What’s a good enough reason to call in sick? If you wake up feeling sneezy, sleepy, dopey and grumpy, as if you've turned into nearly all of Snow White’s dwarves overnight, you might be wondering whether you should tough it out or just stay home. Here’s some advice on how to tell when your symptoms warrant staying at home – or when you have to roll out of bed and get to work.
#1 Good reason to call in sick: You’re a danger to others
“You have to ask yourself the key question: Are you a danger to yourself or to others?” says Michael Bagner, MD, attending physician at St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital and Medical Director of Roosevelt Hospital Doctors Offices in New York.
If, for example, you have an earache that affects your balance or concentration, you can’t do much harm sitting at your computer.
“But for someone who drives a bus or is a pilot, that earache could be very dangerous, for everybody,” Bagner explains. Also, if you are taking medication that can make you so groggy as to make it dangerous to perform your routine duties, you should do everyone a favor and stay home.
#2 Good reason to call in sick: You’re contagious
Contagion is another critical deciding factor – but not always an easy one to determine.
“A lot of diseases are contagious before you realize you’re sick,” Bagner tells WebMD. “Once you know you’re sick, you may not be contagious any more, and may as well go to work.”
But it pays to err on the side of staying home “if you work in close quarters with your co-workers – or you work with elderly or small children or people with cancer or chronic conditions —those are the most vulnerable people in our society,” says Bagner. “A minor nuisance of an illness to you could be fatal to them.” (Check out the symptoms below to help you determine contagiousness.)
#3 Good reason to call in sick: You won’t be productive
The third issue to consider is how productive you will really be. Ask yourself whether showing up just to prove you are a team player could make things worse.
“Sometimes people come back too soon and they get even sicker and wind up staying out longer,” says Paula H. Harvey, a human resources consultant with K & P Consulting and Adjunct Professor at Winthrop University as Rock Hill, SC.
It’s no wonder many people make decisions based on the health of their bank accounts rather than that of their bodies. About one-third of companies offer no sick leave pay at all, according to a 2006 study by the Society for Human Resource Management.
“If you have less than a year’s tenure in some companies they may terminate you if you have been out of work for three days – that’s common in manufacturing,” Harvey says. So if you stay home and snooze, you lose.
Symptoms to Help You Decide – Should You Call in Sick?
Your symptoms can provide the clearest clues as to whether you may be dangerous, contagious or unproductive enough to stay at home. Here’s how to decode the most common symptoms as you decide whether you have good reason to call in sick, get to a doctor, or just get up and go.
Sniffles, Sneezes, Fever and Coughs
If you are sniffling but have no other symptoms – no aches or fever -- it’s likely to be allergies. No excuse – grab a tissue and go to work.
If you have a stuffy nose, a productive cough, stuffed up sinuses and you feel achy and tired, it is likely a cold. Sometimes there will be a low-grade fever as well.
“Colds are most contagious early on – even before you are symptomatic,” says Bagner, so if you recognize the symptoms early enough, stay home for a day or two and see if you improve. You should also stay home if you are taking cold medicines that make you so drowsy that you are likely to make serious, even dangerous errors, at work.
The best thing you can do to keep from spreading the disease to others, at home or at work, is wash your hands as well as objects that you share with others.
“I read one study that said the dirtiest thing in a hotel room is the remote control – the cleaning staff cleans the bathroom but not the remote control,” says Susan Kahn, MD and Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics with a practice in Pelham ,NY.
“Wash your hands and also elevator buttons, light switches, computer keyboards, the handle of the coffee pot, to keep from spreading your illness to others,” Kahn says.
Hand sanitizers couldn’t hurt either, says Bagner: “They really work -- they contain antiseptics and alcohol that kill the germs.”
Flu symptoms tend to be more severe than cold symptoms and usually come on fast, within several hours. In addition to the aches common to the cold, you may have a fever, chills, a dry cough, and extreme tiredness.
“This is the most important time to stay home as you can get dehydrated from the fever,” says Bagner. And you are even more contagious than cold carriers.
Coughing alone doesn’t mean you should stay home, Bagner says, but you should see a physician if it lasts more than a couple of days.
“It could be a sign of anything from postnasal drip from a cold or allergies, to undiagnosed asthma, acid reflux or heartburn – and on the more serious side, emphysema or lung cancer,” says Bagner. “If you are also experiencing shortness of breath, and green mucous, stay home until you get a doctor’s appointment,” advises Bagner. It could be more than a lingering cold – perhaps bronchitis or pneumonia.
A fever plus a sore throat and white patches on your tonsils may indicate a strep throat. This is highly contagious. So stay out of work and get to the doctor for a strep test.
Back Pain
Going to work could merely prolong the pain, especially if you have a job that requires either physical exertion or the opposite -- prolonged sitting or standing. “You may not think of a desk job as strenuous, but it’s worse for your back sometimes than a physical job,” Bagner says.
Stay home for a day or two – but don’t stay in bed. “We no longer recommend bed rest for backaches,” Bagner says. “You are better off staying at home and doing some normal activities but don’t sit at the computer for long and don’t do exercise or heavy lifting.”
Headaches and Migraines
If your headache is combined with other cold and flu symptoms, you’re contagious and should stay home. If it’s a migraine, where the extreme pain and sensitivity to light and noise make it hard to get any work done, you probably shouldn’t bother heading in to work either.
“If it’s a migraine, lying in a cool, dark, quiet area, with a cool compress over the forehead can help,” Bagner says. There is also a wide array of medications and treatments that can help – so see a doctor.
Earache
If you have an earache with no other symptoms – and the pain is intense – see a physician. “Sometimes pain in the ear is not really from the ear – it could be a throat infection or sinus pain or inflammation of the jaw,” Bagner says, and antibiotics may be necessary.
If the earache is mild and accompanies other cold symptoms, you should probably stay home for the first day to see if the earache goes away – and to keep from spreading the cold to others, says Bagner.
Ear infections are not contagious but the pain can become intense quickly -- and you won’t be much good on the job.
Pinkeye
If your eyes are red, and your eyelashes feel sticky and matted, think pinkeye. It can be viral or bacterial.
“It’s no more contagious than a cold, just more obvious,” says Kahn. “Go see a doctor -- if antibiotic drops are called for, you will no longer be contagious after 24-to-48 hours.”
But until then, she says, it is wise, not to go to work, wash your hands frequently, and don’t rub your eyes or you might spread it from one eye to the other.
Sprains/Strains
It’s OK to go to work if you can sit comfortably all day. But if you have to stand or move in a way that puts pressure on the injured limb, the resulting swelling and discomfort could retard the healing process – and delay your return to productivity and good health. Ice packs and anti-inflammatory pain relievers can help reduce swelling and inflammation.
Poison Ivy
Poison ivy can be uncomfortable and unsightly – but if you’re looking for an excuse to stay home, keep looking – you are not contagious. “The rash is an allergic reaction to the oils in the plant – the reaction usually occurs three to four days after exposure. By that time the oil from the original poison ivy is not present [as long as you have washed the clothes you were wearing several times], so you can’t spread it to others or spread it further on yourself,” says Bagner.
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