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Think about others on public transport.

(40 Posts)
Dianeatdarcie Mon 18-Nov-19 14:30:38

On Thursday was sitting behind someone on the bus who kept coughing. No hand over her mouth. As I suffer from COPD I looked around for another seat. None available. People already standing. Did think to ask her to cover her mouth but she was built like a brick shit house, and was taking up two seats so felt uneasy.
Low and behold, Sunday morning woke with runny nose, cough, sore throat and trouble breathing.
Why can't people have consideration for others when in enclosed spaces. Would anybody else have asked her to cover her mouth?
Diane

dogsmother Mon 25-Nov-19 10:00:45

Whoa folk getting very judgmental here!

Calendargirl Wed 20-Nov-19 09:16:56

I cannot bear to hear people sniff, sniff, sniffing, and as for gulping down nosefulls of phlegm, (apologies if you’re eating), unbearable. When I have a cold, am always blowing my nose to stop the p....m going down into my chest.
When DD was small, she blew her nose when having a routine examination by the school doctor. I was present, and he said that you shouldn’t blow your nose, just swallow it all, there was very little the body couldn’t deal with. I said she had been taught to blow her nose, and when we left the room, I told her to keep blowing and take no notice of what he had said.

Grannyguitar Wed 20-Nov-19 09:15:53

@4allwe know - Lung conditions aren't always caused by smoking. I have severe bronchiectasis, which means I cough a lot. Caused by whooping cough when I was three. Don't be so judgemental!

cas58 Wed 20-Nov-19 06:27:53

Many times I've offered an Kleenex/tissue and they have been received with thanks. People sneezing, sniffling and coughing. Never once has anyone been embarrassed. I will carry on doing that. Plus, I make sure I always have a packet of tissues on me in case I have a problem!

Candelle Tue 19-Nov-19 22:36:06

I, too, am very susceptible to infections caught from sneezes/door handles etc.

I had the best winter last year after:
like MamaCaz, ensuring I encouraged friends and family to sneeze into their elbows;
washing hands for 20 seconds when returning home;
using petroleum jelly in nostrils when on public transport/theaters, etc;
taking daily vitimin D.

I obviously have no concrete evidence that the above measures work but they worked for me last winter. Time will tell...

If everyone sneezed into elbows, germs would not work their way into society quite so readily and much suffering would be alleviated.

vickymeldrew Tue 19-Nov-19 21:03:42

I have a compromised immune system and bronchiectasis so am always looking for tips to avoid infection. My heart sinks if I’m with someone with a streaming cold and sneezing and it’s very difficult to avoid them politely. Also, I find log burners really irritate my lungs and am surprised how popular they are.

MamaCaz Tue 19-Nov-19 16:46:52

But surely sniffing must be far more hygienic than nose-blowing, as all the germs in that person's nose stay in their body, unlike the ones that get onto hankies or tissues, then pockets, hands ... .

Aepgirl Tue 19-Nov-19 15:05:13

Good point, Calendar girl. I’m astonished at the number of people who don’t carry hankies/tissues, and just rely on sniffing.

MamaCaz Tue 19-Nov-19 14:06:41

I can't help wondering just how effective -or otherwise - a lot of our attempts not to spread germs are.

For instance, if we cover our mouth with our hand when we cough or sneeze ( there's often not enough time to get a tissue out of its packet), we are still likely to then spread the germs, unless we immediately clean our hands before touching anything else.
But how do we do that? If we use antibacterial gel on our hands, how do we open it without touching it and probably transferring germs onto the outside of the bottle (or packet if you use wipes)?
(I suppose we should all be doing what my DGC have been taught at school, which is to cough into their sleeve, not their hand.)

I get Maw's reason for wearing gloves to help protect against germs, but I would struggle to make that work for me - I can't really see how the germs are less harmful on the gloves than on the hands, and I think I would struggle even to take the gloves off afterwards - and put them in thecwashing machine - without transferring some of those germs they have collected onto my hands. And I would have to take them off to get coins (germ-ridden things that they are!) out of my purse.

I really feel for those who are in real danger from everyday germs, as it must be both difficult and very frightening to have to try to avoid them.

Chardy Tue 19-Nov-19 14:03:00

I'm with the 'offer a tissue' brigade

SueDonim Tue 19-Nov-19 14:00:49

I've just sneezed while reading this thread! shock Luckily, I'm at home and managed to contain it otherwise I might find it reported on GN.

It's bad manners to not use a tissue or cover one's mouth when coughing & sneezing but I wonder if those are just social niceties rather than scientific ways of stopping germs from spreading? If you sneeze into your hand, you'll then put germs into handrails or doors and others will pick up the bugs from those instead.

If you're vulnerable to infection, it would be better to protect yourself with a surgical mask or use a scarf, because plenty of non-sneezers and coughers will be spreading their germs around, too.

