No Post Today I Have A Horrible Cold

If any of you have the same strain of cold that I do - slight fever, some aches, almost flu like but too early to be the flu, you have my sympathy.

No post today my own cold is too bad

Sorry everyone, no post today. I'm still running a fever of 101 and my cold is in both my head and chest. This girl needs her rest today.

Tired of Your Co-Workers Passing Colds Around?

I woke up this morning feeling horrible including a fever of 101. I did not go to work because my cold is that bad. And, this is my second cold of the season, both caught directly as a result of my work place. I thought this would be a perfect article to post today given my own personal circumstances.

March 8, 2006 -- Many U.S. workers refuse to call in sick even though this attitude risks infecting their co-workers and compromises productivity, according to a new national survey.

In fact, 35% of U.S. workers said they felt pressured to go to work when they are sick with the flu , even though this causes about half of them to get upset when a co-worker does the same thing. When asked why they feel pressured to show up, 60% of employees said they are concerned about their work not getting done, 48% said they feel guilty for missing work, and 25% said they don't get paid for sick days. Other reasons include fear their boss will be angry and concern about losing their job.

So-called "presenteeism," or workers' being on the job, but, because of illness or other medical conditions, not fully functioning, can have a serious impact in the workplace. In a typical year, the flu in the workplace may result in as much as $10 billion in lost productivity, according to estimates from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID).

"The phenomenon of presenteeism is very relevant with regard to influenza," says Susan J. Rehm, MD, NFID medical director and a doctor in the department of infectious disease at The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

"We hope that by discussing the topic and helping people to better understand the symptoms and prevention and treatment of the flu, they will be better able to handle workforce pressures and the pressure that they put on themselves to go to work even when they have the flu," she says.

"One of the objective ways that people can make a decision about staying home is the presence of fever," Rehm advises. "Most colds aren't associated with fever whereas the flu very commonly has fever associated with it and it's likely that fever will be seen along with others symptoms that will make the person think twice about whether they want to go to work," she says, adding that studies have proven that staying home for a day or two can boost productivity in the long term.

According to the survey, 58% of respondents said they have had co-workers come to work sick or with the flu this winter, and 30% said they have contracted the flu virus from a co-worker. What's more, 40% of people are annoyed and 46% are sympathetic when a co-worker comes to work with the flu.

Stay Home if You Have a Fever

But Neil Schachter, MD, medical director of respiratory care at Mount Sinai in New York City and the author of The Good Doctor's Guide to Colds and Flu, says the awful truth is that most people are actually contagious in the 24 to 48 hours before they come down with the full-blown flu. "You probably exposed most of your co-workers to the flu before it hits you," he says. "If it's Monday morning and you start to feel sick, stay home because you have not infected your co-workers yet."

Try and remember that "it doesn't help the company to spread the flu to everybody there, and even the most aggressive boss would not want you around if you are going to bring everyone else down," he says. "It is a good attitude to show up and do work and not let everything stop you, but you need to take winter respiratory infections seriously."

An Ounce of Prevention

Fifty-two percent of the employees surveyed said their organization does not have a plan in place to prevent the spread of flu in the workplace.

That said, the best way to stay healthy during cold and flu season is to "wash your hands. Wash your hands. Wash your hands," he tells WebMD. "Make sure you get a flu shot, and if you are over 50 or have underlying health problems, get the pneumonia shot, too," he suggests.

Rehm adds that not getting paid for sick days is a huge issue. "One would hope employers will continue to look at these issues of productivity and establish policies that will make it easier for workers to stay home appropriately," she says.

Conducted by the NFID, the new survey comprised 978 adults aged 18 and older who were employed full-time and was conducted Jan. 26-30. A follow-up survey was conducted Feb. 9-13.

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SOURCES: Neil Schachter, MD, medical director, respiratory care, Mount Sinai, New York City; author, The Good Doctor's Guide to Colds and Flu. News release, New National Survey Shows Employees Feel Pressured to Go to Work, Despite Being Sick With Flu. Feb 27, 2006.

