medicine
In this post-pandemic world, many people have become hyperaware of the illnesses around them, and even the slightest signs of a cold have become stigmatized.
A simple cough, sniffle or sneeze can turn a person into a social outcast as people around them now fear new coronavirus cases. there is. Also known as “sick shaming”.
To avoid embarrassment, people with symptoms are using more allergy and cold medicines than ever before, but rather than isolating the illness and letting it rest, they are using more germs to overcome the illness. may spread. reported by bloomberg.
Sales of over-the-counter drugs for upper respiratory infections jumped 23% to $11.8 billion this year compared to pre-pandemic 2019, according to the consumer intelligence firm. NIQ.
Specifically, cold and flu medicines, which make up about a quarter of the category, grew at a faster pace, increasing by 30%.
Kenvue, the former Johnson & Johnson consumer health care division, reportedly derived 40% of its revenue from over-the-counter drugs such as Zyrtec, Benadryl and Sudafed.
Some brands offer supplements so that even if some medicines (i.e. Sudafed) are proven to be ineffective against colds, you can take them when symptoms start and continue with your daily life. ads encouraging people to stock up on over-the-counter medicines.
Simon Williams, a psychology researcher at Swansea University in Wales, said: Research on the impact of the pandemic When it comes to social behavior, there is a growing sense of being judged for coughing or sneezing, even if it is not contagious.
For example, Courtney Berendsen, a product manager in the San Francisco Bay Area, has asthma, which causes a chronic, non-contagious cough. Her coworkers, though well-intentioned, encourage her to work from home to avoid making her people sick.
“I feel like I'm setting a bad precedent by coming to work sick, but if I have to wait until my cough goes away, it will probably take me about a month to come back,” Berendsen told Bloomberg. Ta.
The impact of the coronavirus may prompt people to avoid social situations for fear of being judged, but no one has stopped working due to the coronavirus.
a 2022-2023 Report Fewer workers missed work due to illness this fall than in the previous two years, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey.
With the majority of people working from home during the pandemic, it has become more common for people to continue working while isolated from home even when sick.
However, working a full day while sick can place a heavy burden on a person, causing them to take more medication than necessary, and a vicious cycle may continue.
Additionally, taking too many unnecessary medications can harm your health and increase your risk of side effects.
“This kind of fear exists because these cough and cold symptoms have a lot of overlap with the symptoms of the new coronavirus,” Jennifer Bourgeois, a clinical pharmacist at SingleCare, an online pharmacy platform, told Bloomberg. “It leads to knee pain,” he added. A “jerk” reaction to drug use occurs, increasing the risk of side effects.
In Berendsen's case, she takes Mucinex to control her asthma symptoms, a medication she doesn't need for her chronic condition.
“I don’t know what will happen if we don’t accept this,” she said of her workplace’s return-to-work policy.
