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 the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- The most recent one is from October 2026.
- This comes up 18.4× more often in r/Teachers than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Washing hands frequently3 people mentionedDid this help you?
- 2Using hand sanitizer3 people mentionedDid this help you?
- 3Avoiding touching the face2 people mentionedDid this help you?
- 4Taking multivitamins and extra vitamin CDid this help you?
- 5Wearing a maskDid this help you?
- 6Getting vaccinatedDid this help you?
- 7Getting enough sleepDid this help you?
- 8Eating healthyDid this help you?
- 9Relying on the body naturally building immunity over several yearsDid this help you?
- 10Keeping tissues and garbage cans away from the deskDid this help you?
- 11Taking vitamins like Emergen-C, Zinc, and Vitamin CDid this help you?
- 12Wearing a mask during close contact or high-risk tasksDid this help you?
- 13Leaving papers in a turn-in tray for a few days before gradingDid this help you?
- 14Using masks and air purifiersDid this help you?
- 15Running covid testsDid this help you?
- 16Spending money to avoid getting friends and family sickDid this help you?
- 17Considering quitting education and finding a new careerDid this help you?
- 18Washing hands when getting homeDid this help you?
- 19Changing clothes after daycareDid this help you?
- 20Using hand sanitizer in the carDid this help you?
- 21Improving home ventilationDid this help you?
- 22Taking immune support supplements, elderberry, probiotics, and vitaminsDid this help you?
- 23Drinking teas with honey, ginger, and lemon balmDid this help you?
- 24Using air purifiers in classroomsDid this help you?
- 25Wiping down desks and door handlesDid this help you?
- 26using doctor's notes to validate absencesDid this help you?
- 27using available paid sick leave and days off provided by the districtDid this help you?
- 28preparing basic sub plans and emailing them to colleagues to printDid this help you?
- 29using hand sanitizer, wiping down surfaces, and using water bottles with covered spoutsDid this help you?
- 30keeping hand sanitizer on handDid this help you?
- 31using saline nasal rinse bottlesDid this help you?
- 32taking vitamins, immune cocktails, and supplementsDid this help you?
- 33cutting sugar out of the dietDid this help you?
- 34getting yearly booster shotsDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Well, it is September 20th and I have strep throat. My mortal enemy. Back to school is starting to feel a lot like back to antibiotics 😩”source ↗
“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 just started this school year last month and I’m already sick.”source ↗
“I’m so tired of parents sending their sick kids to school.”source ↗
“I got strep during student teaching and maybe like 4 flus my first year.”source ↗
“Hi I need some advice, I’m a first year teacher and for the month of september i’ve gotten sick a total of two times.”source ↗
“Except this time I have the freaking flu and I went to urgent care and got a doctor’s note excusing me for today and tomorrow. Do you think it would be unprofessional to take also tomorrow off? This is the third time i’ll take off in a single month so I’m feel very self conscious”source ↗
“Year 20 and the cold got me on day 3 with kids.🤬”source ↗
“My school started back up at the beginning of September & with that has arrived the near-constant weekend sore throat and malaise.”source ↗
“I spend pretty much every weekend of the school year from September–March battling symptoms.”source ↗
“I just had to put in a sub for tomorrow. I don’t even remember any of my kids coughing, snotting, or anything, so I don’t know where this came from. Ugh! 🤒”source ↗
“I know it sounds silly I’ve just never been in a professional setting like this ever so I don’t want to look like I don’t care about my job 😭”source ↗
“Spending my Sunday trying to kick this cold as fast as I can”source ↗
“I crashed last night at 8:30. I was fine the entire day! Woke up with a 101.5 fever early this morning. I cannnnnnnnt ”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 ↗
“I didn't even make it to Labor Day. :/”source ↗
“I woke up this morning with a sore throat that's gotten worse as the day goes on. I know what other symptoms are on the horizon for me. I have only been back in school 9 days. That is a record I was not interested in breaking for myself.”source ↗
“And I’m only a second year teacher 😭”source ↗
“it’s ridiculous how quickly i’ve been getting sick! I got sick the second week of school and had to take off now we’re at the end of the month and i have to take off again. i’ve only felt good for about a week so far 😅”source ↗
“I’ve been teaching middle school 11 years. I rarely get sick. I’ve been sick THREE times with fevers and general sickness since school started.”source ↗
“I’ve been sick twice in the last month. I cannot afford to continue to miss work, and not be able to fulfill my other commitments.”source ↗
“She barely gets sick at all she just gives it to me and it’s like I have the plague, sick for 3+ days, fever, urgent care, whole 9 yards.”source ↗
“Last year I was literally sick twice a month for 2 months straight.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 6How to handle students falling asleep in class
- 5How to stop kindergarteners from constantly tattling?
- 3I laughed at a student's joke and now I've lost authority
- 16Why do I keep yelling at my students out of frustration?
- 6What to do when students mock your appearance
- 3What to do when you genuinely dislike a student