Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with sickness

Doctor's Note?

lekvar — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:28:21 -0800

California Employment Law: If an employee is sick, can an employer mandate that the employee provide a doctor's note in order to take time off to get well? My girlfriend is a waitress. She's also been running a fever, well over 100 degrees, for the past two days. Fortunately she's been off for the past two days, but she's due back on the floor tomorrow, and chances are she won't be 100% fever-free.

This is no good for any number of reasons: Her health, and that of her coworkers and customers could all potentially be compromised.

The catch is that her boss requires a doctors note if an employee calls in sick, which means she's out $100 for a doctor's visit plus lost wages. This seems punitive to me.

This strikes me as insane. Any restauranteur in his right mind would not want a potential walking health violation getting other staff and customers sick. I understand that it would cut down absenteeism, but the potential risks seem insane to me.

But all that's really beside the point. It's stupid, but is it legal?

Ddifferences between colds in adults and children

graventy — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 21:25:17 -0800

Are there differences in the symptoms of a common cold with age? Are cold symptoms worse in adults than children? When I was a kid, the extent of my colds seemed to be a runny nose and maybe a cough. Nowadays, at 29, colds seem to completely sap my energy and give me body aches. I live in the same location, so I should be exposed to the same general cold virii. Are tiredness and body aches just more common in adults than children?

Yet another medical question on the internet

banjo_and_the_pork — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 18:01:17 -0800

Swollen lymph nodes, general ickiness... you are not my doctor, but do I really need to see one? So I've been more than mildly sick the past few days. It started with a run of the mill stuffy nose last Tuesday or so, grew to incorporate a sore throat, then the sore throat went away but a cough emerged (probably from post-nasal drip?). Friday was the worst, some chills but I don't think I had a fever (my temperature tends to run a teeny bit below average normally, so it takes ubersickness for me to run a fever), extreme fatigue, generally feeling out of it and sick, and my lymph nodes in my neck swelled to to the point of being painful. Yesterday I felt a lot better and thought I was on the mend, but today the swelling came back, and is still pretty ouchy. I'm still coughing and exhausted, but the latter could partially be from a lousy night's sleep last night. No fever.

So, first, is there anything I can do to decrease the uncomfortable feeling of swollen lymph nodes? Second, it seems like a fairly standard cold/flu, but googling is giving me OMG-cytokine storm-swine flu paranoia. I don't want to waste a doctor's time if it's silly to try to see one tomorrow, but if the consensus is to get to a doctor, I'll heed that call.

He is literally making me sick.

youcancallmeal — Wed, 20 May 2009 11:57:44 -0800

How to stop from getting physically ill from post-breakup stress? I recently broke up with my partner of two and a half years after a long period of deterioration and betrayal. I finally got the courage to leave and break things off and he got to stay at the house that we had moved to together to build a life that we had both dreamed about and I moved across the country to figure things out. I am trying to move past this and I think that I'm doing pretty well, but a few things have come to light from him that are causing me physical distress.

I'm doing the typical exercise, spend time with friends, being kind to myself routine, but I have this persistent feeling of sickness and it's making it hard for me to function enough to look for a job in my new city. Are there any ideas that I'm missing on how to stop this from literally making me sick?

Symptomatic

puckish — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 04:35:13 -0800

YANMD: After two days lying in bed, the fever has stopped, I no longer have chills, and I think I can get up and walk around. But now I have searing pain in the back of my throat - much worse than it was before. What's going on?

4 am Abdominal Pain: How Serious?

ThyroidBob — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 15:15:33 -0800

YouAreNotMyDoctorFilter: Last night I was rudely awakened in the very early morning by an intense abdominal pain. I managed to make it to my computer, only to freak myself out about all the possibilities it could be. How serious does this seem, and is it reasonable to just keep a watchful eye on it? Me: Male, college-aged, reasonably healthy.

Last night, 4:10 am: Sleeping great.

