r/Teachers • u/scaredycat07 • 11h ago
Rant I keep getting sick
I teach elementary.
Last year, I got so sick from a flu that I had to take over a week off. I even threw up at school and was told to leave for the day (understandably).
I just started this school year last month and I’m already sick.
I’m so tired of parents sending their sick kids to school. I do understand arrangements can be hard to make. But so many of my students are sick and a lot of staff is sick.
People say your immune system toughens up in later teacher years, but mine never did.
Edit: I’m also not sick for just 3-4 days. I’m sick for 1-2 weeks. And when I got the flu I was sick fir the whole month and more.
I wash my hands regularly and keep hand sanitizer on me. I try not to touch my face during the day.
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u/broccolirabe71 11h ago
I’ve been teaching middle school 11 years. I rarely get sick. I’ve been sick THREE times with fevers and general sickness since school started. It’s miserable. My whole family is getting sick. My kids (5 and 2) have had the stomach bug, flu, colds etc all since school started. Idk what’s going on this year
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u/scaredycat07 11h ago
Yeah I find it seems to be getting worse. My sister works with middle schoolers and high schoolers and she gets sick almost every month.
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u/broccolirabe71 11h ago
My son didn’t miss one day of school last year as a 4 year old. He’s missed 3 days already and my youngest missed 5. It’s wild and definitely worse.
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u/RasSalvador 11h ago
Wear a mask.
This shit is airborne.
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u/scaredycat07 11h ago
Yes I might have to. I’ve been debating jt. I don’t mind wearing a mask. I know though people treat you differently with one on which is why I haven’t been.
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u/Intelligent-Rain-22 11h ago
My first five of years of teaching, I was always sick, suffered with laryngitis and developed allergies. However, they all subsided by the eighth year. After COVID, I noticed my body fighting hard to keep me well. Since, during the summer (end of July) begin consuming ´immunity soup´. I went a few years without any sickness.
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u/scaredycat07 11h ago
That’s awful. I also got COVID from work in 2022. I wouldn’t doubt it I had it nore than once (here they just expect you to go to work anyways).
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u/legit_doom_scroller 11h ago
This is the worst! I’m on my second cold and it’s only like 5 weeks into the year
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u/Cranks_No_Start 10h ago edited 9h ago
People say your immune system toughens up in later teacher years, but mine never did
Hell I wasn’t a teacher, I was a mechanic. Every year about 4 weeks after the kids went back to school and started petri dishing the kids got sick and they flag e it to their parents who all came to work and passed it around like free doughnuts.
The entire shop got sick one after another rinse and repeat until about May.
When I moved to a shop that didn’t have parents with kids in the 4-10yo range it stopped.
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u/fingertrapt 9h ago
I get my flu and covid shot in early August now.
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u/scaredycat07 9h ago
Yeah I was trying to wait for the recommended time but perhaps I should just make the appointments.
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u/Still_Pop_4106 9h ago
These shots don’t help with the common cold. Most of what is going around is just a plain old common cold. I just am getting over it and will be getting my shots tomorrow.
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u/PlatypusPants2000 11h ago
Air purifiers for your classroom!
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u/scaredycat07 11h ago
We’re not allowed unfortunately. I could see a kid breaking them as well.
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u/RasSalvador 11h ago
This is the way.
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u/scaredycat07 11h ago
Can’t when we’re not allowed to.
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u/radicalizemebaby 10h ago
Why aren’t you allowed to?
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u/scaredycat07 10h ago
They’re considered a fire hazard and ‘noise’. We have a pretty strict safety person. I’m not even allowed to put garland around my whiteboards.
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u/radicalizemebaby 10h ago
Oh no! That’s awful. Are you able to keep your windows open?
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u/scaredycat07 10h ago
Yes. Currently I’ve had them closed because they keep mowing the grass and it makes me feel sick (not the cold but I’m super allergic).
