Living Car Free - Sick

Well the cold and flu season is around the corner and I've already got something. What should a carfree cyclist do when they get sick. Perosonally I think this whole societal thing of going to work or school when your still sick is rediculous. That's how the cold and flu spread. Because people don't give the **** time to die. Especially with nasty things like the avian flu pandamic on the radar screen shouldn't we start re considering the way we treat our selves when we are sick, so we don't endanger other people. My personal motto is if I'm not healthy enough to ride there I shouldn't be there. Except of course for hospitals. It's huge at school. One person get's sick, their parent's stick them back into school still half sick, and then a few day's later half the class is sick.
What's your opinion?

Holy crap my spelling is bad. I'm pretty darn sick. I'm not normally this stupid.

I usually catch the flu some time in the autumn. Three years ago I tried to hang on as long as possible and only call in sick when I could really feel I had high body temp to go with the usual symptoms. Result: a full blown bronchitis, meds and a long sick leave.

Two years back: same story. How's that for stupid?

Last year: I felt I was coming down with flu and stayed home for two working days and the following weekend. Classic remedies: lots of rest and hot drinks. That was it.

I know it's anecdotal, but still I think both myself and my employer were better off because I finally understood to stay home early. Lesson learned.

--J

If you're sick, stay home. Pleeeease. I don't want what you have. That being said, I know I have come in when not feeling well in order to preserve my sick days for times when the kids are ill, but usually if I feel to bad, I do stay home as most of my work can be addressed from there if absolutely necessary.

Seems like I read something last winter about the cost of sick folks coming to work ...

Ah, here's something: Expanded Sick Leave Would Yield Substantial Benefits to Business, Employers, and Families

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:W88L1yD0XugJ:www.iwpr.org/pdf/B243.pdf+cost+of+sick+days&hl=en

i ride and work with colds/flu, you name it...

working in a small cafe setting i find that by simply washing my hands and covering my mouth/turn head while talking, i do not spread/or catch that many germs.

i feel as if colds/flu's are just a part of life, and if you are a clean person with proper upbringing and manners, its no biggie if you're sick. its those that just wipe their noses on the sleeves/hands then rub their eyes then shake your hand types that spread their germs.


and at first sign of that run-down feeling that can lead to a cold, drink airborne...

http://www.airbornehealth.com/

this stuff works, and is hard to find on the shelves in the downtown areas where i work, as every office is grabbing and using it...

If you're sick, you're sick. Bike or no bike, stay home.

Drink some hot green tea w/ honey, get some rest and quit yer *****in' :). Kidding, I know it sucks to be under the weather -- if I'm sick I only go in to school, work, wherever if it is absolutely essential that I am there....which is never.

People don't care anymore about taking care of each other. It's obvious by the way people go to work no matter how they feel and share it with the workplace. As for the Avian Flu that is expected to materialize someday, you might be forcibilly quarenteened by the military if this brand of flu hits our shores. Then you won't be able to share it with everybody else. In 1918, people wore masks to protect themselves. It seems that our living generations slipped back even further than that.

Must we resort to hard physical tactics to recivilized the first world again?

I am sick today and had to come in because it's simply expected. People don't give a hoot no more wether you're sick or not. If you're not in the office they feel like they're being cheated because they are there and you're home "having a day off"...

... its those that just wipe their noses on the sleeves/hands then rub their eyes then shake your hand types that spread their germs...

Not to offend but there are a lot of contact areas one does not even think about like door handles and knobs, bathroom sink faucets, etc. especially where one person is following right behind the other.

Not to offend but it is totally astounding the number of guys who do not even wash their hands as they leave the bathroom. One can use paper towels or toilet paper to turn on the knobs and open the door and the back of the hand to press the soap dispenser if you are worried about getting germs and that is the reason you are not washing. If it is just upbringing or you are in a hurry, wake up and wash em. You know who you are and I hope I am embarassing you totally if it is you.

After noticing the non-washing behavior of the majority in my setting I always open the bathroom door going out with a paper towel.