4:15 am: I woke up with what I can only figure to describe as a stabbing pain. It started a inch or so below and to my right of my sternum, and felt like it spread towards the right side of my ribcage. It also seemed to hurt in about the same location on my backside as well. It was intense enough that anything hurt (moving, not moving, sitting up, lying down, walking around, etc.) to the point of provoking audible groans. It was almost like mega-heartburn, just not really that close to my stomach or esophagus (if my med school education from Wikipedia and House, M.D. hasn't failed me). I would have described myself as "in agony".

4:30 am: The pain very gradually began to decrease, but I was still far from having a blast. I was seriously contemplating when and how I would make my way to the nearest ER.

4:45 am: The pain had subsided to "significant discomfort", and my tiredness overtook the pain, and I was able to fall back asleep.

This morning: There still was some residual discomfort/soreness. This has lasted throughout the day.

Long story short, I don't really have the time to go to the doctor if it's not necessary, given the rapidly approaching end of the semester. I'm hoping the hive mind can provide some insight and/or advice on how seriously I need to take this incident, and if sucking it up is a Really Bad Idea or not. Also, I'm looking for some guidance on when/how I should pursue it further with medical professionals. The pages I found earlier via searching basically said "go to a doctor NOW if you have any abdominal pain", which seems to me to be a bit of an over-reaction.

How can I not get the flu?

allen8219 — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 11:56:22 -0800

How can I avoid getting the flu? I have gotten spooked by a couple coworkers who got SICK from the flu, which they caught from their kids, and I am very intent on avoiding the same fate (trouble coming out of both ends). Short of covering myself in saranwrap and lysol, and then hiding in an ICBM silo, what do you suggest? I'm going to get a flu shot tomorrow morning, and I just bought some Purel hand sanitizer that I plan on using as often as I remember.

Is there any truth to immunity-boosting supplements? Should I exercise more? Or avoid the gym and exercise less? I'm in Washington, DC, and it's like 33 degrees out, so running outdoors isn't an attractive option.

What now?

ialwayscryatendings — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 14:16:47 -0800

My kitten has been diagnosed as leukemia positive. What should I expect? I adopted a very sweet 6 month old kitten from the humane society 2 months ago, and immediately fell in love with him. My roommate and I are very doting cat parents, and little Edward Appleby is as affectionate as they come. Everything was a picture of domestic bliss until I took him for his 8 month check up/vaccination vet appointment yesterday and was devastated to hear that his feline leukemia test was positive. His previous test had been negative, and they are sending out slides to double check, but my vet did not seem too hopeful that this would turn out to be a mistake.

My vet emphasized that now is not a time to panic, and that she has known FeLV+ cats that have lived long lives in spite of the virus, but I don't know what to expect. Internet results have given me mixed information--some people seem to advocate immediate euthanasia, some say the virus hasn't really affected their cats' lives. For what it's worth, Edward is an indoor kitty, and has not had any contact with other cats. My roommate and I both have cats living at our parents' houses, and the vet advised making sure to wash hands/clothes before visiting between the cats. Edward seems healthy right now, though he was fighting a persistant cold until recently.

I had been picturing him as a part of my life for a long time to come, and am really just trying to get a handle on what this will mean for our lives right now. If any mefites have experience with this and can offer advice or experience, it would mean a lot.

How do I keep from getting dehydrated when I'm constantly vomiting and diarrhea-ing?

HotPatatta — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:04:17 -0800

I've had diarrhea and constant vomiting since last night. I can't even keep down water. What should I do to keep from getting dehydrated? It could be food poisoning. Yesterday's menu: my usual tofu wrap (lettuce, hummus, tofu on lavash bread) and Chinese food (pork, noodles, veggies) from a place I had never tried before. I don't feel ill otherwise--no fever, aches, pains. What should I try to eat or drink that will regulate my system and keep me from getting dehydrated? I ate some yogurt for lunch and mixed in a small amount of blueberry preserves and cereal, but I just vomited and, well, there it was. Every glass of water I've had has come back up, too.
My health insurance hasn't kicked in yet.

(My pants are noticeably looser, which is keeping my spirits up!)

