Working through the pain December 5, 2011
Posted by mareserinitatis in work.Tags: ill, illness, sick, work habits
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Late last week, I got a flu shot. I’m one of those unlucky ones that always seems to get the flu from having the shot, but I do it anyway because I have a family member who is on an immunosuppressant. Unfortunately, this meant that most of my weekend was shot as I was fighting a mild case of chills and body aches.
I am, unfortunately, one of those people who also has great difficulty working when I feel ill. I know some people can do it (like certain members of my family). I know people who say they like working when sick because it takes their mind off feeling bad. However, I find that working when I’m sick actually makes it worse. If I want to feel better, doing something somewhat mindless actually works better. In my case, playing simple video games or crocheting seem to be things that are helpful. If absolutely must work, grading seems to be the easiest thing to handle.
What about you? What do you find helps in these situations? Are you able to work through it or do you have to take a break from things that require concentration?
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I rarely call out sick for work unless I am vomiting or physically injured. I usually am able to work through it just fine, but am much less efficient and tend to make more mistakes than when I am healthy. I call it my “cloudy brain” syndrome. I’ve probably called in sick to stay home with sick kids more than I have called in for myself. When I do have to work sick, I make sure to take extra vitamins, drink lots of OJ and water and tea, and try to eat healthy foods (even though for some reason I crave junk food even more than usual when I’m sick).
On a side note, you can’t get the flu from a flu shot – the virus is killed so it is not possible for it to replicate in order to cause the flu (http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm). I wonder if you are experiencing some kind of allergic reaction to the vaccine – I have seen it in dogs & cats for various vaccines; usually related to the adjuvant rather than the virus itself. If so, it might be possible to treat with allergy medications.
No, I’m just getting side effects from the shot, but they’re always pretty bad with me (and the younger boy…while Mike and older boy are just peachy when they get them). I mentioned some other meds on FB over the weekend, but those are for unrelated issues which are, as of yet, undiagnosed. My bets are on an ulcer. Whatever it is, it still hurts and makes it hard to concentrate. :-(