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If You Are Not Feeling Well . . .

October 1, 2009 12:00 PM ET

• Visit www.flu.gov/professional/federal/workplace/index.html to customize a Microsoft Word version of this letter and to view more flu information to share with employees.
• Consider customizing this letter by using your agency’s stationery or e-mail template and inserting a name and contact information of someone that employees can reach for flu questions.

How do you know if you have the flu? Do you have flu-like symptoms?

If you answered “yes” for flu-like symptoms, you may have the flu. Symptoms of flu can include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. Some people may also have vomiting and diarrhea. People may be infected with the flu, including 2009 H1N1, and have respiratory symptoms without a fever. 

Please contact your supervisor and request leave approval. Once approved, please do NOT come to work if you are sick with flu-like symptoms.

Supervisors should encourage sick employees to stay home if they are sick with flu-like symptoms until at least 24 hours after they are free of fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit or 37.8 degrees Celsius), or free of signs of a fever (have chills, feel very warm, have a flushed appearance, or are sweating). This should be determined without the need for fever-reducing medicines, which are any medicines that contain ibuprofen or acetaminophen.

If you are at higher risk for complications from the flu and you are sick, contact your health care provider as soon as possible. Children younger than 5 years of age, pregnant women, people of any age with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), and people 65 years of age and older, are more likely to get complications from the flu. If you are at higher risk for complications from the flu and you are sick, contact your health care provider as soon as possible. Your health care provider may prescribe antiviral drugs, and they are most effective when started within 2 days of getting sick.

In addition, emergency warning signs that the sick person needs urgent medical attention include the following:

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
• Sudden dizziness
• Confusion
• Severe or persistent vomiting
• Flu-like symptoms that improve but then return with fever and worse cough

For more information about caring for someone sick with flu, visit www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance_homecare.htm.
For more information, visit www.flu.gov or call 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636).

Contact [insert name, telephone, e-mail] if you have any questions.