Tequila as cold remedy?

buriednexttoyou — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:59:06 -0800

My girlfriend has a cold. Multiple people today have told her to take a shot of tequila before bed as a remedy. This sounds like a load of spit to us. Can anyone confirm or refute this? Thanks.

How common is it for people to just not turn up for work without calling in sick?

ClarissaWAM — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:02:32 -0800

How common is it for people to just not turn up for work without calling in sick? We seem to have this quite a lot at my current workplace. I've never really had this at previous jobs so it shocked me at first. But just now I came across another example of this while watching CSI:NY (not the greatest reference I admit).

Also, if you have experience as a manager or in HR, how seriously do you take this when it occurs? Disciplinary action? Blind eye unless it becomes a regular occurrence?

To expand, the examples at my workplace would usually be tracked down during the day through us trying their various phone numbers. We've had a few examples where we had no news for over a day. Also, these were all fairly new starters and often temps - we have a pretty high turnover. Repercussions never go further than "you know you have to call if you can't come in" tho our manager is notoriously lenient - but new starters wouldn't know this!
Oh and I'm in the UK.

My tummy hurts, fix it.

elisabethjw — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:56:16 -0800

Why am I constantly nauseous? Sorry this is so long.

I constantly have stomachaches. Sometimes they are remain in the back of my mind, not really an issue; other times they are enormously present. I don't vomit often (up until a few months ago, I hadn't vomited since first grade), but they can be debilitating.

I am 19 years old, female, in good health (I thought ...). I exercise daily (about an hour each day, weights and cardio). Normal weight. I eat a fairly normal diet, no diet sodas (although one Coke a day), no liquor, no smoking, as few processed sugars as possible.

I've always been prone to nausea; I remember many nights sitting in restroom bathrooms trying not to throw up. It's pretty much died down until about three months ago.

Background information: about a year ago, I was diagnosed with teeny tiny gall stones. To be entirely honest, I can't remember why I was given an ultrasound to test for gall stones -- I was probably having stomach problems then, too -- but there were no more issues afterward and the diagnose was somewhat forgotten. The doctor said they were tiny stones, "nothing to be worried about."

I don't know what nausea feels like for other people (obviously) but for me it always comes with a strange, full, almost burning-like feeling in the back of the throat. It will usually die down when I burp; the worst incidents seem to be when I cannot burp and it just builds up and builds up.

Continuing on, about three months ago, on the night before I came home from school, I got ridiculously nauseous and threw up, which freaked me out because I had never thrown up before. Since then, it's been on and off, usually intensely so about once every week or two.

I am generally always slightly nauseous, but the painful, debilitating nausea always occurs in the evening, after I have eaten 3 meals and gone to the gym. As far as I can tell, there are no distinct patterns that indicate when it will be a bad evening; it usually hits full-force about 10:30 p.m.

Other possibly affecting factors:

* It seems to be heightened when I sit in an uncomfortable position at the computer (I used to use the computer at my bed, now I have a desk -- the frequency of the "bad" incidents has gone down since).
* I have some eyesight problems that give me headaches (I can't explain it well -- I have 20/20 vision but I need a heavy prism in my glasses for reading). I am not perfect about wearing my glasses.
* I hesitate to mention this, because it will instantly lead to "anxiety" diagnoses: the stomachaches increase when I am anxious. But that does not mean I don't get them when I'm not.

I went to the doctor a few days ago, who said something about acid and the lining of my stomach and prescribed me Prevacid. The first day taking the medicine (last night) I got extremely nauseous and went to bed early.

Hopefully this will work, but I'm not too optimistic. The doctor also mentioned ulcers and gall bladder problems as potential sources. For some reason, she didn't remember my gall bladder ultrasound, but didn't change her diagnosis when I mentioned it. I have another appointment next week, and if the Prevacid doesn't help I would like to have other tangible options to bring to her attention.

So, hive mind, help me. I know YANAD, but if you have been in a similar situation or have any ideas what may be causing the problems, let me know so I have an idea of what I would like to discuss with her. Ulcers? Gall bladder issues? Possible allergies (I currently am not knowledgeably allergic to anything)?

Oh, and I'm definitely not pregnant.

