To call in sick?

[iminpain]

I’m on my first day back at work after 10 days annual leave.

I was walking down the road this morning when I rolled my ankle and fell, I have horrific grazes on my knee and elbow, and my ankle is swelling up hugely and is painful even at rest.

AIBU to turn up, explain what’s happened and go home? When I’m cleaned up I could probably work but I’m in so much pain at the moment I feel sick, I have two fresh grazes that are about to bleed through my clothes and I don’t know whether the adrenaline carried me to the bus or if I can walk.

I meant sock! Take your sock off, leave all other body parts alone.

Oh my goodness! Go home, rest and then go get it checked out once you've had painkillers and have chilled out a little.

Nobody on here have seen you, they have no idea whether it is broken or not. Neither do you. Only xrays will confirm, not someone sat at home scrolling through mn.

It's a very legitimate reason to not be in work. I hope you feel better soon x

I don't understand the UK attitude to sick days. It seems to be viewed as pathetic and in breach of your work contract. In Aus, we have a set number of sick days and you take them if you need to. Some require a medical certificate and others don't but there are no questions asked. It's not up to a colleague to decide if you're well enough to work. If you don't feel that you can work then you take a sick day. If the day off requires a medical certificate then it's up to a doctor to decide.

If your ankle is swelling and your in pain then that sounds serious. I'd get to the office if you can and take pain killers. Is there a sick bay area that you could lie down in if you need to for a bit? If you can't put any weight on your ankle then call an Uber and get yourself home and rest for a few hours. You can decide if you need medical attention from there.

Have you seen the stats recently?! The Uk leads the way in terms of absence levels!!

Well they say women cope with pain better than men, but it’s not correct to suggest all men would take to their bed with a sprained ankle. My DH had pneumonia and carried on working throughout. A couple of years later he had a prolapsed disc necessitating a night in hospital and a cocktail of strong painkillers. As soon as he was home from hospital, he opened his laptop 🙄 He couldn’t sit though so had to lie on his belly on the bed with his laptop on the floor next to the bed). In both situations he could have done with taking a bit of time off, but that’s self-employment for you!

Lots of people, our accident at work books are full with slips and trips

Hope your ankle is OK OP. Please ignore the arseholes on here telling you to grow up and get on with your job. Do those posters realty think any job is so important that you have to push through pain and bleeding etc to show that women are tough and deserve to be employed?! Your boss would replace you in an instant if you dropped dead tomorrow, so don’t imagine for one minute that your presence is so important to them that they can’t possibly cope without you. OP has just been on holiday for 10 days so they’ve been managing fine.

And everyone assuming that the job is sitting at a desk has such a narrow view of work. I work in hospitality, there’s no way I could be of any use in the kitchen or front of house with a busted ankle.

It is a shock when you fall, I think the embarrassment is part of it, but it’s also going to have your adrenaline buzzing so there is a physical component to the shock you’re feeling, as well as the horrendous pain and the bleeding. Take it easy OP

I sprained my ankle really badly last year so I sympathise. I could barely walk so even walking to/from the bus may be difficult for you for a while. I only managed to get to the office because my husband has an automatic as I could not have driven a manual for weeks. The biggest embarrasment was having to wear sliders as all other shoes were too painful! Let people in the office help clean you up and then see how you feel and whether you need to go to minor injuries. Unless you have broken it and it needs resetting, they probably won't be able to do much about it tbh though.

Just go home.

Noone here can assess how much its impacted you.

I hsve a colleague who goes home after sneezing and another one who was in the day after a major operation. Everyone handles sickness and accidents differently.

If you dont feel right just go home!

I used to be the person who would be in when I was near death. Not anymore.
Noone thanks you. Its a job. Unless you are a medical professional noones life is at stake.

Im sure someone will come along and say they were back at their desk 3 minutes after giving birth.

Well that was his choice. If he was given sick pay do you think he’d have done the same thing? Or if he had someone to step in and do his job while he was off? People are such martyrs.

And yet it doesn't matter in this case. The OP sounds genuine, she has hurt herself quite nastily. She's not pulling a sickie.

Absolute tosh, one of my team, a male, had a fall at work, didn't take any time off (his choice).
From reading all your comments it's reads as though you are making excuses to take the day off

However most injuries she described are a sprain and a graze so whilst you are bound to feel shaky you will recover, even if it feels sore.

I did similar on the way to work so understand but once she is sitting down, taking a pain killers she can assess calmly.

Your workplace would replace you immediately if you die. Your loved ones wont.

Go home, rest xx

I'd go to work where the first aider can have a look my ankle, where I can use the ice packs or whatever's needed, and get some TLC from my colleagues and see how I go.

Yes but I was responding to a poster referring to the “UK”

Be careful, OP! A twisted ankle can need rest/elevating/ice for at least 3 days - it's much easier to do that at home than anywhere else and worth the effort. And it could be a simple bit of swelling... or a ligament (eg ATFL - especially as you rolled your ankle), which will ages to recover. As someone who has ripped ligaments from simple falls, I'd advocate for going home.

Bless you, that sounds shocking. Have a cup of tea, ice and elevate the ankle, get a bit of sympathy and then see how you feel x
Hope you feel better soon.

Oh, that's nasty, I hope you feel better soon!

I skinned both my knees last year and know what you mean about being shaken up and I wasn't as bashed up as you are.

Another time I fell over and went to A and E, even though I got lots of advice saying that I didn't look in much pain and I'd broken my hand/fingers in five places! So make sure you get medical advice for anything that doesn't seem to be improving.

I hate this whole "feel guilty for calling in sick" culture we have created.

We have had to do a new policy at work because people keep working from home when they are unwell (we are hybrid im mainly remote) to have a clear distinction.

Are you feeling up to doing your job. Yes? Go to work.
No. Go home. It really is as simple as that.

I actually do think he’d have worked even if he wasn’t SE. He likes his work and likes to be busy. He wasn’t trying to be a martyr; just doing what he wanted to do.

Sharing this anecdote was not a response to the OP’s situation but to a post suggesting that men would take to their beds with a sprained ankle and I’m just saying that I know a lot of men who would do no such thing. My Dad is another one. He never had a day off sick in his career. He booked annual leave when he needed some minor surgery. After the hurricane in 1987, he climbed over a tree on our driveway so he could get to the station (obviously there were no trains running so he had to come back home which he wasn’t very happy about 😂) Some people just love their work I guess, or are particularly resilient.

I made no comment on the OP’s situation. I’m not her and I’m not a Dr and I’m not her colleague or boss, so none of my business what the OP decides to do.

call ann Uber and go home, get cleaned up and elivate your ankle. It's a day, everyone will manage if you go home, and then you can come back tomorrow.

Stop worrying about what people will think, you hurt yourself.

Totally agree with this.

Hope you are okay soon OP 💐

Yes you don't want a little thing like your ankle being so swollen your socks are cutting in to your leg to stop you working. Even if your leg was hanging off you should still go to work.
No job is worth being in pain for. If you have possibly fractured something do you really think you should just carry on.? This isn't a case that OP has fallen over and is just shaken, she's in physical pain. Much better to get checked out than risk making it worse.

I’m still very sore, even after painkillers. My whole body just feels tense and painful!