(no subject)

[xiphias]

I currently have a temperature of 101.5 F (38.6 C)

Am I lying to myself that I'll be well enough to teach Hebrew School tomorrow?

Do I have any ability to put together a class thingy someone else can follow?

It's times like this that I kind of wish I knew what I was doing. I mean, I teach reasonably well, but I don't know HOW I do it. If I knew what I did, I could write down something for someone else to do.

Comments

[greenlily.livejournal.com]

I tend to take an elevated temp (over 99 or so) seriously because it may indicate an infection that your immune system isn't able to handle on its own. (If you were writing this at, like, 5 pm I'd take it a tad less seriously because most people who have fevers find that their temp goes up in the evening.)

Given the combination of the fever with your other symptoms, I would say a. you should probably not teach tomorrow (if nothing else, you'll share your Crud with any kid who might not've got it yet) and b. you might think about getting yourself checked out by someone more qualified than me.

[undauntra.livejournal.com]

Look, don't take the risk of passing it on to the kids. It just ain't nice.

[fibro-witch.livejournal.com]

You were kind enough to call me and let me know your still sick. Unless you feel a lot better in the morning I would take a pass on Hebrew school as well.

[felis-sidus.livejournal.com]

I second (or third, or whatever) all those folks suggesting that you stay at home to avoid spreading the crud to the kids. Knowing you, I suspect you could pull off a worthwile lesson even if ill, but the only certain way to protect your students from your illness is to stay away from them.

Unsolicited medical opinions: 101.5 isn't high enough to cause panic, but is high enough to indicate you should give your body a chance to heal itself by continuing to rest and drink lots of fluids, especially warm fluids. At 102, it's time to consider taking an antipyretic (e.g., aspirin), to keep the fever from getting too high. 102.5 is definitely time for meds, to forestall any sudden rise in temp., and 103 is time to talk to a doctor.

Expectorants help to liquify and break up the mucus in your chest, to make it easier to expel. The natural thing is then to cough, to expel the mucus. If I take anything for the kind of cough you describe, it's generally an expectorant, preferably guaifenesin, which is the decongestant in Robitussin and similar medicines. Personally, I dislike combination medicines, preferring to take separate meds for the exact needs I perceive. I particularly don't care for meds which combine expectorants and cough suppressants. The logic of taking one drug to make the gunk in your lungs easier to cough up, and simultaneously taking another to suppress your cough reflex escapes me.

If your goal is to get some sleep, you might try taking an expectorant a couple of hours before bedtime, and a cough suppressant 15-30 minutes before bed. The expectorant should help you clear your lungs, and the suppressant would then allow you to get some sleep with comparatively decent oxygenation.

Hope you feel better soon!

[mattblum.livejournal.com]

I think that, even if you feel better in the morning, unless you feel completely better, you shouldn't teach. You're obviously fighting off something nasty, and you:

a) need to give your body the time it needs to recuperate; and
b) presumably don't want to give the nasty crud to any of your students.

I hope you feel better soon!

[agharta75.livejournal.com]

The answer: no. Stay home.

I'm just getting over the crud myself, and even though my temp is now normal (after four days) I don't have energy enough to do much of anything.

[ailsaek.livejournal.com]

Add another vote for "Stay home, you're contagious."

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I was a student for 25 years. I had a lot of good teachers, and a lot of good classes. I still cannot imagine a class so wonderful that I would consider it worth being infected with the symptoms you describe.

I think you're being irresponsible to even consider teaching under these conditions.

[ron_newman]

Stay home, for your own sake as well as all of the kids'.

[ailbhe]

I'd be mad as hell if I knew you deliberately went in to teach my kids with a fever like that. Sick kids are no fun for anyone, and when you add in taking time off work to deal with them, for kids who have no parent at home during the day, it's expensive, too.

[patgreene.livejournal.com]

In our school district, students are required to stay at home for twenty four hours following a temperature over 100 degrees F, on the grounds that they may still be contagious. I think that's a good rule of thumb, and follow it myself when I have a fever.