Highly infectious workplace one week before vacation...

heatherkatheleen

heatherkatheleen

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So about a week and a half ago, my manager was complaining about a sore throat. By that Monday (the 6th) morning, she was complaining about a sore throat, runny nose, and the feeling that there was something in her eye. By late Monday she had a pink, swollen, crusty eye accompanied by a host of other unwelcome symptoms. Of course, she left work around 5, went to a clinic and was diagnosed with pink eye. My coworker and I spent all day Tuesday disinfecting everything... computer keyboards, doorknobs, hangers, etc. After a week and a half of being in the clear (manager returned to work after 48 hours of antibiotics once she wasn't contagious) another co worker (the one who was present the morning the manager got sick) called in with pink eye in not one but both eyes, and a serious case of the flu.

I leave for vacation next Thursday and I'll be darned if I get sick before then!!!!!! My workplace is close quarters-- there's only 5 stylists at our boutique so I can't take the week off to prevent catching an illness before vacation. Any tips for me? Anyone got any tips on how to avoid pink eye (other than the obvious handwashing?)

I am DETERMINED not to catch this!!!!!!
 
princessmommy

princessmommy

Well-Known Member
Also get those juice drinks (I can't remember the brand) they are in the produce section of my supermarket. They have 3000% vitamin C!
 
Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
Skip the homeopathic eye drops as they are nothing but water...and no, I am not joking. Water and sugar pills are all that exist in homeopathic tinctures. They are one of the biggest scams in the history of medicine.

Vitamins and supplements will also be largely useless. If you are eating a decent diet you have all that you need. Anything more than your average daily multi-vitamin is a waste. Your immune system will only work at 100% no matter how much vitamin C, D, etc you throw at it.

Your best bet it to be overly vigilant on your hygiene. Wash your hands frequently and properly. Since pink eye is a legitimate concern, never touch your eyes. Gloves will help keep your hands clean, but they will do you no good if you rub your face with a contaminated glove.

You might also consider going to your doctor and telling him/her the situation. He/she might be willing to give you a course of treatment that should avoid you getting pink eye in the first place.
 
D

DisneyDebNJ

Well-Known Member
Master Yoda said:
Skip the homeopathic eye drops as they are nothing but water...and no, I am not joking. Water and sugar pills are all that exist in homeopathic tinctures. They are one of the biggest scams in the history of medicine.

Vitamins and supplements will also be largely useless. If you are eating a decent diet you have all that you need. Anything more than your average daily multi-vitamin is a waste. Your immune system will only work at 100% no matter how much vitamin C, D, etc you throw at it.

Your best bet it to be overly vigilant on your hygiene. Wash your hands frequently and properly. Since pink eye is a legitimate concern, never touch your eyes. Gloves will help keep your hands clean, but they will do you no good if you rub your face with a contaminated glove.

You might also consider going to your doctor and telling him/her the situation. He/she might be willing to give you a course of treatment that should avoid you getting pink eye in the first place.
Click to expand...
Excellent advice, Yoda.... I HIGHLY suggest getting a can of lysol and spraying everything in your office. Of course you can *try* to ward it off with products containing echinacea, but as @Master Yoda, your best defense is going to your doctor and seeing if he can prescribe a preventative of some sort. Better safe than sorry!!! Best of luck!!!
 
heatherkatheleen

heatherkatheleen

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Master Yoda said:
Skip the homeopathic eye drops as they are nothing but water...and no, I am not joking. Water and sugar pills are all that exist in homeopathic tinctures. They are one of the biggest scams in the history of medicine.

Vitamins and supplements will also be largely useless. If you are eating a decent diet you have all that you need. Anything more than your average daily multi-vitamin is a waste. Your immune system will only work at 100% no matter how much vitamin C, D, etc you throw at it.

Your best bet it to be overly vigilant on your hygiene. Wash your hands frequently and properly. Since pink eye is a legitimate concern, never touch your eyes. Gloves will help keep your hands clean, but they will do you no good if you rub your face with a contaminated glove.

You might also consider going to your doctor and telling him/her the situation. He/she might be willing to give you a course of treatment that should avoid you getting pink eye in the first place.
Click to expand...
I did speak with my doctor last night... No dice on getting the medicine early :( He said he doesn't prescribe those antibiotics as preventative care, only when someone is infected. I have been really diligent with my handwashing (minimum once per hour, especially while at work) and have a pack of q-tips at work that I soak in cold water once per hour (after I wash my hands) and use to rinse my tear ducts and stuff (I can't just splash water in my eyes cause I have to wear makeup to work). Maybe I will try the walk-in clinic near my house to see if they'll prescribe the antibiotics as preventative care-- they are usually a little more understanding (my doctor is a bit harsh lol).

@DisneyDebNJ Yes!!!! I am buying a container of Lysol wipes and going over my work with a fine-tooth comb today. I did my best with the Green Works cleaner we have yesterday but it obviously didn't kill the bacteria after the first girl got it, because the second girl still got infected. Lysol wipes to the rescue!
 
