How To Keep Illnesses Common To The Workplace At Bay?

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Offices are always buzzing with activity. There are deadlines to be met, targets to be accomplished, worksheets to be made, paperwork to be submitted and schedules to be followed. In short, there is a lot going on and even the absence of one or two employees can put a spanner in the wheels for the smooth functioning of the place. And if the absence of employees is due to health related issues and seasonal weather illnesses, it is something beyond your control.

With the change in weather, offices and workplaces are often faced with common illnesses among its staff. The illnesses common to a workplace include-

Influenza or flu

It is one of the most commonly occurring illnesses. Its symptoms include runny nose, fever, headache, chills, muscle pain, cough and fatigue. It is contagious for the first 1 to 7 days and thus care must be taken that others do not get the flu. For that, many offices have started a program to administer yearly take flu shots Adelaide to everyone.

These shots are against the latest strains of viruses thus helping the workforce stay immune against all possible strains. For this coming year the quadrivalent flu vaccine is going to be given to everyone instead of the trivalent as per the government program. This administration of vaccines and accompanying visits to health centers, if needed, or any other health care issue during vaccinations is carried out by a qualified and experienced organization. This serves dual purposes for the workplace; firstly, it helps them show that they care about the health and safety of its employees. Secondly, this ensures that there is less absenteeism from work due to ill health thereby helping with smooth functioning workplace.

Apart from the vaccine other precautions include avoiding contact with sufferers, repeatedly disinfecting surfaces, like keyboards, doorknobs, phones and remotes. Also avoiding is touching the mouth, nose and eyes and washing hands often. These measures to prevent spread of illnesses apply to all the common illnesses listed below as well.

Common cold or rhinovirus

Symptoms include sore throat, stuffy nose, coughing and sneezing.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Symptoms for this include earache, runny or stuffy nose, fever and cough.

Gastroenteritis or stomach flu

The symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting and fever.

Conjunctivitis or pink eye

Symptoms include itchiness, redness and tearing plus eye discharge and crusting around the eye.

Streptococcus or strep throat

Symptoms include throat pain, fever, swollen tonsils, headaches and difficulty in swallowing.

For all the above illnesses similar precautions to the flu need to be taken since they do not have a vaccine. Basic hygiene and safety precautions need to be maintained to prevent regular outbreaks of common illnesses.