What happens when you're sick?

I had a client last year ask me what would happen if I was sick - her airbrush artist had cancelled on her the morning of the party because she was sick, and so it was only my twister and I (haha "only"...plus a country club, gym stocked with toys and bouncy castle, catered lunch, and 6 Disney mascots. I love this family.).

She ended up asking me what I do if I'm sick, and I said something along the lines of, "I just don't get sick!"

I woke up this morning with a horrible sore throat and I have a party tomorrow afternoon. I've been tossing back NeoCitran, Halls, Vitamin C/OJ and just bought/took oil of oregano (ugh). I've been mute all day except 3 short client calls, in an effort to save my voice. I'm feeling better than this morning and am sure I'll be good for tomorrow (besides my throat, I feel fine - I was even contemplating going to the gym anyway, haha. I didn't.), but I wanted to know if you had a certain protocol you followed if you were sick and, heaven forbid, couldn't go to work?

If I am contagious, I cancel, refund the money, and help them find someone else if possible. If I am not contagious, I load myself up on meds and just try to stick it out.

Also, dayquil...lots of dayquil.

Don't get sick... however, as long as it isn't contagious... dose up on Tylenol and/or NeoCitran and get through it.

I had to cancel a booking once as I broke my leg... but it was for my day-job employer so it wasn't QUITE the same....

I have had instances where I have missed some theatre dates but my crew covered them, so not a problem.

Kristal,

You are always safe to call me when in an absolute pinch, except tomorrow I'm teaching the day at CDI College and the evening at University of the Fraser Valley! Sorry!

I've been taking Cold FX whenever I start feeling sick and it's been helping a lot. Also do the nasal rinse and gargle with salt water. Oh yeah...and SLEEP! Neither of us are good at that, but I hear it helps

pjhamel wrote:If I am contagious, I cancel, refund the money, and help them find someone else if possible. If I am not contagious, I load myself up on meds and just try to stick it out.

ditto!

PJ - not contagious! Loading up on meds it is...(BTW, can one have too many Halls? The package says 2 drops every 2 hours...yeah, I'm not following that...

Shannon - "Don't get sick" is what my game plan always is! Sometimes I ignore what I tell myself, though.

Magna - Thanks, lovey! I did take Cold FX, too. Forgot about that one, haha. I will keep that in mind - the thing is that 99% of the time when I do birthdays, it's so I can face paint AND twist balloons, which is great as a niche market but not so great if I have to find a replacement.

After this (which I'm giving until noon tomorrow at the absolute latest to get through and out of my system ), I'm going back to my "I don't get sick" mantra, haha.

Yeah...I may be a little 'twisted', but I'm no 'twister'!

Not a contingency plan, but one of my weird relatives is a homeopath and before you groan and click out of the post, I tried something she suggested and it worked. I tried it on my kids, worked on them too. It's reliably worked to shorten and/or halt colds in our family every time, and since we're an asthma/allergy house anyway that's a godsend.
Maybe it's something my family just...lacks. Maybe it only works for weirdos like us? Now, your mileage may vary, but if you are truly desperate try Olive Leaf Extract. No, olive oil won't do. This stuff is yucky, tastes terrible, and gets the job done. We get it at GNC, Whole Foods, or wherever vitamin junkies congregate.
Good luck!

Lizdexia, how do you take the olive leaf extract?

I was given a recipe from a 'medicine man' that really works too (need to whip up a batch again):

Equal parts of FRESH garlic, ginger, horseradish, white onion, jalepeno peppers diced up and put into a blender. Pour in enough apple cider vinegar to just cover the chopped stuff. Blend and then take a tablespoon a few times a day. It tastes pretty strong and gives you bad breath, but it really works!

Would that be more potent than Oil of Oregano? I was just at GNC to get it, told the gal I had a sore throat and she went all bobble-head nodding about the OoO (haha. What an awesome acronym.), and didn't say anything about Olive Leaf Extract...

I'll see how I am tomorrow, try a couple more doses of OoO, and if that doesn't kick it, I'll try OLE! The OoO doesn't taste great either, and neither does Buckley's so why not OLE?

Thanks!

Magna - Having bad breath probably isn't the greatest idea if you're a face painter...haha. We all know kids WILL speak their minds

Right! Maybe that's why I haven't tried it lately LOL!

LOL you guys. The OLE is available as an extract and/or pills... I haven't tried the pills yet (haven't needed them thank goodness) but I have done the HORRID tasting liquid. Blech. However, we now dutifully take the recommended dose when we notice ourselves getting ill, and it works heaps better than the various otc cold stoppers...
I asked, and apparently Olive leaf is anti-viral. It boosts your immunity. Oil of Oregano is more antifungal and anti-bacterial. ::::
Don't discount plain old vitamin C and zinc, either!
don't forget your chloraseptic lozenges for pain, or liquid tylenol--they make it for adults. I have a lapband and had to learn to take it because sometimes pills just won't go down. As a happy accident I discovered how wonderfully quick it works for a sore throat.
Another thought regarding contagiousness: have you seen the disposable over the ear face masks ? I imagine ANY parent would be thrilled to see you using one to avoid passing germs, and they are a paint friendly feeling surface--wonder if you couldn't paint something fun on one and use it at the gig? Between that and some numbing lozenges, you might just survive
Sorry you're sick, love--it's miserable being sick when you *know* you can't collapse in bed with NyQuil to sleep it off.

