a cold, it has to be really bad.

Cold remedies and cracking on. Plenty of rest when I get home. Replacing cups of tea with Lemsip drinks every 4 hours. Plenty of tissues at hand.
I also always have a tub of airwaves chewing gum in the car for my drive to and from work.
My colds tend to be/feel worse first thing in the morning and last thing at night, so, although uncomfortable, I can function fairly well at work with a cold.

In the olden days, it's worth pointing out that the drugs were MUCH stronger, and usually laced with things like cocaine, opioids and sedatives as a matter of course.

I get floored by colds too on occasion, especially since I'm breastfeeding and can't have the good stuff.

Not all illnesses are the same. I've had a cold and felt fine apart from having a cough and runny nose, better within days. Then I've had colds that have wiped me out and have lingered for weeks.

As others have said, max out the drugs. Paracetomol and ibuprofen together every four hours. Or stronger ones like day nurse if you feel truly horrific. And go to bed as soon as I can.

I'm the same as you OP.
It's the tiredness that makes me incapable: the need to sleep is just so overwhelming.

Lemsip, nose drops if nose is blocked, classroom windows open for air and just try and get on with it.

Setting cover lessons is much more hassle than just getting on with it. I'd only take a day off for D&V or if I physically couldn't get out of bed.

It sounds like your colds are setting off your sinuses, OP, which is very painful. A prescription nasal spray would give you a lot of relief.

All the medication to alleviate symptoms. Eat and drink healthy stuff. Go to bed when not working. No socialising, or exercising until better.

I'm self-employed so I don't really have a choice but to dose up on paracetamol and get on with it.

I work outdoors and alone so I don't have to worry about spreading germs, so I just get on with it and go to bed early to try and recover as fast as possible.

Of course it's miserable and I generally feel awful for a couple of days but I can't afford to lose any income for a cold, so I just crack on.

Comparing colds is like comparing period pain its different for everyone

A. Colds cover quite a spectrum of different viruses and severities. B. Some jobs are easier to deal with that others when subpar. C. And yes some people are better at powering on through when they don't feel well.

But remember we can't know how another person feels so me saying I don't take time off for colds might just mean I don't get as bad symptoms as you - in my case this is highly likely because I don't get symptoms from Covid either.

Covid is a type of cold - you can see how that affects different people differently

Sone people are lucky and have never had a bad cold you they can't understand that others can be floored by the exact same virus

So if you too ill to work , don't

I hate working with a cold.

I think it's very job dependent. If I could just sit at home at my desk all day then I'd be fine.

I also think there's are levels of cold. When I was younger colds just meant a bit of a runny nose and sneezing, which I could deal with. Recently everytime I've had a cold it's made me feel like absolute shite. My body has definitely ramped up its response to viruses and I feel a bit bad for how I used to judge people who couldn't just push through with a cold

Cold medication works well to make the symptoms easier to deal with. A cold isn’t a reason to be off work.