Don't go to work if you've had a fever in the last 24 hours.

[darxus]

"CDC recommends that people with influenza-like illness remain at home until at least 24 hours after they are free of fever (100° F [37.8°C])"

I had been wanting a concrete guideline like that.

What thermometer should I get?

Comments

[feng-huang.livejournal.com]

I recommend an oral thermometer.

[benndragon.livejournal.com]

Dude, if you wanted a concrete warning like that, you only had to ask or go to flu.gov - the CDC came up with that several months ago.

I use an oral digital thermometer, and I recommend getting some disposable end covers if it doesn't come with them - covers keep the thermometer clean without needing to figure out how to wash it sufficiently (I'm pretty sure rubbing alcohol would work, but definitely check the manual to make sure that won't damage it over time). Consumer reports likes them as well, and here's study-based advice on using them.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

a cheap oral one, for $10 at target probably.

the ear ones work sorta well, but can be off by a slight constant, i've read, thus, you have to know what that constant is for YOU before you're sick, and possible even then (which means a second (oral) one)... but once you're used to it, they're *fast*. well, that's the claim.

i have two different oral ones, and some covers.

were you just looking for an official excuse to show a boss?

#

[darxus.livejournal.com]

No. I really have difficulty deciding I'm too sick to go to work. Not much practice.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

for me, it's pretty simple...

"jagged bone through flesh?" == no work
"not strong enough to sit up in bed?" == no work
"trouble seeing clearly" == no work :>

there are of course levels and levels...

i've known people to come in with pneumonia, had to be driven to work, and i spent a couple hours of my day eyeing them in case they passed out... wife couldn't immediately return :> that's bad. even his boss was annoyed ;)

#

[devoken.livejournal.com]

Whoa. Someone went to work with pneumonia? That is Not Cool. I would have been extremely unhappy with that person. Pneumonia is serious, and putting other people at risk for it is unacceptable.

In regards to deciding when to call in to work or not, I have three main things that I consider.
1) Can I physically handle the commute to work?
2) Can I be effective once at work? Can I concentrate well?
3) Am I likely to be contagious?

If any one of those three is true, I don't go to work.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

sometimes you're sicker than you feel... or get worse while there. then can't get home. oops.

4) is going to work going to risk my health?
(sometimes, you're better off in bed or trying to work from home)

#

[darxus.livejournal.com]

Yeah contagiousness is the one I've had a problem with.

[moonshadow.livejournal.com]

I like the oral digital kind. I recommend getting plastic covers. If you think you are or might be sick, leaving the germs on the thermometer is no good.

There are two basic digital kinds

[drwex]

one is in-ear, the other under-tongue. If your ear canals are basically normally shaped, the in-ear one is faster and just as accurate.

If your ear canals are oddly shaped (as is true for my younger son) then you will get readings that are too low from the in-ear and will want the under-tongue. It's accurate but much slower.

My kid's pediatrician claimed that about 1 in 10 people have this problem with the in-ear thermometer.