Arrggghhh I Be Feelin Funny

chrisalbon — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:53:03 -0800

Medication for Sea Sickness? (Just in case) I will be on a Navy ship for two weeks and am wondering what I can bring/take for motion/sea sickness?

The only time I get motion sickness is when I try to read in a car. I've never been on a large sea vessel (except a cruise liner), so I don't know how my body will react.

Does anyone have suggestions for medications to bring?

This Was Spinal Tap

Oriole Adams — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:01:43 -0800

Retro-diagnosis filter: Can the hive mind figure out what disease sent my mom to the hospital in the early 1960s and still affects her to this day? My mom is in her late 70s. Back in the early 1960s she was pushing me in my stroller one summer day when one of her legs felt heavy, like a tree stump. By the time she pushed me back home, she was dragging that leg behind her. In subsequent days she ran a high fever and vomited frequently. Any sort of motion (like watching a someone in a rocking chair) made her nauseous and caused her to throw up. She ended up in the hospital and underwent a spinal tap and various other tests and treatments (including being subjected to baths with "hot packs" placed on her). I've since gotten copies of her records from that stay (that particular hospital has long since closed) and the diagnosis was "possible encephalitis." When she was discharged from the hospital, she was unable to fit into her regular clothes; she'd somehow gained weight despite being unable to eat and keep down food. (She never did get back down to her pre-illness size.) However, in the last 10 or so years when I've been the one taking her to the various doctor appointments required by newly aging patients (cardiologist, oncologist, etc), and sitting in on the consultations, whenever she mentions the encephalitis diagnosis and then describes her symptoms (both then and now), the doctors immediately snort "that wasn't encephalitis." But she had something wrong with her back then. To this day, whenever the weather is humid, she gets nauseated and complains of feeling "like I'm two feet tall." Likewise summer weather makes her head and legs "feel like mush" and she tires easily. Her sense of balance has always been precarious since that original illness (if she turns too quickly, she has to reach out and steady herself), and it also left her with something of a wide, waddling gait. Some of her symptoms sound like post-polio syndrome to me, but supposedly polio was ruled out during her original hospital stay.

Any ideas as to what Mom might have had back in the day? We never lived near horses (one source of encephalitis), she had never vacationed in a tropical area, and there had been no epidemics of any sort in our area (metro Detroit). I would just like to put a more definite finger on it so that her specialists don't immediately discount her various symptoms by saying "Oh, encephalitis doesn't cause this or that" and then completely discount said symptoms.

My young friends wife (27) is in a coma. How do I offer support?

seatofmypants — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 08:55:48 -0800

My friend from childhood - who I haven't really kept up with much even though we live in the same neighborhood - woke up one morning to discover his wife of less than 3 years was unconscious. She is in a coma and it's not clear if she'll ever wake up. They have one kid. How do I offer my support? My friend and I are both 28 and it must be terrible for him to have to deal with this. I am unsure of what I could say to him even though I feel like I should offer some support, maybe in an emotional way.

It's not like we have a regular chat so I have no reason to talk to him outside of this catastrophe. He's also a very quiet and reserved person who keeps his life to himself.

Do I just call up and say: "Hi, I'm so sorry about your wife. How are you feeling?" It sounds contrived and awkward somehow.

Do I just leave him to deal with his stuff and stay out of the way? He has a close family who are with him every step of the way.

Thanks for sharing your tips/experience.

STD aren't the only "bugs" I fear catching

sixcolors — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:19:02 -0800

I fear that my OCD will interfere with my sex life. I am a complete germaphobe, I have been since I was little. I wash my hands around 20 times a day. I have a stash of antibacterial wipes and Germ-x gel, for the times when I’m no where near a sink. I avoid crowds during flu season. I was diagnosed with OCD in my mid teens, and was prescribed Zoloft. It didn’t help me at all, and I discontinued after a year or two.

I have a hard time eating something without washing my own hands. It is even harder to be physically intimate with other people, fearing that I will pick up germs. Germs that can make me sick in particular. For this reason, I have an aversion to oral sex, I have an even bigger aversion to making out. Many times I flat out refuse to make out. Giving and receiving pecks on the face or anywhere else on the body is fine and I enjoy it, but not sticking my tongue in someone’s mouth.