( In case you are curious, if one is sitting on the commode in a small bathroom area you can hear when someone is finished at the one standing spot and the autoflush flushes. They then leave immediately {the door opens and closes** or stop at the sink to wash { water running **. Over the course of 5 years my conclusion is the majority do not wash. )

Again, sorry if I offended anyone, but this behavior is rude, disgusting, and spreads germs and I would like to see it change.

Not to offend but it is totally astounding the number of guys who do not even wash their hands as they leave the bathroom. One can use paper towels or toilet paper to turn on the knobs and open the door and the back of the hand to press the soap dispenser if you are worried about getting germs and that is the reason you are not washing. If it is just upbringing or you are in a hurry, wake up and wash em. You know who you are and I hope I am embarassing you totally if it is you.


Please do offend away! I too have noticed this disgusting habit and it makes me not want to shake hands with any males I meet, ever! Didn't these peoples mothers tell them to always wash their hands after going to the bathroom? uugh, disgusting.

Please do offend away! I too have noticed this disgusting habit and it makes me not want to shake hands with any males I meet, ever! Didn't these peoples mothers tell them to always wash their hands after going to the bathroom? uugh, disgusting.

lets not just single out males, cause the ladies are not that much better, and in fact the ones that actually sit down on public toilets, i'll give them the use of the gaskets, but they actually come into contact with the business end of the toilet more so than most males... and not all of them use the soap and water either.

i actually see people bring their coffee while talking on their cellphones go into our public bathroom and have no problem sitting them down on the trash can or the back of the toilet.

and lets not forget the wash your hands each and every time you touch money, for money isn't just the root of all evil, its freaking nasty.

E'mergen-C is the same as Airborne, and cheaper, and been around for years and years. Airborne's just the same thing in tablet form. Old-fashioned/newfangled, just like the old-style "BC Headache Powder" they still take in the South while in the West and North we like our little pills, both contain asperin.

I did a year of biking everywhere, and I seemed to be more cold proof, but I'm not sure. Takes years to come to a conclusion. IF you get sick, best thing is to spend the day in bed, really REALLY give your body the rest it needs to beat it.

I guess I'd better find a place to get a flu shot, I'd rather get 5 flu shots than that **** that was going around last year.

The key to a much healthier life is to simply stop worrying about germs. Stress and anxiety cause more problems within individuals and society than someone not washing their hands. That aside, if you are a male and your genitals are so disgusting that you feel the urge to disinfect your hands after touching them, you have more serious issues. Bacteria usually resides in the urethra, so the outside should be as clean as any other body part.

If you do wish to be concerned about germs, focus attention on people that cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze. How many people immedietly wash their hands afterwards? Or even an hour afterwards? For another interesting twist, some have suggested that overcleaning your body actually leaves you more prone to germ acquistion since we naturally carry a lot of harmless bacteria around on our skins, and so wipe those out and you just open the door for the more insiduous, soap resistent bacteria.

On a slightly tangent note, nothing will get you over sickness better than a few days of fasting*. Digesting food requires a lot of energy, energy that is diverted from fighting infection and disease. Most mammals eat very little to nothing when injured or sick just for this reason, and a good fast also helps induce fever which is the best state to be in while sick. Higher body temperatures create an insalubrious environment for bacteria and virii.

My own experience has shown me that if I fast I recover from my infrequent illnesses in about 1/3rd the amount of time then normal. My mental clarity seems to suffer when I fast, even if I am not sick, and this is the only drawback (but a huge one when you are a student of mathematics).

*By fasting in this sense I refer to fresh juice and water fasting, such that you still get nutrients but no solid foods. You can maintain juice fasts for extended periods of time, months even, and still engage in rigorous activity such as hiking.

Well fo some of us, there is no such thing is a day off, sick or not. I absolutely cannot take time off unless im dead or arrested and in jail, period. I ride regardless, havent missed a day of work in years. Ive also found that massive amounts of exercise makes for one very healthy person that doesnt get sick often at all, been 2 years since Ive had even a minor head cold.

