Cubicles = Sick?

December 6, 2004 7:48 AM

I'm battling my third head cold this year, which is really rare for me. Usually I have one cold per year, maybe two. This is also the first full year I've had the pleasure of working in a cube farm. I'm wondering, is there a correlation between working in cubicles and the spread of diseases? Does anyone have any information to back up this theory?
posted by knave to health & fitness (15 comments total)

I'd say that logic would dictate that the closeness of open quarters, combined with the most likely stale, stagnant air would let germs stick around for a while, definitely.

Purely speculatory, though.
posted by dflemingdotorg at 8:03 AM on December 6, 2004

Sharing all that recycled air and close contact with 30+ other people? Definitely.

Bugs love anywhere there's lots of people. How's your handwashing, hydration, stress, sleep, and nutrition? Those 5 are biggies for infection as well.
posted by gramcracker at 8:04 AM on December 6, 2004

I don't think cold virus circulate in the air all that much. Generally you pick them up by touching infected surfaces, and then touching your nose. (You want to know how sneaky they are? A while back I read that cold viruses actually cause the end of your nose to itch.)
posted by coelecanth at 8:18 AM on December 6, 2004

Handwashing - Whenever I go to the bathroom (but they don't use antibacterial handsoap where I work)
Hydration - 100+ fluid oz water per day
Stress - Not too bad
Sleep - Probably not enough... 5 to 8 hours a night
Nutrition - Not great, but not terrible either (I think I get enough vitamins)

Oh, and it's not 30 people... I'd guess the room (if you can call it that) contains upwards of 100 people. I wonder if that even makes a difference because the ventilation system probably connects the entire building. (700+ people??)
posted by knave at 8:19 AM on December 6, 2004

There is definitely a condition known as "Sick Building Syndrome", that is associated not so much with cube farms as it is with any building that has very poor circulation. (That's different from ventilation...you can have a lot of air moving through a given space, even a draft, but if all that moving air is staying locked within the building, you still have the problem.)

SBS seems to be linked with a more general set of symptoms than a "pure" head cold, but you could conceivably be suffering from something like this and mistaking it for a head cold.

I'm not sure what you can really do if you're working in a building like this, beyond doing what you can to get fresh air during the day, and lobbying for your employer to get the problem addressed.
posted by LairBob at 8:31 AM on December 6, 2004

knave, I don't have any resources to answer your question about the relation between working in a cubicle area the frequency of your colds, but it stands to reason that you're more exposed to colds. This probably has very little to do with the building's ventilation system. Cold viruses don't just blow around in the breeze; they're airborne only in heavier-than-air droplets that come hurtling out of your coworkers' noses at 100+ MPH after they sneeze. They can travel as far as 30 feet before landing, but land they do, on surfaces you touch.

Also, don't worry about the antibacterial soap since it has no extra effect on cold viruses.
posted by coelecanth at 9:11 AM on December 6, 2004

In my office I also definitely noticed an increase in the number of my own colds when my officemates all started having children. Three or four people with three-year-olds kept bringing in whatever colds their kids had picked up, and then we all got them.
posted by occhiblu at 10:12 AM on December 6, 2004

Are you sure your frequent colds are not a chronic sinus infection? Or allergies? Last winter I thought I had a lingering cold, went to the doctor, found out I had a severe sinus infection. Also, I have a mysterious allergy. Taking Zyrtec-D everyday now; much better. See a doctor if your "mucus" isn't clear...and you know I mean boogers, right?

I don't think frequent illness comes with a cube farm; it comes with breathing recycled air that is not filtered or cleaned in any way before it is recirculated. My building contains about 800 bodies. The air we breathe is only 30% fresh (I asked). Disease spreads like wildfire, but usually only in certain parts of the building at a time. By some miracle, I stay healthy most of the time.
posted by suchatreat at 10:28 AM on December 6, 2004

I had repeated earaches and colds this last year and it turns out it was because of the mold in the (very old) rent house I lived in. That's why antibiotics and other normal measures like sleep Vitamin C etc weren't working; every night I slept underneath air ducts which were basically poisoning me.
posted by pomegranate at 10:52 AM on December 6, 2004

pomegranate: I wouldn't think that antibiotics would ever help with a cold. Unlike bacteria, which is killed by antibiotics, I'm pretty sure modern medicine still hasn't figured out a way to kill viruses. That's why for viruses that, unlike colds, don't go away on their own (like cold sores, genital herpes, or foot warts) you're stuck with them for the rest of your life.
posted by stopgap at 11:37 AM on December 6, 2004

Antibiotics don't do squat for a cold. We have no anti-viral agents. (That don't also kill humans that is. Bleach is a great anti-viral agent)

Your immune system usually takes care of the virus, so help it out as much as possible with plenty of rest, good nutrition (eat those leafy green vegetables!!) etc. Don't think vitamins are enough, it's much better to get them though food.

I am also in a cube farm, and it's a constant battle to stay healthy.
posted by defcom1 at 11:45 AM on December 6, 2004

They were giving me the antibiotics for the ear infections. I hated taking them and now I regret having done it, since of course the ear crud didn't get one bit better after taking them. It was the last time I get bullied by an m.d!
posted by pomegranate at 11:51 AM on December 6, 2004

1) We do have anti-viral agents, just not anti-viral agents for colds. Flu, herpes, HIV, yes, colds, no.

2) Antibacterial soaps don't work, even against bacteria. Stop buying them!

3) Ear infections are much more likely to be bacterial than fungal, pomegranate--you doctor was trying! :>
posted by gramcracker at 12:07 PM on December 6, 2004

We have an anti-viral for influenza? Wow. Vaccines, sure, but flu-specific antivirals?

Herpes treatments (the new kind, I have no experience other than it's peripheral to my studies) essentially revs up the infected person's immune system and tells it that there's a virus around and that the immune system should do something about it.

I'm not sure about HIV treatments but I think some of the effects are to make rapidly replicating DNA break up - the side effect is that normal cells are also dividing (replicating DNA). Some drugs inhibit reverse-transcription (something that the virus does, but our cells normally don't)

Soap, by itself, is already antibacterial as it's a detergent and will break open bacteria. Hospitals use soap with chlorhexidine which is charged, sticks to bacterial walls, and messes them up. Not much of a chance of bacterial walls losing their charge.
posted by PurplePorpoise at 12:43 PM on December 6, 2004

The most likely source of infection in a large office like that is doorknobs. Sick people cover their mouths with their hands when they cough (if they're polite) and then open the door, contaminating the handle.

You open the door and then rub your eyes and BINGO!
posted by mbell at 2:34 PM on December 6, 2004