Driver Lifestyles
Road Life: No Paid Sick Days
If you drive a truck for a living, you only make money when you're moving down the highway with a load. That basic tenet of trucking leads to another fact of the driving life: There are no sick days.
The fact is that truck drivers basically gut it out when they don't feel well—until they're just too sick to go any farther.
The most common ailments that drivers face are the same ones that afflict the general population: the common cold and the flu.
In fact, fighting the common cold costs the U.S. economy approximately $40 billion a year, which is more than other conditions like asthma, heart failure and emphysema.
However, there are moves you can make to stop colds and flu beforethey get to you and take you off the road.
The common cold
The common cold is a mild viral infectious disease of the nose and throat. It is the most common of all diseases, infecting mostpeople at least once a year.
Most of us have a pretty good idea of what constitutes a cold, but let's review the symptoms:
Fever up to 102 degrees Runny or stuffy nose (often with green or yellow-colored discharge) Sore throat Cough Sneezing Fatigue and muscle aches Headache Watery eyesCold symptoms usually clear up in three or four days, but can last up to 10 days, with some coughing hanging around for up to three weeks. Colds are a little more common in winter, since people spend more time indoors in close proximity of others, and ventilation is less, increasing the infection risk.
According to the American Medical Association’s Family Medicine Guide, the common cold can be caused by approximately 200 different viruses. The viruses are transmitted from person to person by droplets from coughs or sneezes.
The droplets are either inhaled directly or transmitted from hand to hand via handshakes or objects such as door knobs, and then introduced to the nasal passages when the hand touches the nose or eyes. Thus, hand washing is a vital preventative measure.
One might think that the typical long-haul driver would be isolated from these germs that are passed around, but think again.
The American Medical Association says that drivers exposure to many different environments where many people from across the country carrying different cold viruses gather, like truckstops, can increase the chances that they will contract the viruses that cause colds and influenza.
Stopping at a truckstop involves touching doors and counters, touching door handles and faucets in the restroom, getting a soda from the drink area, paying at the register and then heading back to the truck.
Prevention
You can best avoid getting a cold by staying away from people who have one and the objects they touch, washing hands regularly and not touching your face. By the way, those much ballyhooed anti-bacterial soaps have no effect on the cold virus — it is the mechanical action of hand washing that removes the virus particles.
Also, keep your immune system in top shape by getting enough sleep, reducing stress, eating nutritious foods and avoiding excess alcohol consumption.
Taking care of your body will be worth it in the end because the cost of treating a cold is high. Not only will it cost you time away from work, the cost of the over-the-counter pills, lozenges or other miracle cures for the incurable virus can really add up.
Common Cold Trivia
-A cough releases an explosive charge of air that moves at speeds up to 60 mph.
-A sneeze can exceed the speed of 100 mph.
-With only 30 seconds' of use, a handkerchief has been found to contain 15,000 germs.
During the Spanish Flu of 1918 public gatherings were banned in some cities and residents were required to wear masks; breaking the ban could result in a fine or jail time. The epidemic eventually killed 20-40 million people worldwide.
Colds are caused by over 200 different viruses, and they are not the same viruses that cause the flu.
The flu
Influenza, also known as the flu or the grippe, is also a contagious respiratory disease and is also caused by a virus. Like the common cold, it is spread from person to person by droplets released by coughing or sneezing.
Symptoms of the flu vary widely, appear very suddenly and can include:
Fever over 102 degrees Stuffy nose Nausea Chills and sweats Fatigue and muscle aches, especially in your back, arms and legs Cough Headache Loss of appetiteThe flu’s misery symptoms are more intense and last much longer than that of the common cold. Recovery can take one to two weeks. But flu can also be deadly, especially for the weak, the elderly and children. Approximately 10 to 20 pecent of Americans get the flu each year, and about 20,000 die every year from the flu, according to the AMA.
Flu is most prevalent in the winter months, and outbreaks in North America tend to peak during January and February — but not always. Doctors are uncertain why flu season is during the winter, but it is believed to be for the same reason as that of colds — people are indoors more often, allowing for closer contact with other people.