Chest Colds

I'm coming down with my second cold of the season. So I am under the weather like many of you are, unfortunately, it's part of my work to be around people with colds and therefore I get three times the colds as the average person. Nonetheless, if you're sneezing, shivering and slightly feverish today, I am too. Misery loves company...

Time, Not Antibiotics, Best Rx for Chest Cold

Study: Antibiotics Don't Help Cough With Ugly Phlegm in People Without Lung Disease

By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Medical News

June 21, 2005 -- Antibiotics don't help a chest cold much -- even if you're coughing up icky green gunk, a new study shows.

The new findings don't apply to people with underlying lung disease. These patients probably do benefit from antibiotics. But the rest of us do not, find Paul Little, MD, professor of medicine at England's University of Southampton, and colleagues.

Little's team studied some 800 otherwise healthy people, aged 3 years and older, seeing a doctor for a lower respiratory infection. Doctors often call this bronchitis. Most of us know it as a chest cold.

The researchers gave some of the patients antibiotics right away. Others didn't get antibiotics at all. A third group got a prescription for antibiotics, but it was left in a box at the reception desk. They could get the prescription at any time but were advised to wait 14 days.

The bottom line: Nobody got better much faster than anybody else did. On average, patients already had a cough for nine days before they saw a doctor. It took about 12 more days for patients' coughs to get completely better -- although one in four patients had a cough lasting 17 more days or longer. The findings appear in the June 22/29 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

"Doctors have unfortunately been doling out antibiotics believing they will help -- but antibiotics do not seem to be the answer," Little tells WebMD. "Antibiotics may make a difference of a day in an illness lasting three weeks. I tell patients, 'In your case, antibiotics will probably not make a difference -- and you have to suffer their side effects if you take them.'"

Chest Colds Linger Longer

Modern medical science has made huge strides in understanding and treating a wide variety of diseases. Yet surprisingly little is known about the common illnesses that plague us.

That's why Little's study is so important, says Mark H. Ebell, MD, deputy editor of American Family Physician and associate professor at Michigan State University. He says the findings aren't just a surprise to patients -- they're a surprise to doctors, too.

For example, Ebell notes, doctors generally thought the cough from a chest cold lasted about a week. Surprisingly, Little's team finds that these coughs last for about three weeks -- and often last a month. And it's also a surprise to many doctors that antibiotics really don't help otherwise healthy patients with chest colds.

"I hope this will educate doctors about the limits of antibiotics for treating cough," Ebell tells WebMD. "It is very hard for doctors to learn the limits of their own informal observations in practice and to lean that sometimes the studies are right and they are wrong."

What About Children?

It's one thing to accept the news that antibiotics won't help our own chest colds. But won't they at least help our coughing kids?

No, Little and colleagues find. The otherwise healthy children enrolled in their study did the same as adults.

That confirms what some pediatricians already suspected, says Michael J. Light, MD, chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics' pulmonology section and professor of clinical pediatrics at the University of Miami in Florida.

"The majority of kids don't need antibiotics unless they have a definite pneumonia," Light tells WebMD. "Lower respiratory infections in kids are common and they go on for a long time. We pediatricians take notice of coughs that go on beyond five or seven days, and those are the ones we tend to treat with antibiotics. But this study clearly shows that probably isn't the right approach. Waiting it out is correct."

Despite this reassurance, Light says parents should be aware of signs that children need help right away.

"If a cough lasts for more than several days, it is not an unreasonable thing to see the doctor," Light says. "If children have a fever that persists, if they seem to be breathing significantly faster than usual, this needs to be checked out."

A child that has difficulty breathing and begins to turn blue should immediately be taken to an emergency room.

Danger Signs

Sometimes you really do need to see a doctor for a bad cough. It could be pneumonia. Signs of pneumonia are:

• Shortness of breath
• High fever
• Rapid breathing
• Coughing rusty-colored or bloody sputum
• Feeling very weak or tired

If you have any of these symptoms, it's a good idea to see a doctor.

"Basically, any time someone is worried we want them to come in," Ebell says. "There are other reasons to worry about a cough besides chest colds. Coughs can be caused by acid reflux, allergies, sinus infections, asthma, and other things we can treat. Any cough lasting more than two weeks should be evaluated by a doctor unless it is definitely getting better and almost gone."