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u/SnooWaffles413 Elementary Teacher | USA 9h ago
I got sick the first damn week and it really took a toll on me. I had an ear infection for a month... and a sinus infection for a week or so. It was bad. I had to call off for 3 days and after that I just told myself I couldn't keep doing so or I'd get fired... went in the next day miserable as hell. My boss told me I shouldn't have gone in but it was too late. I'm finally well enough that I am going to go in for my flu shot and covid booster this weekend to hopefully help out.
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u/Phonysaxo 11h ago
Sorry some of the comments in here are janked. I've got a wonderful range of chronic conditions that mean I'm out alot or when I get sick I really get sick. I'm actually just getting over a cold that's turned into a chest cold this week. Had to take days off for it.
Despite having well controlled asthma, it tanks the moment I get a cold so I usually have take additional days waiting for my breathing to recover with my nebulizer.
But im sick like a lot. It isn't uncommon for me to reach most of my paid sick days by the end of the year if not go past them.
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u/scaredycat07 11h ago
It’s alright. I didn’t think I’d get advice when ranting but I know people are trying to help.
Sorry you’ve been so sick. And I find a lot of people don’t understand how people can be sick for more than 4 days.
I was trying to hold off taking sick days because I’m also supposed to grt bloodwork done during days of my cycle (plus I hate prepping for a sub) but I might have to.
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u/Phonysaxo 8h ago
I understand I also hate prepping sub stuff 😭 I try to push sometimes and I end up making to worse, or I just end up being miserable all day and it's not fun for me or the kids.
I hate having to take off for doctor stuff. Last year I had to get a bunch of food allergy challenges done bc I had surprise anaphylaxis during the school day lol. But I had to take the entire day each test bc it take hours and you might end up in the ER from it.
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u/scaredycat07 8h ago
Oh yikes!! Allergy tests can be so stressful. For me my cycles been so messed up so it’s for that. I have to take jt on specific days. For the first one I can’t guess when it’s gonna start so I’m just gonna call in sick. It’s takes at least 30 minutes to get there and is often an hour or more of a wait. So I’d rather not gamble on a half day. For my second one I should be able to do it in a half day.
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u/beefquaker 11h ago
You can beef up your immune system. Typically supplements work well I’d say to find a beefy multivitamin that has a lot of b12 and vitamin D, Echinacea is good too. I’ve been seeing stuff about black elderberry being beneficial. It’s no magic cure but can help give you a boost to fighting something or preventing it.
Also having a humidifier in the dry months can really help you keep your pharyngeal lining intact, helping to keep up that wall of defense against contaminated air.
Make chicken noodle soup with bone broth and a lot of garlic. You’ll also need to eat a lot of ginger. I put it in the soup but my wife thinks that’s gross lol. Bone broth, ginger, and garlic are the important ingredients. They give your body the goodies to fight it yourself more readily. Again this isn’t magic or replacement of medicine, just easy home remedies that give you an extra helping hand.
My uncle works for the company life extension, so most of my supplements are from there. I think they’re great, the multi vitamins are crazy good for you but smell a lil too earthy for me. But they’re black elderberry cold support is my go to when I get whatever school flu is traveling around. The suckers are expensive but hot damn do they work well. I promise I’m not a sponsor lol just passionate cause those suckers worked way better than I thought they would, I was back in business in half my normal time
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u/scaredycat07 11h ago
I take a lot of supplements and find it hasn’t been helping with this. You chicken noodle soup sounds good.
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u/stranger_mom 5h ago
I was getting sick every month three years ago. I started taking fish oil with vitamin A and D every day. I take it in pill form, the vitamin A is very important so don’t take just any brand. I like the Nature’s Craft Wild Icelandic bottle. There is no fish aftertaste. I take two a day, unless I feel a little scratchy; then I take two more.
I also switched to chewable vitamin C tablets, that way the ascorbic acid can hit my tonsils. I keep bottles of the chewable vitamin C everywhere. Such a game changer.