D

DisneyDebNJ

Well-Known Member
heatherkatheleen said:
I did speak with my doctor last night... No dice on getting the medicine early :( He said he doesn't prescribe those antibiotics as preventative care, only when someone is infected. I have been really diligent with my handwashing (minimum once per hour, especially while at work) and have a pack of q-tips at work that I soak in cold water once per hour (after I wash my hands) and use to rinse my tear ducts and stuff (I can't just splash water in my eyes cause I have to wear makeup to work). Maybe I will try the walk-in clinic near my house to see if they'll prescribe the antibiotics as preventative care-- they are usually a little more understanding (my doctor is a bit harsh lol).

@DisneyDebNJ Yes!!!! I am buying a container of Lysol wipes and going over my work with a fine-tooth comb today. I did my best with the Green Works cleaner we have yesterday but it obviously didn't kill the bacteria after the first girl got it, because the second girl still got infected. Lysol wipes to the rescue!
Click to expand...
I even bring a can of lysol, wipes and hand sanitizer with me when we go to Disney LOL!!!! TOO many people sneeze, cough, etc and then grab the hand rails, door knobs, etc. Whip those wipes out at a park, and see how many mother's flock to you, asking for one LOLOL Hey, doesn't hurt to be a tad cautious :)
 
sweetpee_1993

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Seriously. This is exactly why I keep antibiotics onhand here at home. My MiL showed me where she orders meds from (pharmaceuticals from another country outside the US). We both keep a small quantity of Cipro, Zpacks, etc. onhand at all times. No, we do not take them or give them to our families for every sniffle or as a preventative measure. But, rather than stressing over getting into the doctor when needed (generally takes a day or 2 to get in, not so helpful when you're deathly ill and have been for several days which is kinda my rule of thumb before I even consider medical intervention), I have antibiotics to address most of the common things that can come up. AND, it's so nice to be able to travel and know we can handle whatever might come up. Yep, I've had MiL ship me a quantity of antibiotics overnight. If I can reasonably get to the doctor to see what he/she prescribes I'll check what the cost to fill the scrip is. It's cool when the doc prescribes something I already HAVE so we don't even have to go to the pharmacy. And can I just tell you how OVERPRICED meds are in the US??? Chandler was recently prescribed a retinol cream and doxycycline. The doxy I can get from the pharmaceutical company overseas for about 1/10 the cost to fill at the pharmacy even with BCBS Rx coverage.

My best advice is to get OCD with the handwashing and disinfecting of all surfaces. Get clorox wipes, Lysol, etc. Go nuts. Don't spray yourself in the eyeball with the Lysol, tho. Chandler can tell you that's pretty painful. LOL! ((He thought he was spraying his pillows and bed while his bedding was being washed but the nozzle was pointed back at him. He sprayed his eyeballs. Took me a minute to catch onto what was wrong as he was rolling around in the floor screeching about his eyes and being eff-ing blind. Then I had to drag a human heavier than me to my bathroom, heft his upper body over the edge of the tub, and start flushing his face. So DO NOT spray your eyeballs. They don't like disinfecting.)) Make sure you're still taking your daily vitamins and eating properly just to maintain good overall health which should keep your immune system in shape. That's the most important thing: maintaining good overall health BEFORE you get sick.

And I say all this as we're staring down the same cruise as YOU and both Tracey and I are sick as dogs. Tracey started up last week with cold symptoms and has either a sinus infection or upper respiratory infection. He's taking antibiotics ;) and rapidly improving. I started with mild scratchy throat and drainage over the weekend. Yesterday my whole face was stopped up and I sounded like death. I slept 11 hours last night. Still very congested in my face but a little better. Tracey has been kinda freaked about the cruise and all but I keep telling him it's better we're sick this week than next. Oh! And Brian woke up this morning with a sore throat. :eek:
 
Phonedave

Phonedave

Well-Known Member
As Yoda said, avoid vitamin, Emergen-C, Airborne, and all that other stuff. - A Waste of money.

The biggest thing you can do is keep you hands away from your face. It is not as easy as it sounds. Think about how often you lean on your hand to look at the screen (some of you are doing it right now) or rub your eyes because they are tired. Keep you hands away from you mucous membrance - eyes, mouth, nose (heck, keep your finger out of your ear too)

-dave
 
Mrs.Skellington

Mrs.Skellington

Active Member
If you do develop pink eye, Johnson and Johnson's baby shampoo. One drop in the infected eye. And the no more tears is bull but it works. Be very vigilant about hand washing. Also if its the flu, there is a nasal swab, can remember what the brand was. It works wonderful. Have a safe vacation. Wish I was coming.
 
