Sick Co-worker - HELP!!!!

[chally]

I am new to this forum as of last week. This phobia rules my life entirely and it's just very hard to deal with. I told my fiance about it and he is very supportive. For as long as I can remember I've always had this phobia. I remember all the way back to nursery school that if someone would get s*, I would completely lose it. I grew up in a loving household, but my mother did pass away when I was young so maybe that could be it? I was shocked to see how many people out there are going through the same thing.
Well, I'm writing now because there is a girl who sits near me who is ALWAYS out s* (once or twice a month) with her kids who have a sv (I never knew kids could get this like 7 times in 6 months). It drives me absolutely crazy as I'm in fear ALL of the time that she is carrying it when her kids are home ill. Well, on Monday her husband was up all night doing you know what and then she called into work yesterday s* as well with the same thing. We work in pretty close quarters - they are pretty much open cubicles. We're only about 3-4 feet from one another and only my computer monitor and a screen separates us. I HATE it! She also comes in after her kids are ill with graphic descriptions - HELLO PANIC ATTACK! I am so afraid of catching it that I actually called in to work today (can't believe I'm admitting this). I have a very good work ethic and a guilty conscience, so this was very hard for me to do. I don't want to go in tomorrow (Friday) either AND I absolutely hate the job so that doesn't help either! The job that I left about six months ago had "high walled (about 6 feet)" cubicles, so I rarely had panic attacks when people were ill, plus it was a small group of people. I'm looking for a job now that I can either work out of home or in a smaller office. Ugh - someone help me!Edited by: chally

[lucinda]

Welcome to the forum I can sympathise with your situation, I've worked in offices with little personal space and had to share some equipmet like phones. It caused many panic attacks once someone mentioned they were feeling n* or s*. Most important thing is your health. Of course work is important, and its important to do your best but if you really cant handle it or feel really uncomfortable most of the time at a certain job don't feel obligated to stay. That's just my opinion though, I just wanted to show some support and basically say welcome ^__^

[chally]

Thanks for the support lucinda. Did you ever become ill after working close to someone that had it?

[lucinda]

Thanks for the support lucinda. Did you ever become ill after working close to someone that had it?

Luckily no (knocks on wood) I just try and wash my hands frequently, and use my antibacterial purell hand gell stuff often, try not to touch my face.


The only two times I have got a SV* or V* at all as an adult was from close contact with a child. (baby sitting, wasn't careful enough and both times was not told the children were sick the night before >.&lt

[kfitz]

Chally


Welcome, i am relatively new here too, i was recently reading a post by a very wise man he is a virology lecturer (viruses + how they are transmitted) and he made an interesting point that you cannot catch a sv untill the person with it has actively started showing signs of the illness, for example v* and d* so dont worry i am 100% positiveyou will be fine, i have been around many ppl who have had sv's later on in the night after i had been around them in the day and touch wood i have always been fine, let me know how you are getting on.

[chally]

kfitz - What about when they come back to work the day after they had it? That's what I'm afraid of!![img]smileys/smilies_25.gif[/img]

[kfitz]

How long has she been off with it? i promise dont be worried, as long as your not having physical contact for example sharing drinks + kissing lol. Just make sure u wash yor hands etc, it could also be the fact that maybe she didnt want to go in work and is skiving by saying she has caught the bug off her husband.

[kfitz]

Also the fact that u have emet, wud mean that if u caught the bug-hypothetically speaking (because u wont) u prob wudnt v* bacause u wouldnt aloow urself, maybe jus little bit of tummy ache, like last nite i think i had bit of tummy bug, really bad cramps, felt n* n i prob wud have v* if i wasnt so scared, but i just concentrated really hard n i was fine, half of the time i really think it is mind over matter, but i really think u will be fine, there has been many times wen my older sister has had sv's n touch wood i have never caught them n ive been around her alot before and after

[chally]

Should I go to work tomorrow? Ugh, I just hate that this controls my life

[roulette]

I'm just wondering - is there anyone (a "higher power") that maybe you
could explain it to at work? I'm thinking that if you are open about it
and you have nice "higher powers", you could maybe work out a system of
working around your phobia so you can get your work done and not have
as many stressful problems.



Also - have you tried explaining to your co-worker that your simply not comfortable with her graphic stories?



I hope it gets better for you soon <3 I'm sorry, I have no oppinion
as to whether you should go in or not. Chances are if she is ill she'll
be off anyway - maybe carry some anti-bacterial handwipes or something
to ease the worry?


Edited by: roulette

[kfitz]

Ithink maybe jus for the sake of piece of mind, mabe stay off tmoz, but i do think like Roulette says, that u could have a word with someone but i know its difficult, i hate working in offices, im at uni at the min doing equine vet science and at weekends i work as a riding instructor so im outside all the time, its so much better for me

[chally]

I have actually told my supervisor about this and she knows that I have come in before when this woman's kids are ill (hopefully she won't suspect anything as I'm always a very hard worker). I told her (my supervisor) that this woman's graphic descriptions have almost thrown me into panic attacks. She actually suggested that they move me to another team at work (same room, different desk) and I agreed to it. I just don't like to sit so close to people when they have been s*. I feel like I'm just asking for it! Last year at my other job, I only panicked a couple of times out of two years of working there! I realized on the first day (back in Oct) of my current job that the environment would not help this phobia due to the closeness of desks, especially for the entire 8 hour work day. My guilty conscience is taking over and I just feel awful. I absolutely hate lying.[img]smileys/smilies_16.gif[/img]

[emily7]

now this might not be the case at all but...





maybe this woman has a tendency to exaggerate...trust me when i tell u that people will make up grandiose stories to avoid working...i am alot like u...i go to work everyday and anytime i have ever played hooky i feel horrible about it..what type of work do u do?

[chally]

Hi emily7 - yes, this woman does have a tendancy to exaggerate, but you just never know with "exaggeraters"! They could be truthfully very ill or have a little pain and claim they are seriously s*. That's pretty much why I agreed with my supervisor when she suggested that I be moved. I graduated from college back in Dec. 2003 and have worked in customer support since...but I'm currently looking for a different career path (possibly marketing). What type of work are you in?

[sweet]

It's soooo difficult to say whether you should go into work tomorrow...... Only you know how you feel! It can be a case that if you give in this time - what happens next time, and the time after that - people are always gonna get sick, especially her by the sounds of it. On the other hand if you are having a particularly bad panic attack this time and think it would be good for you to stay off, then do it - enjoy the weekend and go back to work on Monday all positive and relaxed! Only you can make the decision.....

Hope it works out ok!