If you do need to get somewhere and you are too ill to ride, get a taxi. The money you save by riding means you will should be able to put some aside for occasional taxi/car hire. Car free does not have to mean car-less.

The key to a much healthier life is to simply stop worrying about germs. Stress and anxiety cause more problems within individuals and society than someone not washing their hands. That aside, if you are a male and your genitals are so disgusting that you feel the urge to disinfect your hands after touching them, you have more serious issues. Bacteria usually resides in the urethra, so the outside should be as clean as any other body part.

If you do wish to be concerned about germs, focus attention on people that cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze. How many people immedietly wash their hands afterwards? Or even an hour afterwards? For another interesting twist, some have suggested that overcleaning your body actually leaves you more prone to germ acquistion since we naturally carry a lot of harmless bacteria around on our skins, and so wipe those out and you just open the door for the more insiduous, soap resistent bacteria.



how large of a urban area do you live in? the city i live in is nasty, i couldn't go out into public places and have to use the bathroom and not think of washing my hands before i unzip and after just thinking of others that i come in contact with, but its not in the worry or stressful type way, but more so a golden rule do unto others way.

overcleaning your body:rolleyes: ... hippie :D



Well fo some of us, there is no such thing is a day off, sick or not.

i'm right there with you on that one...

stay home, but i understand the delemia. at my work there are few people here and if one is sick it causes problems for everyone.

when i worked at a phone center, yuck, people got fired all the time for missing work because they called in sick and many times they were sick. flu, yuckie throat crap. it sucks.

i guess my solution was to stop working 16 or 20 miles away from home and know i can bike the 3 to 5 even when i am ill or catch the bus. yip, i go to work sick. i have to. my work requires it almost.

i also think we spend too much time at work, but that is a different kettle of fish, but maybe not really. we spend so much time working we have no time to relax and are prone to get sick?

Well fo some of us, there is no such thing is a day off, sick or not. I absolutely cannot take time off unless im dead or arrested and in jail, period.

Sounds like a living hell.

Sounds like a living hell.

not really as bad as it seems, at least for me. i'm well compensated plus working in a medical marijuana dispensary and being a medical marijuana user its a match made in heaven :D

Sounds like a living hell.

Well, as an independent bike messenger I either work or go out of business. My whole family and almost everyone I know has sacrificed their health for money and a lifestyle which is unsustainable, I did too for awhile, not any more. I get weekends off, but during the week I ride no matter what. I dont work in an office but I do go in and out of lots of them, I come in contact with sick people all the time, many will never ever find out one of the most important things you can do health wise is get some freakin exercise. I enjoy my job, even on days like today when its 50 something degrees and raining, how many can say the same? Job enjoyment makes being dedicated easy.

how large of a urban area do you live in? the city i live in is nasty, i couldn't go out into public places and have to use the bathroom and not think of washing my hands before i unzip and after just thinking of others that i come in contact with, but its not in the worry or stressful type way, but more so a golden rule do unto others way.

overcleaning your body:rolleyes: ... hippie :D

Perhaps you are right about large urban centers. Uppsala is large by Swedish standards (about 200,000 people, 4th largest city here) but fairly clean and rather nice. I am reminded by what you say of a fellow I met in a train station in Köln, Germany. He shook my hand, and it was incredibly clammy and slimy. I thought I would surely become sick, but thankfully did not.

I'm a janitor and I can tell you that washing your hands is a darned good idea. A lot of people do not wash theirs after using the bathroom and that includes taking a poo.

So then they go out the door and push on it or grab the handle with that hand. Then you come in, wash ur hands, and push on it as you go out. Stall doors, toilets seats, etc.

Telephones are another one, if you share a phone with someone in the office you might want to get a box of wipes and wipe it down frequently. That no-rinse hand cleaner i a good investment too.

If I was a business owner that wanted to reduce absenteism, i would bring the wipes, the hand cleaner, and bottles of vitamin c to work and give em out to my workers.

And i would hire a decent janitor.

OH, and public restrooms, think of them as hazardous, i was in the military and when i clean bathrooms i think of is as decontaminating them.