People at work telling me I did not have the norovirus

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Joe90
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11 Feb 2018, 8:24 am

I don't get it. When the norovirus was going around the workplace, nearly all the workers caught it, including me. When I had it, it was my day off anyway, but I texted a co-worker and said I was sick but should be better for my shift tomorrow. My co-worker texted back and said that the boss said to tell me not to come in tomorrow because I have to keep away for 48 hours if I've had the bug. Fair enough.

My dad caught it off of me 2 days later - but ever since he had it, his stomach has not been right since, and it's been a month since we had the norovirus bug. Because I'm worried about him, I feel irrationally angry with the workplace for having the norovirus going around and somehow getting into my system, even though I was being really hygienic (washing my hands a lot, wearing gloves, mask, etc).
When I told my co-worker how I felt, she yelled at me. She said that I did not have the bug because I wasn't sick, but I said I was sick once and had diarrhoea then spent the whole day feeling weak, feverish and aching. Yes, I only was sick and loose once, but that doesn't mean I didn't have the bug. Then my dad caught the bug exactly 2 days after, suffering the same symptoms as I did, except he was sick more. Then my brother caught it exactly 2 days after him with the same symptoms.
But my co-worker keeps saying I did not have the bug because I wasn't sick enough, and my dad was only sick because he goes to pubs and drinks, and my brother might have caught something else. She says that I was only sick because I got myself worked up over it, but I am hardly ever sick and even my anxiety does not cause me to vomit. I said I KNOW it was the same bug that was going around the workplace, but she seems adamant it wasn't.

I know I should let it go but it's really annoying that somebody at work doesn't believe me. She believed me at the time though, on the day I was sick, and the boss let me have the next day off. But now she seems to think just because she was lucky enough not to catch it, that I didn't catch it either.
I would let it go if I wasn't worried about my dad. It seems that this bug triggered off something because 5 weeks later he still keeps suffering symptoms of the norovirus like loss of appetite, aching, nausea and has vomited 4 times in the last 5 weeks, and this is not like him.

How can I get my stubborn co-worker to just believe me instead of telling me the opposite? She says I'm not a doctor, but neither is she.


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kraftiekortie
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11 Feb 2018, 4:31 pm

I wish you would have has a blood test when you were ill.



SaveFerris
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11 Feb 2018, 4:49 pm

Joe90 wrote:

How can I get my stubborn co-worker to just believe me instead of telling me the opposite? She says I'm not a doctor, but neither is she.


Keep being sarcastic with her and tell her she's wasted in her current job , she should work in diagnostic medicine.


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Joe90
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13 Feb 2018, 7:32 pm

kraftiekortie wrote:
I wish you would have has a blood test when you were ill.


So do I.

But I know I definitely had the bug because I haven't physically vomited in 17 years, and anxiety about vomiting has never made me vomit. I hate it when people exaggerate these things; "oh if you had the bug you should have been throwing up everywhere all day", "oh if you had the flu you should have been in bed for a week unable to eat or stay awake or even move"... No, viruses don't work that way. My immune system is rather strong, and maybe it's my ADHD but I am too 'hyper' to be ill, if that makes sense. Even with the flu, I still manage to drag myself out of bed and get myself a drink or something. Doesn't mean to say I'm well at all. Everybody's different.


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