Is Sinus Infection Contagious? What HR And Founders Should Know

Sinus infection is a common lifestyle disease among urban populations these days. A research done by International Journal of Otorhinolaryngology showed that almost 46.1% Indians suffer from sinusitis problems. The only question here: is sinus infection contagious? The answer is no, sinus infection is not contagious. However, an infected person, if coughs or sneezes in public space, can spread the virus and infect others.

What Is Sinus Infection?

Before determining if a sinus infection is contagious, it’s important to have the basic knowledge of sinusitis.

Definition of Sinus Infection (Sinusitis)

Sinusitis occurs during inflammation of the air-filled cavities located behind your forehead, nose, and eyes. During a sinus infection, these spaces become blocked and filled with mucus, and viruses or bacteria act on them. The result is a runny nose, with fever and severe headache.

Also read if you should buy a group health insurance or a critical illness rider.

Common Causes of Sinus Infection

Pollution Levels

Pollution is a major cause of sinus infection. It slowly weakens the natural immunity and turns into an infection if no action is taken in time.

Common Cold

Common colds or flu are usually associated with sinus infections. Many times sinusitis occurs through a common cold, and slowly transforms into a serious infection.

Cold Allergy And Cold Regions

Seasonal allergies, especially cold allergies also can be a reason. People living in cold regions are exposed to more chances of being infected with sinusitis.

Symptoms of Sinus Infection

• Complete nasal congestion
• Runny nose
• Facial pressure or pain around the eyes, nose, and forehead
• Severe headaches
• Thick yellow or bloody mucus
• Coughing
• Sore throat
• Low sense of smell and taste

Apart from all of these, one particularly painful symptom is sinus infection ear pain, which occurs when the Eustachian tubes inflate. This tube connects the middle ear to the throat, and gets inflamed during sinusitis.

Also read what is critical illness insurance, its coverage and how to apply for it.

Is Sinus Infection Contagious?

Usually if the infected employee is allowed to work with others, anyone in close contact can get infected. The infection becomes contagious when:

When Employees Work In Cubicles

Cubicles usually are built in close spaces, and anyone who has caught a common cold can easily infect others too while sitting there. When you are asking is a sinus infection contagious, remember that close spaces can be a major way to spread the infection.

Touching Contained Surfaces

Usually if the infected employee touches door knobs, door surfaces, chairs with an infected hand, it can quickly contaminate the surface too. This slowly results in the virus spreading through such infected surfaces.

When Sinus Infection Is Not Contagious?

In some cases, a sinusitis is not contagious such as:

• If its bacterial in nature
• If the sinus infection is because of seasonal allergies
• Wrong medicine administration
• Overdose of unprescribed medicine

If the infection has resulted from bacterial infection, it is typically not contagious in nature. Hence if sinus infection contagious concern relates only to bacterial sinusitis, then the employee is not a threat to other coworkers.

Also read the top employee wellness programs for building a healthy workplace.

Why HR Should Care About Sinus Infections

HRs don’t always manage the payroll, but they are also tasked to track the employee health status. Because sinus infection severely affects work productivity, taking prompt action is necessary for both the employee and the employer.

Sinus Infection Lowers Work Productivity

Sinus infection can take a toll on productivity. Research shows that employees with chronic rhinosinusitis have been absent for an average of 24.6 workdays. This shows that sinus infection among employees lowers work productivity to a high degree.

Impacts Workplace Morale

Chronic sinusitis usually weakens the immune system. Employees who face it, experience lower energy and immense discomfort to work in a team. Moreover, employees have little incentive to work or attend meetings during this time, as their physical health lowers their morale.

Boosts Absenteeism Culture

Cases of infections lead to workplace absenteeism, which greatly impacts productivity. This is one of the major reasons that an awareness about sinus infection contagious is required among recruiters and company managers. Employees taking sick leaves on a regular basis can promote the absenteeism culture, which affects the company culture greatly.

How HRs Can Assess Workplace Risk

HRs can take some proactive steps to protect their workforce health while maintaining productivity, and also not compromise on employee wellbeing.

Insure Your Employees

Purchasing a group medical coverage plan for your employees can be immensely helpful. Many companies are already starting to buy group insurance to cover because of its large number of benefits. Your employees can get coverage for ambulance charges, pre-existing diseases, and also daycare coverage.

Identify Early Symptoms

Managers can recognize early signs of respiratory illness in employees and offer them additional health perks, such as monthly health checkups. Employees that are often taking leaves, and are persistently sneezing or coughing, can be put on high radar to monitor their health.

Offer Hybrid Work Culture

Many organizations with a progressive culture offer a hybrid work culture to employees who suffer from chronic diseases. Instead of deducting salary for missing workdays, HRs can implement flexible policies that encourage employees to stay home during the contagious phase.

Offer Quarantined Workspace

For employees who must be onsite due to the nature of their work, HRs can also offer quarantined workspace. These workspaces can be private office spaces, or conference rooms with separate ventilation to avoid spread of the contagion. Some offices also offer dedicated restrooms to minimize contact with others.

Train Your Team About Sinus Infection

Develop training modules that explain the difference between contagious viral phases and non-contagious ones. HRs can create online training modules that educate on basic washroom etiquette such as covering during sneezing. Also read the meaning of the cooling off period in health insurance.

Best Breakfast Foods & Diet Tips For Sinus Infection Employees

Employees suffering from sinus infections lose their appetite, and often face the challenge of low food intake. We have listed some of the best breakfast foods to eat with sinus infection that can provide better nutrition during the infection phase:

What Employees Should Eat?

• Herbal tea with honey, which has natural anti-inflammatory properties and helps to fight inflammation.
• Oatmeal is also a good breakfast choice, as it has sufficient fiber and antioxidants that improves the immune function.
• For employees that don’t prefer a heavyweight diet for breakfast, smoothies made with green apple, ginger and carrots can be a great choice.
• Miso soup, with bit of garlic is also a good choice
• Some seafoods such as salmon and crab meat are also beneficial to be included in diet plan as well

What Employees Should Not Eat?

There are some limitations on these breakfast foods to eat with sinus infection:

• Caffeine as it can dehydrate and worsen symptoms
• Diets rich in processed sugar
• Gluten rich diets
• Red meat diets

Conclusion

Now we know that the answer to the question “is sinus infection contagious” is no, and it becomes contagious only when the employee sneezes, coughs without proper healthcare precautions. When sinus infections go untreated for weeks, employees run the risk of a contagious infection, as it creates a cycle where employees frequently take sick days. This impacts productivity by a substantial amount, and makes it a critical concern for the entire workforce.