3 ms·

Fever helps against all kinds of illnesses but it can also be deadly, so having fever reducting medicine around is a smart precaution IMO. If you're otherwise h

by jeroenhd 11mo ago

Fever helps against all kinds of illnesses but it can also be deadly, so having fever reducting medicine around is a smart precaution IMO. If you're otherwise healthy and are dealing with a mild seasonal infection and have got something important going on, I can see why people would choose to reduce symptoms at the cost of taking longer to recover. Lots of people go overboard with this, though, like taking flu reduction medicine with every single cold or using medication to go to work sick. American media seems especially accepting of people taking "flu medicine" over rest and recovery.

tayo42 11mo ago
> like taking flu reduction medicine with every single cold or using medication to go to work sick. Basically how I grew up. I took painkillers and throat lozenges in my backpack to school.
- ehnto 11mo ago
  Due to a condition I was born with, I was raised the opposite. No over the counter medication my entire life, with some exceptions. I usually decline pain management in ER, for things like broken bones, but for surgeries and stuff of course I have no choice as I go under. I will take what the doctor orders though, to treat illness and conditions though thankfully at this stage there hasn't been many instances. Usually that's antibiotics.
  - srean 11mo ago
    Broken bones? A broken femur or a shin is hell.
    - ehnto 11mo ago
      Yeah it was pretty painful at first and at different times. Never like in tears pain though, just very distracting. I have broken two fingers and two collarbones, at different times, and a toe! Both collarbones were fully smashed to bits but did not pierce the skin, I had bruising for months. I have an above average tolerance but I think what really helps is pain management techniques, which I believe can help all of us at different times of need. Chronic pain is a bitch, which I have, and not everyone has pain that is reasonably manageable, but even prescribed pain meds are really going to mess with you and I think it is worth avoiding if possible and not inhumane.
      - srean 11mo ago
        Is higher tolerance to pain even a real thing ? I have been told that I have that, but I don't think it feels any less painful. It's not possible to know. I feel I am just a little accepting of it. Broken femur is almost a different league though.
        ehnto 11mo ago
        I have the same thought, it must be as it's accounted for in medical practice, but also how would I know? I only have my subjective experience to go by. I think it is important to accept everyone's own experience of their pain though, I have no idea what someone else is feeling even if I have experienced the same event. Their experience and what they feel could be vastly different, our nervous systems behaving vastly different. It is not a morale failing to feel and be affected by pain.
        srean 11mo ago
        Indeed.
TeMPOraL 11mo ago
> Lots of people go overboard with this, though, like taking flu reduction medicine with every single cold or using medication to go to work sick. American media seems especially accepting of people taking "flu medicine" over rest and recovery. This is not specific to America; it's a thing in the entire Western world, and probably beyond. Because it's not like we have any other choice. There is no slack in the system. Most people can't afford to have more than a few sick days in a year, and they prefer to save those up for when painkillers and cough medicine don't cut it anymore. Same with children, because a sick child staying home is usually equivalent to the parent taking a sick day themselves - either way, they're not at work. We can talk about media or people going overboard once it becomes acceptable to skip work for a week because of sick kid, or in order to not get everyone in the office sick too.
- torben-friis 11mo ago
  >Most people can't afford to have more than a few sick days in a year Sick days are unlimited in my country (and of course don’t count as vacation or similar). I think this is relatively standard for European countries, though not 100% sure.
  - TeMPOraL 11mo ago
    They may be on paper, but I can't imagine taking one every time you have a runny nose or a sore throat. Everyone from your employer to social insurance[0] will start looking at you funny. It's just unexpected, even though it's how you're supposed to be handling infectious diseases to prevent spread. -- [0] - Or whoever is backing the free healthcare in your country.
    - torben-friis 11mo ago
      Yes, that much is true. Remote working for those in between cases is accepted, but it does reduce the practice to the luckier subset of office workers.
- tarsinge 11mo ago
  But flu isn’t just a cold, it’s a serious disease. If they are sick to the point they have fever then they can’t really afford to not rest as it has a cost in the form of longer health debt. And even short term, by letting the fever run and resting and being 100% operational can be more productive than being a zombie on medications for weeks.

tayo42 11mo ago

> like taking flu reduction medicine with every single cold or using medication to go to work sick. Basically how I grew up. I took painkillers and throat lozenges in my backpack to school.

ehnto 11mo ago
Due to a condition I was born with, I was raised the opposite. No over the counter medication my entire life, with some exceptions. I usually decline pain management in ER, for things like broken bones, but for surgeries and stuff of course I have no choice as I go under. I will take what the doctor orders though, to treat illness and conditions though thankfully at this stage there hasn't been many instances. Usually that's antibiotics.
- srean 11mo ago
  Broken bones? A broken femur or a shin is hell.
  - ehnto 11mo ago
    Yeah it was pretty painful at first and at different times. Never like in tears pain though, just very distracting. I have broken two fingers and two collarbones, at different times, and a toe! Both collarbones were fully smashed to bits but did not pierce the skin, I had bruising for months. I have an above average tolerance but I think what really helps is pain management techniques, which I believe can help all of us at different times of need. Chronic pain is a bitch, which I have, and not everyone has pain that is reasonably manageable, but even prescribed pain meds are really going to mess with you and I think it is worth avoiding if possible and not inhumane.
    - srean 11mo ago
      Is higher tolerance to pain even a real thing ? I have been told that I have that, but I don't think it feels any less painful. It's not possible to know. I feel I am just a little accepting of it. Broken femur is almost a different league though.
      - ehnto 11mo ago
        I have the same thought, it must be as it's accounted for in medical practice, but also how would I know? I only have my subjective experience to go by. I think it is important to accept everyone's own experience of their pain though, I have no idea what someone else is feeling even if I have experienced the same event. Their experience and what they feel could be vastly different, our nervous systems behaving vastly different. It is not a morale failing to feel and be affected by pain.
        srean 11mo ago
        Indeed.

TeMPOraL 11mo ago

> Lots of people go overboard with this, though, like taking flu reduction medicine with every single cold or using medication to go to work sick. American media seems especially accepting of people taking "flu medicine" over rest and recovery. This is not specific to America; it's a thing in the entire Western world, and probably beyond. Because it's not like we have any other choice. There is no slack in the system. Most people can't afford to have more than a few sick days in a year, and they prefer to save those up for when painkillers and cough medicine don't cut it anymore. Same with children, because a sick child staying home is usually equivalent to the parent taking a sick day themselves - either way, they're not at work. We can talk about media or people going overboard once it becomes acceptable to skip work for a week because of sick kid, or in order to not get everyone in the office sick too.

torben-friis 11mo ago
>Most people can't afford to have more than a few sick days in a year Sick days are unlimited in my country (and of course don’t count as vacation or similar). I think this is relatively standard for European countries, though not 100% sure.
- TeMPOraL 11mo ago
  They may be on paper, but I can't imagine taking one every time you have a runny nose or a sore throat. Everyone from your employer to social insurance[0] will start looking at you funny. It's just unexpected, even though it's how you're supposed to be handling infectious diseases to prevent spread. -- [0] - Or whoever is backing the free healthcare in your country.
  - torben-friis 11mo ago
    Yes, that much is true. Remote working for those in between cases is accepted, but it does reduce the practice to the luckier subset of office workers.
tarsinge 11mo ago
But flu isn’t just a cold, it’s a serious disease. If they are sick to the point they have fever then they can’t really afford to not rest as it has a cost in the form of longer health debt. And even short term, by letting the fever run and resting and being 100% operational can be more productive than being a zombie on medications for weeks.