I hate being like this because I think it’s positive to be open-minded about various sexual practices, and I want to please whoever I’m messing around with. Has anyone had this problem? How did you cope?

Fun while housebound

betterton — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:59:57 -0800

Please suggest fun thing for me to do while housebound and healing from fractures. How can I keep from dying of boredom while spending the next month+ lying on the couch?

I have multiple pelvic & leg fractures and have to lie around for at least a month. I would love any suggestions for fun distractions. So far I have been reading magazines, web surfing, and playing sim city, all of which are fine but starting to get old.

Things I can't do: moving (I can hobble short distances on a walker, can't sit for more than about 30 minutes), thinking too hard (narcotics have fuzzed my brain).

Things I can do: reading, listening to music, using a computer (I have a laptop + internet connection).

How can I trust doctors after so many misdiagnoses?

unknowncommand — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 08:59:00 -0800

I have bad luck with doctors and/or diseases. How do I regain trust in the medical profession? To what extent should I do so? For the most part, I am the picture of perfect health. When I have health issues, though, they turn into an avalanche of misdiagnoses and misery. I'm not sure why.

I've experienced misdiagnoses involving severe strep throat (4 times misdiagnosed), allergic reactions (3 times), mononucleosis, kidney infections (twice), skin infection, and hypothyroid, and that's not EVEN including issues that I'm too embarrassed about to post on the internet. Two of these times I was near hospitalization because my symptoms were not addressed correctly.

Sometimes these have been resolved by repeated visits to the same doctor, sometimes through second opinions. Both of these prolong pain and also make me feel like I'm being pushy or demanding a particular diagnosis. Either way, I am totally burnt out on the entire medical "practice".

So now what? How can I get over this distrust? Just telling new doctors upfront that I think they're wrong? Writing letters of complaint for past problems? Hypnosis? Smashing stuff? Becoming a doctor?

But also, what do I do when I feel like I'm not being taken seriously, or that my treatment isn't effective? Honestly, I'm not one of those people who Googles "hiccups" and concludes that they have brain cancer. Should I always pursue second opinions? Get two GP's? I honestly don't know anymore. Help!

Sleeping/exercising/getting teh sick

2or3whiskeysodas — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 06:24:15 -0800

Can a minor change in sleep schedule (as opposed to a reduction in sleep hours) make you sick? Or is her body just reacting badly to an increase in exercise? My girlfriend wants to go to the gym before work. However, every time she has adjusted her sleep schedule to accommodate this, she's gotten sick. She's not really sleeping much less, just going to bed and waking up a couple of hours earlier.

I certainly think it's possible that her immune system is just taking a hit from the increase in exercise, so we'll explore the advice in this previous AskMe. But could this relatively small alteration in sleep patterns be a culprit as well?

Nausea

davar — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 15:05:46 -0800

My good friends suffers from severe nausea during pregnancy. She is seven weeks pregnant now. It is not just morning nausea, and she is very sick. She went to the doctor and tried most home remedies already, but nothing works. Doctors in our country tend to see pregnancy as a beautiful natural thing that should not be messed with. That's good, usually, but she is having a very hard time now and from what we see online, doctors in other countries are sometimes able to do more.

The only medication for sickness that she can get is a combination of meclozini hydrochloridum (12.5 mg) and vitamin B6 (25 mg), which she takes twice a day. Unfortunately, it does not seem to do much. She tried morning sickness bands, ginger, eating small amounts during the day, eating a cracker before getting up, etc. During her last pregnancy (during which she was also sick, but not as bad) she tried accupuncture. Eating small amounts helps, but not enough. Prenatal vitamins do not seem to make it worse.

The nausea is very reminiscient of migraine-nausea (she suffers from migraines and I used to too, so I recognize a lot of what she says). She is very sensitive to light and hard sounds and cannot watch television or even look at a computer screen. She does not throw up and her urine did not show signs of ketosis (the doctor did not perform any other tests on the urine).

