Getting Sick During Term: How Do You Handle It?

[dimpledur]

Hello all,
How exactly do you all cope with getting sick during a school term? For example, if you were to have a flu? Do you continue studying, or do you take a break to get well? I have been doing absolutely nothing these last two days because my head won't let me. I did however finish a math assignment that was due today, but other than that...

 

[lisab]

It's really tough getting sick in school. You should let your professors know - some may give you a bit of a reprieve.

The best way to deal with it is to do your best to prevent getting sick in the first place.

For example, it's a good idea to get a flu shot every year if you have a lifestyle that does not allow you to take a week off being sick (i.e., a student lifestyle).

Another *seriously* good idea - I know you've heard it before, probably so much it's become like background noise: Wash. Your. Hands. Frequently. Trust me on this one.

 

[BobG]

Exercise and eating well helps minimize how often you get sick, too.

Regardless, some people are just more susceptible to getting sick than others. For those, it's probably best just to put things in perspective. You'll do worse in school than healthy people, but you'll also miss more days of work than healthy people once you get a job. Your decreased performance in school will at least provide prospective employers some warning about the job performance they can expect from you.

You'll be happier working some place that's happy to have you in spite of any limitations you may have.

Maybe.

 

[sweetpotato]

IMO getting sick while in school (assuming you are a full-time student) is easier in some ways than getting sick when you have a job. This is because:
-me and most students I know had class for no more than 4 hours a day, compared to 8 hours a day most people spend at work, so lots of times you can manage to get to class then spend the rest of the day resting
-the campus health center was a 5 minute walk away and I could easily get an appointment there, while my current doctor can never seem to fit me into her schedule
-my professors were understanding whenever I had to miss class or re-schedule a test, while at work even if you get sick time (not everyone does) a lot of it goes to unexpected events (illness of another family member, car trouble, weather emergencies, etc) as well as your personal sicknesses. Plus, taking a sick day at the wrong time can really throw a project at work behind. If you work at a small company like me, your boss will be displeased even if you truly are sick. Turning a school assignment in late mostly hurts only you, and the professor is usually only slightly inconvenienced.

That is just my opinion based on my experience, but my point is that if you think being sick during your student years is hard, you should try to learn how to cope with it because it doesn't always get easier in the work world.

 

[turbo]

The spring of my Freshman year in engineering school, I got bronchitis and mononucleosis back-to-back. I lost almost three weeks of class and spent most of one of those weeks on my back in the university's infirmary with complications from the mono, including a swollen spleen. I had to work my tail off to make up as much of the work as possible, and try to ace all the finals, since I had missed a bunch of labs that could not be repeated. It hurt my grades, but luckily those tech courses were heavily weighted toward the final exams, so I did much better than I had expected.

As mentioned above, getting sick can be far tougher for you if you are a vital person in a small organization - especially if your boss feels a need to retaliate for your absences (even if they are medically necessary). I have gone through this personally, and it really stinks. That's when you find out whether or not your state's anti-discrimination laws (relating to employment) actually have any teeth. In this state, they sure don't. Stay healthy, if you can.

 

[BobG]

If you work at a small company like me, your boss will be displeased even if you truly are sick.

As mentioned above, getting sick can be far tougher for you if you are a vital person in a small organization - especially if your boss feels a need to retaliate for your absences (even if they are medically necessary). I have gone through this personally, and it really stinks.

When I was younger, I worked as a mason's assistant (fancy name for laborer) for a very small construction crew where you might have 4 to 5 bricklayers and 2 laborers, or you might break down even further and only have 2 or 3 bricklayers with 1 laborer.

Bricklayers were expendable, but they wanted the laborers to come in no matter how sick they were. Working slowly (and essentially being overpaid for what you were accomplishing) was better than having no laborer at all.

I wouldn't say they ever actually retaliated for a person missing work, but it didn't take many absences to become very unpopular with them. I don't think they ever actually fired anyone for missing work too often, but mainly because that was a problem that eventually worked itself out. Guys that missed work tended to quit fairly soon. It was some seriously hard work in all sorts of weather and I think it was definitely possible that a lot of the guys that missed work a lot missed it because they were getting close to realizing they didn't want to do that kind of work every day. Or they were quitting because working that hard every day with bosses that were starting to develop a disliking to them just made the whole experience too unpleasant to put up with.

During the time I worked there, there were only 3 of us that seemed to really enjoy that work. All of the other laborers they hired moved on to other things really quickly, so it was hard to tell who was really sick and who just didn't want to do that job.

 

[rootX]

If you get seriously sick, I believe you can get out of the term and come back next semester.

For minor ones like cold, I just cure it with coffee

 

[HeLiXe]

Hello all,
How exactly do you all cope with getting sick during a school term? For example, if you were to have a flu? Do you continue studying, or do you take a break to get well? I have been doing absolutely nothing these last two days because my head won't let me. I did however finish a math assignment that was due today, but other than that...

Going through that this past week and it really sucks because I had a physics exam and calc III quiz and all I wanted to do was sleep -_- The drugs had me functioning, but not to the point where I could actually think. My ailments are a bit more severe than the flu and I missed 2 days of class per Dr.'s orders and sent the letter to my professors (plus I really was too sick to go to school). One prof was a little rude, but all were understanding. Still it really sucks because I know I did not do my best on the exam and quiz, and these are major points toward my grade. Spent all day at school today studying and making up exams and I am really paying for it now physically -_-

 

[rootX]

Going through that this past week and it really sucks because I had a physics exam and calc III quiz and all I wanted to do was sleep -_-

oo noes!

 

[HeLiXe]

*sighs* thanks rootX <3<3 I really felt like changing my major to basic liberal arts today