Losing it, please help me!!

[ktacserv]

Just when I had convinced myself that we dodged a bullet and that SV wasn't really going around...

My closest coworker said he was up all night cause his kid was sick with SV. This is Monday morning, first thing. We work right next to each other and he and I share deals, and all kinds of other equipment. I have to work with him the whole week. I can't even breathe around him right now without fear that he will transmit this to me. I am sitting here, heart pounding in sweats and can't concentrate on my work. I have nowhere to go to get away from him, this is the very beginning of the week and we have 5 days to spend together. Please help me. Just knowing he was in contact with SV last night and now he is here next to me makes me want to run out of here screaming. What can I do yo be safe. Please help me calm myself down. I don't know how I am going to do this.

[ballykissangel]

I would start by asking yourself this. If your co-worker had been up all night with a child who had a bad cold would you be panicking now? A sv is not any more contagious than cold. Even if your co-worker eventually were to get it himself, you would have to ingest (swallow) the virus particles as it is not airborne, to become infected. Just keep your hands good and clean and try and relax. You can't catch a SV just from being beside someone who has it (and he doesn't).

[asianeko]

Even if he did catch it, he won't be contagious until he starts showing symptoms Even then you need to ingest V particles or fecal particles to get it. Just wash those hands and you're all set

[ktacserv]

Thank you guys. I have since learned that a few other people at work have either had it themselves during the holiday (we just got back from a four day holiday), or know someone who had it. So I guess this thing is going around, I had posted earlier that a child my kids go to daycare with also had it last week. I have no idea hoe I am going to keep my anxiety under control.

I did not know you couldn't catch it unless someone was actively Ving is that true? How can that be possible, it doesn't seem like its that common to be in immediate contact with V or someone that is actively sick, so how does this spread like wildfire?

[Rachell]

Tis the season...for nast sv's! I'm not really sure about the transmission thing. I think that the reason it spreads so rapidly is because people don't wash their hands enough, at home or in public. If one person in a family gets the sv and another person comes along and uses the bathroom right after them, doesn't wash their hands, and then goes to the gas station... well you see my point lol. I agree, wash those hands and take vitamins this week! I hope this helps!

[asianeko]

Rachell is exactly right. It's not just while people are actively Ving. If they get particles on their hands, and then don't wash, they can spread those particles to places they touch, such as door handles. Now, in order for you to catch it you need to get in contact with those particles (which if they are hygenic aren't even there in the first place) and then bring those particles into your digestive system through the nose or mouth.

Hand washing is your best defense. I know it's rough, but you can definitely get through without getting sick.

[kristinak]

People CAN transmit this before they show symptoms. It is present in feces up to 48 hours before symptoms start, so if they don't wash their hand and then touch surfaces, and then you touch the surface and touch your face or eat without washing, you can get it. Not meant to scare you at all, just facts. If you wash your hands often, especially before putting them anywhere near your face, you will be just fine.