My questions are:

Do you know a specific medication or a specific test that she might discuss with her doctor?
The GP called a gynecologist, but I wonder if it makes sense to go to a specialist with experience with nausea?

If you have any other advice it is also welcome.

Cat with a nose bleed?

543DoublePlay — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 12:48:05 -0800

Yet another kitty question: When we got up this morning our 21 year old cat had left blood splatters all over the floor, around her food and in her water bowl (a little gross info. inside) After the initial panic had subsided, we found that she seemd to have a nose bleed and every time she sneezed, blood globs flew everywhere. We were going to take her to the animal emergency room but she appears to act fine (no mewing or acting like she is in pain), has stop sneezing and the associated nose bleed appears to have stopped on its own. Our vet is open on Monday so we thought rather than have a $400 bill from the emergency room a few days before Christmas we'd wait and take her there first thing Monday morning.

So my question is can a cat have nose-bleeds? Could our air be too dry, and if we turn on the humidifier and put it in the room close to her little cat-house will that help?

Bearing in mind she is 21 years old, has lived in 3 countries, has always weighed about 5 lbs wringing wet and gets beat up on a regular basis by our other cat she's in pretty good health (other than a little arthritis) and this is an unusual occurrence for us. Thanks to all the cat Me-Fi'ers out there!

Motion sickness relief wristbands any good?

Comrade_robot — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 05:34:10 -0800

A friend of mine wants a motion sickness relief wristband for her birthday. I find myself a little dubious. Does anyone have experience with them? All the internet reviews I have found may not be entirely objective, since they're on sites trying to get you to buy them, and the one academic study I found is not in the most reputable of journals. Alternately, is there a better motion sickness relief band?

Why does the bus make me sick at night?

macrowave — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 23:21:53 -0800

Why is my motion sickness remarkably stronger at night and what can I do to curb it? I've been plagued by moderate to severe motion sickness since I was a baby. Over the years, I've come up with a few solutions to keep from hurling in transit, namely always looking forward through the windshield when riding in cars, and focusing on pressure points in my wrist while experiencing airplane turbulence.

Recently, my schedule has a dictated nighttime travel on Chicago CTA busses. I'm totally fine on my ride to work/school in the morning, to the point that I can even read or do crossword puzzles, but even a 10 minute stint after dark leaves me wanting to jump off before my stop to avoid embarrassment. It's not the fault of a specifically jerky driver- I've been keeping my eye out and have noticed there's a number of different people manning the ship.

I've tried the usual, but looking out the front of the bus is often difficult. I'm not even sure if this would help anyway, as it seems that I can become queasy with my eyes closed. And I don't WANT to have my eyes closed. I don't fancy myself a paranoid individual, but the prospect of not being able to see on the nighttime Kimball bus kind of creeps me out.

Why is it so bad for me after dark, and what can I do about it?

How to make a child comfortable around those that are different from them

MrMulan — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 10:14:50 -0800

How do I expose my 2 1/2 year old son to people who have handicaps, or chronic illnesses like CP or MS? I remember my mom taking me to her nursing home when I was younger, and am very glad she did. I also remember most of the patients/residents were extremely happy to see me.

I would like to hear from people who grew up with somebody with a chronic illness, or somebody who was fine and then became ill. Before my mom started taking me to the nursing home, I remember visiting my grandfather who had a stroke and tormenting him, and generally being a dick with with my other cousins. I think I was either 4 or 6. I still feel like a dick for doing that.

I don't really like the insert childrens' book series/television program here that deals with this for one token episode.

Are there any books/programs with recurring characters with disabilities? Can I take him anywhere? Can I volunteer somewhere with him?

How do I know IMAX won't make me sick?

IndigoRain — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 03:57:49 -0800

How do I know if IMAX will make me sick? We're getting a new IMAX theater in my city, and I've never been to one. A friend said it made her so sick that she vomited. Are there theaters that give test runs (say, a 5-minute short clip) to see if you can handle it? Or is it routine for IMAX theaters to give you your money back if you have to leave partway through because you get sick?