Am I too sick to go to work?

If your child is complaining of a sore tummy on a school day, you may think he's practising a classic avoidance technique, but Hanna cautions against jumping to conclusions. She suggests judging the legitimacy of your child's claim by looking closely for significant changes in his level of activity or appetite. "Some young children will say that their tummy hurts for all kinds of problems – even lung infections – so it is important for caregivers to pay attention to other signs of illness." If children do show signs of lethargy and are also vomiting or have diarrhea, they should be kept home to ensure adequate fluid intake to avoid dehydration, and also to stop them from infecting others.

The unhealthy workplace
Dr. Richard Stanwick, an epidemiologist and chief medical health officer for the Vancouver Island Health Authority in Victoria, cautions that the day you're simply feeling bad – usually the day before symptoms start to show – is when you become infectious. Here's what could happen if you go to work anyway.

• You could infect 10 to 15 per cent of the people you come into contact with during the day, if you're in a service industry (for instance, if you’re a bank teller).

• A simple cold can turn into something more serious if you have an underlying chronic disease.

• You may be ignoring your overall health in a significant way. Working when you should be at home could be a sign that your work-life balance is off-kilter.

• Your illness could affect your company's bottom line. You won't be as productive as you normally are, and if you infect some coworkers, they might also have lower productivity.

Precautions and preventions for the elderly
Aches and pains
In elderly people, pain lasting a week or more, particularly in the shoulder, thigh and hip regions, could be the sign of an inflammatory disorder such as polymyalgia rheumatica, says Dr. George Heckman, a geriatrician at Hamilton General Hospital in Hamilton. It can also be a side-effect of certain medications or a complication from a viral infection, so a trip to the doctor is in order.

Cough and congestion
A dry cough on its own shouldn't keep an elderly person at home. "Certain blood pressure medications and heart disease medications, such as ACE inhibitors, can cause persistent dry coughs," says Heckman. "Nothing to keep you at home."

However, a cough and congestion could prove difficult for a frail elderly person. We all develop a stress response when we get sick; in elderly people that response can cause (or increase) weakness or confusion, and can result in falls or incontinence. If these conditions develop, or if the person is simply not himself, he should immediately see a doctor.

Fever and chills
Don't be surprised if an elderly person seems to be ill with fever-like symptoms, but doesn't have a high temperature. The immune system of an elderly person isn't able to mount the protective response that a young person's might, says Heckman, so you can't assume that the absence of a fever means that she's OK. Again, if the person develops signs such as confusion, weakness or loss of mobility, she should see a health-care professional.

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