With concerns over the recent coronavirus outbreak, it’s helpful to know how you can handle a workplace illness. Work can be a hotbed for germs once somebody gets sick. Still, there are some things you can do to help keep you from getting sick yourself…

Workplace Illness: Avoid Germ Spreading

Wash your hands

Washing your hands is vital for avoiding a workplace illness. Consider how many things your hands touch just in one day. You’ll be grabbing door handles, shared supplies, and shaking hands. All of these heavily increase the chances of you getting sick, so it’s crucial you keep your hands clean.

Remember, just running some water over your hands isn’t enough. You need to really properly wash your hands with soap and warm water. One good way to make sure you wash your hands long enough is by singing “Happy Birthday” to yourself twice. This is just as long as doctor’s recommend you wash your hands for.

Avoid touching your face

It’s also a good idea to avoid touching your face if you want to avoid a workplace illness. There’s two major reasons for this. Firstly, the areas around our eyes, nose, and mouth tend to have a lot of germs. If you go from touching your face to touching something else, it can spread many of those germs onto that object.

Secondly, it’ll also work in reverse. If you touch your face, you’re encouraging the transfer of germs from your hands onto your face. From there, they can easily get inside your body and get you sick. Limiting touching your face, or using something like hand sanitizer beforehand, can help prevent sickness.

See a doctor

If you worry you’re coming down with a workplace illness, or could spread one, it’s a good idea to see a doctor. Now, a lot of people have anxiety over making doctor visits. Still, a professional will be able to better diagnose you based on your symptoms rather than an online web search.

Sometimes, going early can get you on a treatment plan which cuts down on your chances of getting more sick. Or, if you’re already sick, then a doctor can recommend you some medicine and a treatment plan. It’s much better to take some sick days instead of getting your other co-workers ill as well!