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How We Actually Catch Cold and Flu Viruses

When someone has a cold, the nasal secretions are teeming with cold viruses. Coughing, drooling, and talking are all unlikely ways to pass a cold. But sneezing, nose-blowing, and nose-wiping are the means by which the virus spreads. You can catch a cold by inhaling the virus if you are sitting close to a sneeze, or by touching your nose, eyes, or mouth after you have touched something contaminated by infected nasal secretions.

Once you have "caught" a cold, the symptoms begin in 1 to 5 days. Usually irritation in the nose or a scratchy feeling in the throat is the first sign, followed within hours by sneezing and a watery nasal discharge.

Inhaling droplets from coughs or sneezes is the most common way to catch the flu. Symptoms appear 1 to 7 days later (usually 2-3 days). The flu is airborne and quite contagious, and with its short incubation period it often slams into a community all at once, creating a noticeable cluster of school and work absences. The flu usually arrives in the winter months. Within 2 or 3 weeks of its arrival, most of the classroom has had it.

Traveling and Colds

Doesn't it feel like you have the worst luck sometimes? You're feeling healthy, strong and ready for your next business trip. You make it through the long flight and the first day of meetings. And then you wake up the next morning, congested, coughing and sneezing. Your head is pounding and the last thing you want to do is get out of bed. Yep, you caught a cold.

There's not much worse than being sick while you're traveling, whether your trip is for business or pleasure. You don't want to miss out on the vacation of a lifetime, nor do you want to jeopardize a big meeting with clients.

So what can you do? Of course, you should do everything you can do avoid getting sick in the first place. The best way to do that is simple, according to Dr. Mark Roberts, an occupational medicine specialist and former medical director for several Fortune 500 companies.

"Do what your mother taught you," he advises. "Use tissues and dispose of them properly. Keep your hands away from your mouth. Have as much space as possible between you and the next person on the plane."

Also, stick to your normal routine. "When you start traveling, it's easier to get away from that routine. You eat different foods, your sleeping patterns might change," Roberts says. When you change your routine, you might experience adverse health effects. So, don't drink or eat more than you normally do -- and make sure to get a good night's rest.

And of course, the cardinal rule in preventing sickness, wash your hands thoroughly and often.

Unfornately, air travel makes it hard to stay healthy sometimes. "There's a lot of people in small places," Roberts says. "The opportunity to share influenza and cold viruses is very common."

Even if you take all the possible precautions, you can still get sick. Roberts says that there are a few over-the-counter medications every traveler should have handy.

- Headache medication. Advil, aspirin, Tylenol are common examples. "Make sure it's whatever you normally take for headaches. Some medications can have adverse effects, so make sure it's something you've taken before."

- Antihistamine. Your basic cold medication. Again, make sure it's a medication you've used (and one that has worked) before. "Make sure to read the fine print, because some antihistamines can cause drowsiness, which means you might not be in tip-top shape to make a presentation." Also, don't take more than the recommended dose.

Soothing Your Sore Throat

Got a sore throat? It's not uncommon this time of year. Most sore throats are caused by a viral infection and accompany a cold or the flu. The sore throat caused by a virus usually goes away on its own after about a week.

Occasionally, a sore throat is caused by a bacterial infection -- usually strep (streptococcal). Strep throat may cause a painful throat, swollen lymph glands, fever or headaches, but usually doesn't cause the cough, congestion or hoarseness of viral infections. Strep throat requires antibiotics. Your doctor can determine if you have a viral or a bacterial infection by swabbing the back of your throat and culturing the cells for bacteria.

The March issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter offers self-care tips to ease sore throat:

• Get plenty of rest.
• Double fluid intake.
• Gargle, but don't swallow, a glass of warm water mixed with ½ teaspoon salt.
• Use throat sprays or lozenges.
• Eat foods that are gentle on your throat, such as ice cream, sorbet or soup.
• Take pain relievers, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others).
• Wear a face mask to keep the air that you breathe moist.