Fortunately, not sick to the point of having to cancel but my daughter and i did a party yesterday where we were both suffering from nasal congestion on top of our seasonal allergies.

Olive Leaf extract spray and sinus spray the way to go. My mom turned us on to that and she has been into natural remedies for over 30 years. Also get some Emergen - C. Vitamin C does not readily stay in your body. It is expelled every time we go to the restroom. It comes in many flavors in 1000mg doses and is a definite boost to your immune defense.

Because of our asthma (albeit seasonal attacks) we have to be very careful of what we take. I don't like taking anything that might make me drowsy.

If it did get to point where I was hacking up my insides then i would definitely cancel and refer them to another painter.

I threw out my back last summer and had to cancel 2 gigs. I found a replacement for one and the other found their own replacement before I had a chance to help them out with one. I HATED doing it, but I couldn't stand. Stuff happens.

I've only had to cancel once, this last December when I was sick as a DOG and couldn't get out of bed at all. I felt terrible! But hey, life happens. I'd try to get a fellow painter to fill in for me, and after exhausting all possibilities I would just have to call them and cancel with my deepest apologies. Would probably offer them a nice fat discount on a future booking as compensation, if the spot couldn't be filled. It's never fun, but most people will understand.

How did it go, Kristal? I feel sick now, body aches and what feels like a lung infection. Ugh... I'm a real whiner about it so I bet my family is getting sick of me too. LOL. Praying that this is over before Saturday.

Ok slight side note first - I still have a bit of a runny nose but I feel AMAZING because the CANUCKS WON!!!!! WE'RE ON TO ROUND 2 - YEAH!!!!!! AAHAHHHAHAHAHAAA!

Holy pants, that was an inTENSE game!!!!

Okay I'm back.



No cancellations (OoO is so disgusting, BTW)...I somehow made it through my Wednesday party, had a fantastic nose blowing session afterwards, haha, and as far as I could tell they were very happy, but honestly, I think I was on a medication high - felt a little disassociated, lol.

Saturday event (3hrs) was decent (gave the nose a good blow right before and right after) and I kept water with me to stave off the sore throat. Sunday I had to blow my nose right in the middle, but had sanitizer with me and used that liberally. TMI with the nose blowing? Haha.

Monday and Tuesday's gigs were fine. I survived. Of course the week I have 14 hours worth of gigs is the week I'm sick, right?

Handfuls of kids at all my events this week were sick, anyway - I did get sneezed on a couple of times. Sigh.

Angie, I hope you feel better soon! It's brutal having to work when sick. Not quite as bad as when I had to perform when sick, though - in a mask. Try having a runny nose and being stuck in a Greek Chorus. Ew.

GO CANUCKS!!

I've never had it happen, but I've filled in for another entertainer that was sick. If I was sick/contagious I'd try to find a replacement & keep the client informed of what was happening. I'd refund them if I couldn't make it. My contract says I will provide A Face Painter, not me in particular.

I like to drink mint tea if my stomach is upset. It helped me through several gigs when I was sick
I will have to try the Olive leaf oil.

I like to drink mint tea if my stomach is upset. It helped me through several gigs when I was sick
I will have to try the Olive leaf oil.

pjhamel wrote:If I am contagious, I cancel, refund the money, and help them find someone else if possible. If I am not contagious, I load myself up on meds and just try to stick it out.

Also, dayquil...lots of dayquil.

Same here - I also have a policy that if I cancel within 7 days of the event I will also give them 1-hour free on their next booking. In my area - I'm the only 'non-clown' face painter for 60 miles - so if I have to cancel they may not even be able to find a replacement for me and I don't have anyone that I can refer them to.

I had to cancel last minute for an event about two years ago. I offered a full deposit refund and a 1-hour free certificate. As it turns out they were so happy to get an hour free that they've hired me for all their event since then. I'm happy that it all worked out for both of us.

I also hear the sleep is a good thing... I should try that sometime.

AngieAnders wrote:I've only had to cancel once, this last December when I was sick as a DOG and couldn't get out of bed at all. I felt terrible! But hey, life happens. I'd try to get a fellow painter to fill in for me, and after exhausting all possibilities I would just have to call them and cancel with my deepest apologies. Would probably offer them a nice fat discount on a future booking as compensation, if the spot couldn't be filled. It's never fun, but most people will understand.

How did it go, Kristal? I feel sick now, body aches and what feels like a lung infection. Ugh... I'm a real whiner about it so I bet my family is getting sick of me too. LOL. Praying that this is over before Saturday.

I could have written this word for word...... it's now Friday here and I'm still praying I will make at least a 50% recovery between now and Saturday.....
I have a large selection of people to work for me or to pass clients onto so I have never had to cancel as much as appoligise and organise another painter.
Thing is I need this money this weekend - I'm owed so much money and therefore owe so much money, that I need the cash from this weekends gig so I took on more work then I normally would........ seems like the perfect time to get sick.
Hope your feelin better Angie, otherwise I will be thinking of you as a soldier on through... it will make me feel better to know others are suffering along with me! lol