Spreading the Germ
By Modestah
@Modestah (11177)
United States
March 28, 2008 9:04am CST
I had to go grocery shopping yesterday - and had two daughters with me. We went into an alcove area where the shop keeps their marked down goods (over stocks, mis orders, discontinued items, damaged boxes etc.) anyhow, a man came in that same area and was hacking and with each cough he whimpered out with an Ow. Ow. hack cough gag Ow.
oh boy, I am trying to motion to my daughter to hold her breath... not sure that would do any good as the germs are likely on her clothing now.
I felt like telling the guy if he had to be in public to have the courtesy to wear a mask.
Though, thinking more on it I realize that he may not have had a contagious cold - but maybe allergies and a recent abdominal surgery which causes pain when coughing.
3 people like this
6 responses
@Modestah (11177)
• United States
28 Mar 08
right, that is why I think when people are contagious they should wear a mask so that it is pretty much self contained.
the clinics where we were at (military installation) even keep a box of masks at the desks for those who have respiratory illness to take - so as to lessen the chances of the others around catching it.
1 person likes this
@MsTickle (25180)
• Australia
31 Mar 08
I rememeber working as a checkout operator and having customers pass through my checkout coughing in my face. No hanky, no covering their mouth with a hand, no apology or "excuse me". Or they would have a grotty tissue clutched in their hand and they would continually wipe or blow their nose then put their hands all over their groceries that I had yet to handle. Disgusting! And we were expected to smile and faun all over such people and be friendly and courteous.
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
28 Mar 08
That man should have been in bed, not in public. I would be worried that he had TB.
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
30 Mar 08
You know I hear all of the time about the importance of hand washing and hygiene and how we can avoid being sick etc. And I know it is true.
Yet, I work with developmentally disabled adults and hand washing to some of them or covering their mouth when they sneeze or cough is just not going to happen. Yet in over a year, I have not been sick enough to call out.
And few of them get sick at all, I have seen them eat rotten food, steal other peoples drinks, eat out of the garbage can and no matter how hard we try to stop them, we can't. Sometimes we have 6 or 7 people to watch when there is only 2 of us.
There are people who eat paper and floors as well as food an woodwork. I have seen them crawl around on the floor eating everything that is there. No matter what we do, we can't stop them from having all of these behaviors. As soon as you turn around, they are at it again.
Yet, amazingly they do not seem to get sick very often, and certainly not near as much as I would expect.
So I guess, do the best you can, but don't loose sleep over it.
@jillhill (37353)
• United States
28 Mar 08
From what I heard on a radio show yesterday you probably got more germs off the handle of your shopping cart! They say that it's the worst offender for germs and they do not clean the handles at all!!!! So if you do use a cart you are supposed to wipe it off with a lysol wipe or even a kleenex! It's better then just touching it!
