Working in school, do you get more sick?

[Januarydayss]

I am thinking to apply as MSA ( lunch supervisor) in my local primary school.
I wonder if working in school, do you get more sick, catching all kids bugs?
I have a lowered immune system as of chronic illness, taking steroids etc, I wonder if this would make me more sick?

I'm a teacher and I would say, to begin with anyway. When I first went into teaching I spent the first two terms catching every bug going, but since then I think I have better immunities and rarely get ill anymore.

First term, absolutely. I had coughs, colds, a chest infection & conjunctivitis. All that in 6 weeks!

However, didn’t have a single day off with illness for the following 5 years.

Two friends of mine used to be teachers and they agreed the first 6 months or so they caught everything going but after that they were much more resistant. Since then they are very rarely off sick.

I did when I started but then seemed to build up my immunity

Initially yes. My first year in teaching I caught everything going. After that though you seem to be immune

At first yeah. I started teaching age 32. By the time l was 40 l never caught colds or coughs. I’m 59 now and still don’t.

I actually didn’t. I think I have a very robust immune system though, hardly ever get colds/coughs/d&v bugs etc. from year to year, nothing.

I can only speak for the short term, as I ha e just worked with children for the first time while on placement but yes. For the last 8 weeks I have pretty much been run down the whole time, even though in my job we see about 1 child at a time and about 6 a day whilst wearing ppe. Children would often come in very snotty and coughing and the next day I would be the same! Thing is you will build up immunity to things over time, other people I worked with seeing the same kids weren't run down at all

Yes, I'm a Business Manager in a Primary and I've never had so many coughs and colds. The whole office was ill all of December which ruined Xmas.

Yeah, first year or two you're permanently I'll.

Then you develop the immune system of a rhino

I think each school has its own germ pool. Only sick days I had in 10 years was Covid and a pulled muscle.

Even when my kids were sick I didn’t catch what they had.

I'm a pastoral worker and at first I was sick often. Tummy bugs, colds and even covid after avoiding it during the peak..now I get nothing and seem to have a immune system of steel.

Not really. I’m admin in a school and do have lots of contact with kids especially if they’re unwell. I’ve been there 5 years, and only recently had a spate of illnesses.

I worked in schools for the last 12 years, right throughout covid. Left last spring and I've never been so ill - covid twice, horrible nasty bugs that I just can't shake off.

I’ve been a teacher for many years and, no I don’t get I’ll particularly often.
As a lunchtime supervisor you will only be there a couple of hours at most and won’t have the same face to face, close contact with pupils that a teacher or TA might have.

Yes! Work in a small SEN school and currently have 5 members of staff off sick with stomach virus/Covid. That's a third of our workforce. Before Xmas over the course of about 6 weeks about half of us caught a flu virus (or again had Covid). It feels constant at the moment.

You do to begin with but generally you then get immunity to the bugs, change schools though and it would happen again! Different schools seem to have different bugs it's very strange 😂

I've taught primary for 25 years and still get sick more often than my friends. Lots of small children touching everything, including you, always someone in class with a bug of some description.

It really does depend on your immune system. Most people as above will get through the initial barrage of coughs and colds and then be fairly well. I was sick for five years because my immunity is rubbish and I have chronic illness too, so realised teaching wasn't right for me in the end. So just to add a note of caution to you - your health is so important, and I hate to be a dissenting voice, but I'm concerned if you already have low immunity.

For me the first few months yes. Now not so much. It's only when a bug is sweeping through the school it becomes hard to avoid

I started working in a primary school last September. One to one with about 12 children. I got sick within a month and then covid and then after Christmas I began working in two more schools, another 24 children over those 2 new schools. I can honestly say I have NEVER been so constantly ill in my life!
I am 51 and usually get sick once a year.
Is it the fact that they are young and full of bugs, that there are three different primary schools so I'm upping my chances, the fact that a lot of these children were not exposed to many bugs during 2020 -2021, the fact that my immune system may be compromised since having Covid myself.

But I do feel like everyone around me is just a bit 'off' and lacking in energy and I've just had two separate colds back to back and it's summer! That never happens.

Hoping the 6 week holidays will give me a break from all the children's germs and I can see if that makes a difference.

It has been so bad though that I have been considering the fact that teaching so many young children might not be good for my health (although I do love working with them all).

Is our immune system weaker since Covid arrived? 🤔 research isn't quite conclusive at the moment from what I have read, but it does feel like it to me. And if it is the case then working in many primary schools for the first time in my life might just be testing my poor immune system to the max. I'll let you know if I get tougher next year!
But as a dinner lady in one school you will have a lot less exposure to the children (short time and slightly distanced) that may help you .

I’m a second grade teacher and get sick many times a year. My first year teaching was the worst, but now 26 years later I seem to be getting sick more often and illnesses that take longer to recover from. I’ve had Covid 3 times now. With students picking their noses and coughing and sneezing into the air it’s hard to dodge the germs! It’s very frustrating because I use up my sick days every year and have been put on probation a few years for going over 7 absences (even though we get 10 a year)