The challenges of 2020 have highlighted the critical need for individuals to isolate when sick. Although the temptation to head into work or the shops may be very strong, stopping the spread of infectious diseases is a whole-of-community responsibility.
However, as well as the obligation you owe your community, there are several other good reasons to stay home while sick. Let’s explore below.
- It Gives You an Opportunity to Recover
You’ve likely seen adverts telling you to simply pop a tablet when sick, to mask various symptoms of illness, and keep on swimming; however, this is often not the best approach. If you’re sick with a virus, the best thing you can do is stay home and REST. In fact, forcing your embattled body to get out and about, when you should be snuggled up in bed is an excellent recipe for extending your illness indefinitely!
- You Won’t Be Productive at Work Anyway
If the reason you’re thinking of leaving the house is to get back to work and demonstrate your model employee status, you probably need to think again.
Multiple studies have shown that presenteeism (where people show up to work while sick) actually results in a net loss of productivity. What this means is that if sick individuals stayed home until well, less time would be lost overall than if they choose to come to work while sick. This is because when you’re sick, you work inefficiently and make more frequent mistakes.
If your boss is not understanding about the value of sick days, then bear in mind that while you may keep your boss happy working while sick, you definitely won’t endear yourself to your co-workers!
- You’ll be a Social Pariah
If you sneeze in public these days, you’ll likely find everyone nearby backing away in horror (thanks Covid!). Human beings are hard-wired to avoid disease, and the Covid-19 pandemic has only helped to strengthen this natural tendency. You’re already feeling sick, do you really want to add social pariah status to your woes?
So How do You Make Sure You’re Prepared for A Sudden Time-Out?
For many of us, especially those who live alone, self-isolating while sick presents significant challenges. What are you meant to eat? Who do you turn to if you run out of tissues?
We suggest that you invest a little time, while you are feeling healthy, in planning an isolation supply. This could include any of the following ideas:
- Stock up on fruits and vegetables high in Vitamin C. Obviously fresh vegetables won’t last long in storage, so opt for frozen goods like berries, mangoes, spinach, and carrots.
- Fill a small box with spare tissues, toilet paper, throat lozenges, paracetamol, and whatever other supplies you frequently rely on when sick
- Purchase a supply of ready-made meal kits – just try to make sure they are ‘real food’ rather than items loaded with preservatives.
- Better yet, prepare and freeze immune boosting foods, like chicken soup, which is thought to contain multiple healing ingredients, and lemon juice (simply pour lemon juice into an ice-cube tray and once frozen transfer the cubes into an airtight container in your freezer)
For specially formulated medications to help you combat sickness, contact Kingswood Compounding Pharmacy today.