Could I be picking up illnesses from work???

I am currently working as a receptionist and i work in different departments of a medical institution,it varies from week to week where i am based. In the past 5 months I have been off work sick every month for atleast a week with either a viral throat infection, flu or stomach bug - along those lines anyway.
As a result of me being off sick a lot i feel this makes me look like i cannot be responsible or relied on. I think I am catching these illnesses actually from my work.
Every week i am in a new department and i am touching different phones,desks,computer keyboards and mouses a lot , the staff toilets are not close to where i work so i find myself having to use the public toilet areas and i am wondering if i am picking things up from there.
This is actually getting me quite worried and making me become quite obsessive compulsive about handwashing etc.
So does anyone think that working in all these different places is causing my illnesses? I have had blood tests-they are ok.

Yes you could be catching lots of things from work.

Work environments are very much like petrie dishes.

The windows are all closed.
You are constantly flooded with fluorescent lighting.
Keyboards, telephone and door handles have the most germs on them.

I would carry a personal bottle of hand cleanser - the kind that you rub on and don't need to wipe off.

I would also clean the phone and keyboard of the computer I was working on with a Lysol disinfectant wipe.

When you use the washroom, use the papertowel to open the door before you discard it into the garbage.

If you find that the symptoms have not gone away within the next while, I would say that the symptoms are probably Psychosomatic.

Meaning that you prolly don't want to be at the work place and you would rather be somewhere else or that the stress of the job is wreaking havoc on your body.

Either way, take heed and give these steps a try and take care of your body.

A week every month? You need to find another job before you get fired. If you are really washing your hands and NOT touching your eyes, nose or mouth (dirty hands or not) then you shouldn't be getting sick from the things you've touched. No way. And what could you be picking up from the bathrooms? Again, if you really are washing your hands and not touching your mucus membranes, then you shouldn't get sick.

I think it is very possible that you are picking up illnesses at work. The best way to get away from it is to build up your immune system. The fastest way is through vitamins. Go to your local health food store and ask one of the employees if they have something specific. There is also a product called Airborne that is not really a medicine to ward off illness, but a great boost of vitamins to keep away illness. Hope you feel better soon.
Maybe just maybe its because u don't like being a receptionist. I know I didn't!!! They depend on you so much, and I think I just made myself sick. I don't know...think about it.

IT MAY BE

Absolutely. No doubt in my mind. Keep up the hand washing but also work on your immune system. Stay away from anti-biotics whenever possible. Find a good immune system booster that you can live with and use it regularly. There is one from TCM called "Jade Screen" dor people who's immune systems need help - plus there are a lot of other options.

conrtrary to poular opinion, any work environment which has illnesses as part and parcel to the job, is the worst place to be when you are suseptible to illnesses since they are the most infected areas compared to anywhere else. it is easier to catcch an illness from a hospital than anywhere in the third world regardless of which country you visit.
the main reason is that hospitals are NOT sterile, and are rarely really sanitary.

i think you are just paranoid. just keep yourself clean, wash your hands before eating, take a bath before going to bed, drink vitamin c so you will have better resistance to viruses or bacterias and eat healthy foods.

Think of the doctors in public hospitals, they are more exposed to patients with various kinds of illnesses.They stay healthy because they keep themselves clean and they eat a balanced diet.

I think so. People working in health care always have the risk of picking up bacteria from patients.
I would keep washing my hands and change your clothes after you get home from work. Make sure you wash your hands with the "happy birthday song twice" under very warm water. We use Dial soap in Microbiology lab, its a good antibacterial soap.

Working in the medical institution puts you at risk for all sorts of ailments. I am glad you are washing your hands A LOT, as that can be devastating for you, if you do not. Are you using anti-bacterial sprays, etc. on your phone and other machines that you do share? The air, itself, in such a place, is filled with undesireable virus and bacteria that you may 'catch'. I know what you are talking about when you say you don't want to be 'seen' as not responsible, because you keep getting ill, and needing to stay home. My son is a CMA, has picked up really bad illnesses from his work in a clinic, and is constantly worried that he will take too much work off. He goes to work, they send him home. Yet, he is suffering from MRSA, and they want him to WORK! It makes no sense. It seems that when the clinic needs him, they don't consider him sick......
and, his jobs include so many jobs that they need him there, every day. He is, currently, on a portable I.V. for abcesses, and told to come to work, daily. Your concerns are real, and if you are able to get a job that causes you less sickness, it would be a good idea. It seems that you have difficulty staying well, in this environment. I hope that you have documented each and every ailment you have had to stay home for...........in case you need to prove why it was important for you to quit this job.

Have your employer (or gain permission from them to do it yourself) sanitize these areas THOROUGHLY. Lysol is one of the best, but since your employer is "head of the teepee," let them tell you, if they give permission to you, how they wish you to sanitize everything. Continue the handwashing "fettish"--don't worry about how it looks to others. It's YOUR health.

Sounds like your immune system is very run down if you are picking up all of these illnesses. Be sure you use a good mulitvitamin every day that is well absorbed by your body and take a good antioxidant supplement to so you get your immune system healthy. Keep an instant hand sanitizer with you at all times and use it when needed. Get plenty of rest and consider gettting rid of the toxic cleaning and laundry products you use at home as those might be making you sick too. Switch to all natural ones and take the toxic ones to your nearest hazardous waste recycling plant for disposal.

You could pick up germs in all of the areas you mentioned. When you work as a receptionist you come in contact with people who bring all kinds of germs with them. If they cough at anytime they are spreading those germs on you. You should have your own little disinfecting stuff with you everyday and clean the phone, the keyboards, the desk, the mouse and anything else that you touch or use. Even the back of the chair because you use it to push it in place. You should even spray Lysol disinfectant sparingly in the air, let it settle before you sit down. It's really not good to inhale a lot of that stuff.
Even the toilet should be cleaned before you sit on it. Touch as few handles and knobs as possible. Wash your hands often but especially after going to the restroom. I always use those papers seat covers when they have them. Then you won't have to clean the seat. You could spray the seat if you wanted to and wipe it dry with toilet paper. That may be a little extreme but you can judge if you think it's necessary.
You can also get some hand cleaner to put in your purse. I have some that I use if I want to eat out.
You don't have to waste a lot of cleaning stuff, just a necessary amount to protect yourself. If some of your co-workers find out that you are doing it; maybe they will do it also. Then, things will be better for everybody. Maybe, your company will pay for your supplies if they feel it is working.
Do they have a good ventilation system, where the air blows through the place?
When I used a keyboard at work years ago, I cleaned mine everyday before I started. One moist cleaning cloth could be used to clean almost everything at your desk. Just keep turning it to use all parts of it.