How can I take responsibility for my health when people keep coming to work sick?

[SoDoneIn]

I am mid 40s with a rheumatic auto immune disease for which I’m taking immunosuppressant medications. I recently had a flare up so was also put on prednisolone to get it under control.

The problem is I keep getting infections now. It’s been one after the other this past couple of weeks. I’m on my third set of antibiotics for my third different infection. I stop the biologics while on antibiotics to allow myself the chance to recover.

The problem is I have no option but to keep going with life. I have young children in school, a partner who does front line shift work who can’t just walk away to look after me and the kids. and people constantly coming into work sick. (Sedentary non public facing )

I’m forever reading on mumsnet how it is my own responsibility to keep myself safe from sick people who need to go to work and have a right to be out in public shedding their diseases because covid is over now and so it’s free for all for sickness. But how do I do this when I can’t go to work without people making me sick and my kids forever coming home with sickness because people send their kids in to school sick now too?

I’m genuinely scared at how quickly things have got bad and am aware they could get worse still but I feel so powerless to protect myself. Masks alone don’t do it. What can I do to protect myself more short of quitting work, becoming a hermit and leaving my family?

I just don't understand why other people needing to get on with their lives/get paid makes them selfish, but you demanding people stay home for every cough and cold.doesnt make you selfish?

I get your point, and it is definitely lose lose as PP said but people just can't take days off work and school sick at the drop of a hat, the world just doesn't work like that.

I hear you. I have an autoimmune condition and I've had Covid twice in the past 16 weeks because people have bought it into work. It's not their fault; it's "fine" to do now according to the government and work get arsey if people are off too much. And I work in a school, with a spouse who works in a school and two kids in a school. Luckily my boss understands my situation and is kind, but I've had both eardrums perforated twice since October now, with one not healing and needing surgery. I've had two chest infections, ear infections galore and sinus infections too. At the start of last year I had pneumonia from Covid and 10 days in hospital. But somehow this is all something I could prevent, somehow.

My oh has cancer and has impaired immunity due to the cancer and the chemotherapy. Likewise he can’t avoid being around people due to work, caring for elderly relatives, child at school, etc. He just tries his best to keep his distance, not shake hands, wash/sanitise his hands and avoid touching things that others have touched, chooses a chair in meeting rooms in a far corner, ventilates rooms as far as possible, etc. Not much else you can do other than taking your own precautions.

I’m sorry, that sounds really hard to deal with and it must be even hard if people are suggesting you should be able to prevent getting unwell, who is saying it’s something you could prevent? I think I would be telling them where to go! You have an autoimmune condition, it’s rotten luck to have a condition that means that you’re getting unwell so often but it’s obviously not something you can help. Nobody chooses to get ill!

I wouldn’t wear a mask. Being honest I don’t like them, hardly see anyone else wearing them and I just don’t think about it as an option. I have a lot to think about getting ready with young children and it just wouldn’t cross my mind. Illnesses, covid, masks are in the past for me and I don’t think about them much at all.

Merely breathing out is enough for someone to catch your lurgy. It is airborne! That’s why you’re all bloody sick all the time.UK is a basket case.

I really don’t know what the solution is for you op, sorry.

I mainly wfh, and don’t get ill very often, but last year i still got a D&V bug and covid. I know I got the bug from my son who got it from nursery, but i have no idea where I got covid from. But it will be inevitably spread won’t it due to people being asymptomatic or being infectious before they test positive or start feeling unwell.

You mentioned that you’re not referring to colds though, so what are you referring to exactly?

I don’t think you can ever expect your kids never to come home with illnesses or to catch things from school.

I also do think it’s every man for himself tbh. We all got imprisoned for a while to help vulnerable people, but that also has a massive negative impact on other things and also children. Not everyone can be prioritised. No one gave a shit about these other people and the impact on their lives, so maybe now this is why people don’t care about vulerable people.

It wasn't to help vulnerable people, it was to stop the NHS being overwhelmed. Obviously, it was overwhelmed anyway, but less overwhelmed than it would have been. Vulnerable people were asked to shield so actually 'imprisoned' longer. There were all the DNRs too. There are plenty of people who were previously 'healthy' who are now very ill. No one, including the OP is asking for a lockdown. Blaming elderly, vulnerable etc for lockdown is like blaming kids for schools going online to many.

Perhaps some of the resources could have been diverted from the obsession with surfaces to indoor air (to cover up that PPE offered was insufficient). Maybe that would have helped more. As for lockdowns, they will be far more likely in future without things like sickness policies and indoor air addressed. I was going to say in another pandemic, but despite this one still being ongoing, UK have been saying they've beaten it since before the second lockdown.