On the subject of whether to offer someone a tissue if they're sniffing, I had to sit next to someone for eight hours on a plane recently while they sniffed for the entire time! I wasn't brave enough to offer a tissue but it was most offputting. I didn't get a cold afterwards so I think it must have been a habit rather than an illness so I feel sorry for his work colleagues!

TrendyNannie6 Tue 19-Nov-19 13:59:29

I must admit I wouldn’t be happy if I saw someone coughing away without covering their mouths, and as I have to take immunosuppressants myself and yes would want to move away, but I would never call anyone however big there were a brick shithouse charming!! I carry a hand gel around don’t know whether it actually makes much difference, but yes lots of ppl cough and sneeze without covering their mouths

McGilchrist41 Tue 19-Nov-19 13:39:37

This is a real problem for me too as I suffer from bronchiectasis. Smokers who insist on smoking in an enclosed space, particularly in this cold weather and at a covered bus stop are a real problem as I have to stand out in the cold and rain or I start coughing.

Gfplux Tue 19-Nov-19 13:36:02

The Japanese have a good idea. They wear a medical mask probably to protect themselves from other people’s bad manners.
So few people think about anyone but themselves not only on public transport but I have seen just to many people sneezing or coughing over food in the supermarkets.

NemosMum Tue 19-Nov-19 13:34:42

I have allergic rhinitis and I am often caught out in an enormous sneeze before I can get a tissue out, followed by several more (by which time I've got the tissue). I try to sneeze into my elbow to catch anything, but it is awkward. Your cold could have come from the sneeze, but it could have come from any surface you touch where other people have been. You blame this woman because she wasn't 'one of us'!

Phloembundle Tue 19-Nov-19 13:29:50

Mawb is right. You are more likely to catch something from touching surfaces. I carry a small hand gel when going out among crowds.

oodles Tue 19-Nov-19 13:10:02

Horses can get COPD too and I've never met a horse that smoked @Dianeatdarcie

Dianeatdarcie Tue 19-Nov-19 12:07:42

4allweknow. Sorry to disappoint you, but never smoked. Years ago worked in a shoe factory and handled a lot of latex which caused my COPD. Find it funny that people always associate lung disease with smoking. It's as if to say, "serves you right". Very small minded. I never judge people by their lifestyle, it's up to them what they do. Still feel compassion if someone is ill, regardless of their habits. So, you can rest assured I got this through 20years of bloody hard work. X

knspol Tue 19-Nov-19 12:06:32

Worse still is when you're stuck on a plane near someone coughing and sneezing - no escape possible.

Newatthis Tue 19-Nov-19 11:46:13

Nursing heavy cold and nasty chest infection which I caught when visiting someone in the hospital and I was sneezed on. I have a very compromised immune system and get really angry when people don't cover their mouth when they cough and sneeze.

4allweknow Tue 19-Nov-19 11:37:33

COPD May be way way wrong but can't help but associated this health issue with smokers. Wouldn't have been a smoker would you? As for the coughing and sneezing, wouldn't have challenged. If I can't reach a tissue I cough etc into my elbow joint as taught to school children some years ago.

Kerenhappuch Tue 19-Nov-19 11:14:21

I do cover my nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, but I doubt it does that much good since germs get everywhere.

My son used to use hand disinfectant gel all the time when living in London, because he could virtually SEE germs on door handles, hanging straps on the Tube etc, and he also used First Defence spray, which is meant to stope viruses entering your system if you breathe them in, and he was convinced this had cut down the number of colds he caught.

(Incidentally, it does irritate me when people try to work out who to blame when they catch a cold - it could be someone who sneezed without a hanky minutes before you breathed in their germs! )

Dianeatdarcie Tue 19-Nov-19 11:07:01

Brick shit house actually means a woman with a shapely figure. It didn't help that she was on the phone calling her friend the c word. It's a word us EastEnders use all the time. Why do people have to pick out what other people say. Nothing better to do I assume!

Maremia Tue 19-Nov-19 11:04:24

Good to keep a small bottle of hand gel in your pocket when travelling, or wipes, and a big hanky if you don't fancy wearing a mask. Has been said that supermarket trolley handles are hoaching with germs. We always do the 'wipe down' routine on airline trays and seats. Public transport can be a menace this time of year, but what about church? Doesn't lead to charitable thoughts, when everyone is coughing and spluttering all around you.

jaylucy Tue 19-Nov-19 10:54:10

I have on more than one occasion got to where I need to be feeling nauseous because some one has been sniffing on the bus (and some people make a real art in that).
I have on more than one occasion also handed out tissues!
When I was a child, I was always taught how to blow my nose and also to put my hand over my mouth if I coughed or sneezed but unfortunately, both of those, along with eating with your mouth open and talking with your mouth full seems to have been forgotten in this me me me world we are in !
First thing I do after getting off the bus is to wash my hands well using soap and water - (works better than the anti bac gels) after sitting through an infection control lecture during an induction day. Seems to have worked so far !