Why am I always sick since I started teaching?
Continuous classroom exposure to sick students constantly triggers infections, even for teachers practicing strict hygiene like hand washing and vitamins. This relentless cycle of illness prevents teachers from staying healthy and leaves them feeling sick every other week.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Using hand sanitizer
- 2Washing hands frequently
- 3Avoiding touching the face
- 4Taking multivitamins and extra vitamin C
- 5Wearing a mask
- 6Getting vaccinated
- 7Getting enough sleep
- 8Eating healthy
- 9Relying on the body naturally building immunity over several years
- 10Keeping tissues and garbage cans away from the desk
- 11Taking vitamins like Emergen-C, Zinc, and Vitamin C
- 12Wearing a mask during close contact or high-risk tasks
- 13Leaving papers in a turn-in tray for a few days before grading
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“It’s literally only the 5th day of school and I’m already sick with what seems like a cold ”source ↗
“Because I cannot be getting sick every other week 😭”source ↗
“Are y'all constantly getting sick? I work with elementary students and take precautions but I am getting sick every week.”source ↗
“I got strep during student teaching and maybe like 4 flus my first year.”source ↗
“First three years were brutal. Now I get maybe a cold or two and that’s about it.”source ↗
“I wash my hands, avoid touching my face, use hand sanitizer, take a multivitamin, extra vitamin c.... I'm constantly sick.”source ↗
“The kids started less than a month ago, and I have already been sick for 4 (consecutive) days.”source ↗
“My first year teaching I got so sick back to back. First it was hand-foot-mouth, then COVID, then double ear infection.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 4How to handle students falling asleep in class
- 3Why do I keep yelling at my students out of frustration?
- 13How to protect yourself against false accusations from students and parents
- 4Students constantly forgetting materials, am I overreacting?
- 8What do you call students who copy or police classroom instructions?
- 4Why do teachers keep getting mistaken for students?