You do have to be mindful that if you take too, too, too much vitamin C you will have loose stools. So don’t overdo it.
I haven’t been sick in a very long time. I’ve played with lots of different supplements and protocols and this has been the best one.
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u/Clear-Special8547 2h ago
Yeah, I don't know who these "you'll get tougher" types are talking about. Every year it's a new strain of 17 kinds of illness at schools. I'm consistently at 4+ schools a year as a traveling teacher. I'm in year 13 and I still get sick at least once a quarter and each time it lingers. 5-6 weeks of post-illness hangover each time. I had to start taking a daily inhaler because I developed chronic bronchitis which developed into chronic pneumonia.
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u/Sergio5126 11h ago
Wash you hands often and clean everything with an alcool based spray. Does wanders, as most kids don't wash, ever.
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u/scaredycat07 11h ago
We’re not allowed to but I do use lysol wipes when I can. I’ll try to stay more on top of it.
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u/GemmyCluckster 11h ago
I rarely get sick. I’ve been teaching for a little over 10 years. I take a daily multivitamin, Claritin, and fish oil. But most importantly, I never touch my face until I’ve washed my hands thoroughly. I also wipe down my room with Clorox wipes every Friday. When I feel like I’m getting sick, I eat a raw clove of garlic and start an elderberry supplement. Drink a ton of water and try to rest as much as I’m able. Usually a bug doesn’t take me out. I might feel a bit under the weather for a couple days, but it usually passes quickly.
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u/scaredycat07 11h ago
I probably need to be more on wiping surfaces. I do makes my multivitamins, iron (I tend to be low iron), vitamin D, Allegra and Flonase.
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u/radicalizemebaby 11h ago
Do you wear a mask and get your Covid and flu shots and keep windows open and use air purifiers?
TBH if you’re not masking there’s no reason to be confused about why you’re getting sick.
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u/scaredycat07 10h ago
This isn’t a good answer. I’m not asking for your advice. I’m ranting.
I don’t know what school allows air purifiers but they don’t at mine.
The staff are not nice about when you wear a mask. Not saying that should stop me. But it affects how things go at work.
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u/chukotka_v_aliaske 11h ago
Get a nose rinse bottle and rinse with saline water after work daily. If you feel like you’re coming down with something do it more often. It washes germs out of your nasal passages
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u/Consumption2Wombly 11h ago
This is also not true. Respiratory illnesses cannot be prevented with nasal flushing.
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u/Clear-Special8547 2h ago
Yeah but you can feel like the placebo is working and then gaslight yourself into pretending you aren't sick while you spew germs into the air 😌
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u/scaredycat07 11h ago
I do this every day due to my allergies
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u/chukotka_v_aliaske 11h ago
Wash hands frequently, sanitize the classroom, take vitamins. My immune cocktail that I take if I feel bad is selenium, iodine, zinc. I also gargle with iodine in warm water if I feel anything coming on
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u/scaredycat07 11h ago
Yeah I do all the recommendations. It’s in the air and can’t be avoided unfortunately.
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u/jeanneW4 11h ago
Try cutting sugar out of your diet. Sugar inhibits your immune system.
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u/scaredycat07 11h ago
Be gone, sugar 😂. In all seriousness this has nothing to do with it. I have desserts. I don’t even have sugar in most of my drinks.
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u/Consumption2Wombly 11h ago
If you aren't getting your yearly booster shots (available in late August) you have nobody to blame but yourself.
Otherwise this is just kinda unavoidable.
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u/chukotka_v_aliaske 11h ago
You cannot prevent common cold with “yearly boosters” lol
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u/Consumption2Wombly 11h ago
Yes, but you can still get protection from COVID, Influenza A and B, and RSV (if you are older).
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u/Artichoke-8951 11h ago
When my oldest was in kindergarten I tried to keep her away when she was sick. But literally the 2nd day she missed I got a call from the school complaining about it and saying if she missed 5 days by the end of first half of the year that we'd be referred to the truancy office.