HN Explorer

Ask HN: Does anyone else get sick when their vacation starts?

43 points by cain ↗ HN
For at least the past 7 years, without fail, as soon as I start my vacation (whether it's staying at home, or going abroad) I get sick. Cold/flu-like symptoms. Time of year makes no difference.

I end up spending ~1 week recovering, before feeling normal again but by that time I'm starting work again. I tend to have to make sure I book at least two weeks, otherwise I don't get a break. If it's relevant: I work full time, software engineer, mostly remote.

Anyone else have this issue or know of it happening? Or am I just overthinking an unlucky run of coincidentally-timed colds.

40 comments

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uberman
Same here.

I don't take much vacation (a week a year max) even though I have like 6 weeks vacation but without fail I need a vacation after my vacation has ended.

RichEO
Why don’t you take your vacation?

It’s probably in your interest both financially and medically to do so, presumably?

thrower123
It's rather common to be in a situation where taking vacation doesn't gain you anything, it just punts the work down the road.

Ideally, somebody else would pick things up for a week, but usually what happens is they just pile up work to dump on you when you come back.

zufallsheld
It work just piles up then there probably won't be a time when you habe no work left. so it doesn't matter if work gets pushed down the road since it will always be there.
tata71
Are you taking a vacation (break)?, or a trip (work)?
aed
You’re not alone! And you may be surprised (or not) to learn that it’s a thing and it has a name: Leisure Sickness

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leisure_sickness

I hope you’re able to find a way to fight it off in the future!

cain
Oh, interesting. Thank you! It's odd to see something I experience, put into words by others.
cm2012
I don't take vacations anymore, it's more stressful than it's worth.
hulitu
I know how you feel. I'm married.
nirav72
Same. I'm more stressed out before and after vacation than normal times. I'm married with a wife and kids. So I take a vacation more to placate family , since they're the ones that want it. I'm usually more concerned about work load that I'll face upon my return. Or a crisis when I'm away from work.
alanlammiman
I get that often. I assume that when there is travel involves (esp air travel) a big piece is exposure to new viruses and bacteria + stress. if you get it even without travel: before your holidays do you have to crunch to get things done before you leave? The stress, reduced sleep could be lowering your immunity.
cain
Not so much crunch, but I do stress over leaving WIP in a clean state that colleagues can pick up while I'm gone.

That's a useful insight - thanks.

seattle_spring
I experience this, primarily when I take a break between jobs. It'll typically be as sick as I've ever been; bad enough to visit the ER in a few cases.
Nathanba
I had that a few times, it's always because I eat worse because I subconsciously know that I dont need to perform and I stay up longer and I train my body less or not at all. Then I also usually dont eat my morning steak which throws me off right from the start. Basically all the things I do to make sure that I'm healthy are getting switched off because "oh well, it's my vacation. I dont have to eat my morning steak to have guaranteed energy through the morning."
Jaepa
I'm sorry – A morning steak? I think this may come down the cultural differences, but what is a morning steak? I'm legitimately curious.
cm2012
It's a steak, eaten in the morning lol
mbg721
(Ron Swanson has entered the chat.)
itisit
I’d say not eating a regular morning dose of red meat is an excellent start to a healthy vacation.
lifeplusplus
yea, right when i took my ptos first time in the year i got covid
Anand_S
May be you put a lot more stress to finish up things before you leave on vacation. And that extra stress causes a decrease in immunity leading to sickness.
leros
Your body will hold off sickness when you have high levels of stress. If you're getting sick on vacation, it likely means your stress levels are unhealthily high normally.
oceanghost
So, someone provided you a link to a psychological condition, but I think what you're looking for is the "let down effect".

https://www.webmd.com/men/features/suffering-from-let-down-e...

Basically, your body during stressful times can raise its immune response, but there's a price to be payed later.

I have had the same problem of getting sick for most of my breaks.

mise_en_place
I have the opposite, usually healthy before and during vacation. The week after is usually filled with palpitations and existential dread
yosefjaved1
I definitely do. Without fail, I always get sick the day right before vacation.

The pattern usually has me working long and stressful hours the week prior to vacation. It takes a toll on me to just get the work done (not eating, exercising, or generally taking care of myself during this time). It's something I hope to correct in the future.

herbst
I basically always had that (except I was super hyped for a festival or so coming up) but if I actually had time I surely would get sick the first day at home.

Since I work on my own schedule I mostly get sick when I am really really into work for a few days to long.

Guess stress is more powerful than many make it to be

barrenko
Before I quit my crappy goverment job, for a period of about two months, I would get sick every Friday afternoon with a high fever for like 12 hours and could not get out of bed until Saturday evening. Around 8 PM Saturday I would be perfectly well.
dusted
I used to, when my vacation was actually time off, but now that vacation just means "oh, you've got another house that you're building" I no longer get sick. I just feel sick all the time.
goblin89
I wonder if the phenomenon of getting sick at the work->leisure boundary (end of gig, start of vacation, etc.) is related to people allegedly living longer if they keep themselves busy (run a business, etc.) as opposed to retiring into suddenly doing nothing.
raptorraver
In Finland if you get sick during your holiday the doctor can write you sick-leave and you can save your holiday days for later.
zivkovicp
Yes, I've noticed this in Germany also, it's great.
dustymcp
Same in All the Scandinavian countries
throwaway24124
There are so many worker benefits European countries have that Americans (including me) are just not aware of. Thanks for sharing.
MerelyMortal
In the U.S., you can do this too if you have a Federal job, not sure if it's a law or anything though.

If it's just one or two days, you don't even need a doctor's note. For three or more days, your manager can require a note, but it's up to them.

zivkovicp
You're too stressed, you need to start cooling down a couple of weeks _prior_ to starting your vacation so you can enjoy it properly.
rnoorda
My first year at university, I finished my last final exam (calculus I believe?) I walked out of the testing center feeling excited to be done, but just tired from all the stress. In the ~15-minute walk home, I got sicker and sicker, with a headache, sore throat, and incredibly stuffy nose. While not usually so dramatic, I often have similar experiences when taking vacation.

My theory is that my body breaks down from the stress, but can summon some adrenaline or whatever hormones to survive what I need to, but then crashes once I start to relax.

cafard
I don't. My father seemed to do this a fair bit, and I can remember my brother showing up with strep.
HappySweeney
I used to get sick each and every vacation. I stopped using the overhead air nozzle on the flight, and I have had no illness on any vacation since. Airlines and their engineers insist there is no way that that air can transmit colds, but going from 100% to 0% leads me to believe they are wrong.