Prevention recommendations are the same for keeping colds at bay: avoid contact with those who have the flu, wash hands thoroughly and regularly, avoid touching your face and take care of your immune system.
Fortunately, you can also protect yourself by getting a flu vaccine shot in October or November before the flu season begins (the season typically runs from November to April). Most doctors recommend that even healthy adults get a flu shot every year. In rare cases, flu shots can cause minor flu-like symptoms such as low fever and aches for a day or two, but it cannot give you the flu.
Getting vaccinated is even easier now with the new inhaled FluMist, a vaccine that is inhaled through the nose. It is effective, safe, targeted at healthy adults and eliminates the dreaded shot in your arm.
Treatments
There are no cures for viruses, so the common cold and influenza can only be defeated by the body’s immune system, which must produce enough antibodies to destroy the several million viral particles. Medications can only treat the symptoms.
Typical treaments include over-the-counter pain relievers, nasal decongestants, which reduce the inflammation in the nasal passages, cough suppressants and anti-histamines. A warm and humid environment and drinking lots of fluids and caffeine have been shown to help ease symptoms.
Aspirin is also helpful for the flu and colds, but never give aspirin to a child or teenager who has the flu or a cold as it can cause a rare, but serious, illness called Reye Syndrome that can cause permanent brain damage or death.
There are some antiviral treatments, available by prescription, that can relieve or retard symptoms of influenza if given quickly after the first exposure to virus. If you have had the flu for more than two days, then these medications will usually only shorten your sick time by a day.
Even though viruses cannot be cured, seeing a physician can be helpful for identifying and treating any underlying secondary infections that can result from colds and the flu, and providing advice or prescriptions for antiviral treatments.
Ways to treat your cold and flu symptoms include:
Get plenty of rest, especially while you have a fever. Stop smoking and avoid secondhand smoke, which can make cold symptoms worse. Drink lots of fluids like water and clear soups. Fluids help loosen mucus. Fluids are also important because they help prevent dehydration.Keeping colds and the flu at bay
The best medicine for the flu and colds is prevention. Follow these tips to stay healthy and on the road.
Is it time to see the doctor?
Even though the common cold and flu viruses cannot be cured, there are some cases in which you should see a doctor. See a doctor if …
Hand sanitizers
If washing your hands is an important measure in preventing the spread of cold and flu viruses, then it would seem that the alcohol-based instant hand sanitizers would be the way to go.
Or, are they?
Many such sanitizers — whether a brand name or a generic version — work well, and are increasingly found in hallway dispensers in hospitals, schools, day care centers and even atop the gangways of cruise ships as one more safeguard against the hand-to-mouth spread of disease.
Several studies from such settings have shown that use of the alcohol-based rubs on hands that aren't visibly soiled seems particularly helpful in curbing the spread of bad stomach and intestinal bugs.
But a study published in a recent issue of the journal "Emerging Infectious Diseases" found that at least one brand of sanitizer found on store shelves, as well as some recipes for homemade versions circulating on Web sites about crafts or directed at parents, contain significantly less than the 60 percent minimum alcohol concentration that health officials deem necessary to kill most harmful bacteria and viruses.
"What this should say to the consumer is that they need to look carefully at the label before they buy any of these products," said Elaine Larson, professor of pharmaceutical and therapeutic research at Columbia's nursing school.
"Check the bottle for active ingredients. It might say ethyl alcohol, ethanol, isopropanol or some other variation, and those are all fine. But make sure that whichever of those alcohols is listed, its concentration is between 60 and 95 percent. Less than that isn't enough."
In all those cases, she said, alcohol-based hand sanitizers — of the correct formulation — could be a godsend, not to replace soap and water, but as an important supplement.
How much goop should you use? Vigorously rub all sides of your hands with enough gel or foam to get them wet, and rub them together until they are dry. If your hands are dry within 10 or 15 seconds, according to the C.D.C. guidelines for health care workers, you haven't used enough.