heatherkatheleen

heatherkatheleen

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
sweetpee_1993 said:
Seriously. This is exactly why I keep antibiotics onhand here at home. My MiL showed me where she orders meds from (pharmaceuticals from another country outside the US). We both keep a small quantity of Cipro, Zpacks, etc. onhand at all times. No, we do not take them or give them to our families for every sniffle or as a preventative measure. But, rather than stressing over getting into the doctor when needed (generally takes a day or 2 to get in, not so helpful when you're deathly ill and have been for several days which is kinda my rule of thumb before I even consider medical intervention), I have antibiotics to address most of the common things that can come up. AND, it's so nice to be able to travel and know we can handle whatever might come up. Yep, I've had MiL ship me a quantity of antibiotics overnight. If I can reasonably get to the doctor to see what he/she prescribes I'll check what the cost to fill the scrip is. It's cool when the doc prescribes something I already HAVE so we don't even have to go to the pharmacy. And can I just tell you how OVERPRICED meds are in the US??? Chandler was recently prescribed a retinol cream and doxycycline. The doxy I can get from the pharmaceutical company overseas for about 1/10 the cost to fill at the pharmacy even with BCBS Rx coverage.

My best advice is to get OCD with the handwashing and disinfecting of all surfaces. Get clorox wipes, Lysol, etc. Go nuts. Don't spray yourself in the eyeball with the Lysol, tho. Chandler can tell you that's pretty painful. LOL! ((He thought he was spraying his pillows and bed while his bedding was being washed but the nozzle was pointed back at him. He sprayed his eyeballs. Took me a minute to catch onto what was wrong as he was rolling around in the floor screeching about his eyes and being eff-ing blind. Then I had to drag a human heavier than me to my bathroom, heft his upper body over the edge of the tub, and start flushing his face. So DO NOT spray your eyeballs. They don't like disinfecting.)) Make sure you're still taking your daily vitamins and eating properly just to maintain good overall health which should keep your immune system in shape. That's the most important thing: maintaining good overall health BEFORE you get sick.

And I say all this as we're staring down the same cruise as YOU and both Tracey and I are sick as dogs. Tracey started up last week with cold symptoms and has either a sinus infection or upper respiratory infection. He's taking antibiotics ;) and rapidly improving. I started with mild scratchy throat and drainage over the weekend. Yesterday my whole face was stopped up and I sounded like death. I slept 11 hours last night. Still very congested in my face but a little better. Tracey has been kinda freaked about the cruise and all but I keep telling him it's better we're sick this week than next. Oh! And Brian woke up this morning with a sore throat. :eek:
Click to expand...

Omg! Poor Chandler with the Lysol in his eyes... I can just picture you trying to haul him into the bath tub LOL! Prescriptions work so differently in the states than they do here in Canada... I haven't ever once had to worry about the cost of a prescription. All my life I've been completely covered for every drug I need (I know I am very lucky, I'm not trying to be arrogant!) so that isn't the problem! At this moment in time the problem is that my doctor won't prescribe the meds just so that I can have them in case pink eye springs up on vacation! However I'm gonna buy a bottle of the Polysporin Pink Eye drops and some other supplies so that I'm prepared if the worst does happen! I'm just gonna have to continue being a hand-washing, hand-sanitizing freak!!! And ewwwww maybe I don't want to meet you if you're still sick on the cruise ;) lol! Lets hope your whole fam can kick the sickness before vacation rolls around next week!
 
heatherkatheleen

heatherkatheleen

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Phonedave said:
As Yoda said, avoid vitamin, Emergen-C, Airborne, and all that other stuff. - A Waste of money.

The biggest thing you can do is keep you hands away from your face. It is not as easy as it sounds. Think about how often you lean on your hand to look at the screen (some of you are doing it right now) or rub your eyes because they are tired. Keep you hands away from you mucous membrance - eyes, mouth, nose (heck, keep your finger out of your ear too)

-dave
Click to expand...

Trust me, I'm a handwashing freak and the only time I go near my eyes with my hands is after they've been freshly washed, and even then my hands don't touch my eyes, just a q-tip does! I'm just gonna continue being diligent!

Mrs.Skellington said:
If you do develop pink eye, Johnson and Johnson's baby shampoo. One drop in the infected eye. And the no more tears is bull but it works. Be very vigilant about hand washing. Also if its the flu, there is a nasal swab, can remember what the brand was. It works wonderful. Have a safe vacation. Wish I was coming.
Click to expand...

Really? Never heard of the baby shampoo remedy before!
 
Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
KCL said:
Be careful with baby shampoo:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/amywest...-goes-public-with-plans-to-clean-up-products/

I'm pretty sure I saw a news report even more recently that said it had formaldehyde in it.
Click to expand...
Just FYI a single apple has more formaldehyde in it that 14 bottles of J&J baby shampoo. It is also not gaseous which is where it becomes a problem. It is yet another case of not letting the facts get in the way of a good story.

http://www.chemicallyspeaking.com/a...mpoo-crunch-the-numbers-crunch-the-scare.aspx
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom