Too Sick to Work

You wake up, and are feeling under the weather. Is it a cold, the flu, or just winter allergies? But you have so much to do at work. Should you go in anyways? Here is a quick check to see if you’re OK to go in, or too sick to work. First, check your temperature. If you have a fever, especially 102 degrees or higher, that could be the flu. If you have white patches on your tonsils, that’s a sign of strep throat. In both of these cases, call in sick and see a doctor. You may feel better with an antiviral or antibiotic medication. Do you have a stuffy nose but aren’t feverish or achy? That’s probably just allergies, and you’re OK to go to work. But if you also have a cough and sore throat, you might have a cold. That means you’re contagious, so take the day off. Remember that a cough by itself doesn’t necessarily mean a cold. If you just have a tickle in the back of your throat without the other symptoms, that’s a sign of allergies, and you’re not contagious. You can take an over-the-counter antihistamine or a decongestant and head in to work.