Ugh, another unwell co-worker...I hate my office

[kitbuddy]

My office seems to always have sick people. My second week here, my boss came in despite claiming he had "fp" the night before (which his wife caught the next day- obviously not fp). If that wasn't bad enough, he had one-on-one meeting with all of us in his office. (I've never cleaned so dilligently after that- I even cleaned my jewelry and hair ties!) All winter, we had other guys come in despite being "still sick."

Today, one of our sales guys just left the office 2-3 hours earlier than he usually does. He said he feels like he's going to v*. He also said he thought he was just hungover at first, so I'm guessing he's felt badly all day. (He's older, but he likes to party.) I asked if he was dehydrated, and he said he's been drinking water all day.

If he's felt sick all day, but not v* or d*, are chances lower that it's a virus? Maybe he IS dehydrated/hungover, or he ate something bad? (He went home with an sv back in Feb, and he also took a sick day in Dec for nausea. Maybe he just gets stomach issues a lot?)

I don't really touch my face (just my hair- maybe my forehead) and I only eat right after washing my hands, but I'm still worried.

[Jess44246]

If you've been that sanitary (like pretty much every emetophobic, including me, is) then, even if it is an actual virus, then you proabably want catch it, 99% sure! Think of all the people like him that you probably are around in stores and such. It's like the same thing, only this time you know. The risk is very low!

[Dairyfreelife]

In the situation it's always so easy to think of being doomed to catch something, but it's very unlikely. Good thing is a stomach virus, while taking less particles to make someone sick with exposure, is harder to actually catch than things like colds. With colds, each sneeze, each cough is loaded with the virus, which is why colds tend to spread so rapidly and wipe entire classrooms, schools, work places, etc out. With norovirus, it requires direct exposure to the vomit and/or diarrhea as it happens to actually get ill from it. This is why daycares, schools, nursing homes, etc get outbreaks because the children and elderly are less able to control their bodily fluids and are less likely to be clean about it either. Still, many teachers and workers at these locations often don't get sick because they have cleaning procedures they must follow. I have worked in both primary schools and daycares and didn't get the stomach flu from either. Colds, sure. Mild hand foot and mouth once (didn't go to daycare as a child and never really had any exposure so am certain I only got a mild form from my body's lack of handling, also with HFM you are ill up to 2 weeks before you even show symptoms and once you have the symptoms you aren't really contagious anymore). I have held sick children, sick babies and was fine. As in cleaned vomit, cleaned diarrhea diapers, held very feverish children, been coughed and sneezed on, sometimes directly at my face and still didn't get anything. I know janitors who never seem to get anything and work in elementary schools in direct contact to the bathrooms and any vomit. My late grandmother was a nurse and my father could not recall a single time she was sick with anything, not even a cold, despite working with ill people all the time.
All to say, you have very little to worry about. You are staying clean and you don't have any direct contact with their bodily fluids. It is actually quite unlikely you will pick up and any number of things outside of a stomach virus can make one vomit and/or have diarrhea. Eat healthy, wash hands often, and stay healthy with exercise and lowered stress levels and you should be fine.