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Sneezing, coughing, nose blowing..... Sympathy or disapproval?
So, you settle in to your seat and after a few minutes realise that someone has a heavy cold and is sharing their germs with everyone else.
It feels worse on the upper deck because it's a smaller space. Sometimes half the cabin seem to have a cold.
I usually cringe and find myself trying not to breathe air in! Silly really because I'll die if I keep that up for the whole flight!
Personally I feel sympathy for most people suffering from a cold. I know some people will say they should not board a plane but the reality is that most people just want to get home. I think most passengers have flown with a cold. But I do think there is a point when you shouldn't fly with a cold... When your eyes and nose are constantly streaming, you can't stop sneezing and you are covered in used tissues.... trying to find a dry patch
Last edited by oxtailsoup; Dec 15, 12 at 2:57 am..
As stupid as they look, the Chinese have a point with face masks. In a confined space for 10+ hours everyone around you is going to catch your cold if you don't have the decency to wear one.
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If somebody decided not to fly because they had a cough/cold/runny nose etc and tried to change their flight accordingly do you think the airlines would change a non-flexible ticket for the benefit of the other pax on the flight?
Would travel insurance pay up on the basis they were unfit to travel because they had a cough/cold/runny nose?
I think the answers to those two questions will explain the financial cost reality as to why people fly with the minor ailments!
Some days I am the sufferer, and some days the recipient!
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As stupid as they look, the Chinese have a point with face masks. In a confined space for 10+ hours everyone around you is going to catch your cold if you don't have the decency to wear one.
Didn't doctors say they are useless for blocking viruses during one of the bird flu scares?
Didn't doctors say they are useless for blocking viruses during one of the bird flu scares?
Pretty much useless I believe at stopping the wearer catching anything, but very effective for catching outgoing cough droplets and stopping the spread.
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A lot of colds/viruses are spread not by droplets in the air but by touch. Hand washing regime is one of the more important things to do. I always carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer
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Quote:
Originally Posted by phol:19860594
Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveF
Didn't doctors say they are useless for blocking viruses during one of the bird flu scares?
Pretty much useless I believe at stopping the wearer catching anything, but very effective for catching outgoing cough droplets and stopping the spread.
[citation needed]
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I do not speak on behalf of British Airways, which is unsurprising as I don't work for them.
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Sympathy please. Being one who is suffering from one, I can understand. One thing that helps is constant water, but the staff don't pass it until AFTER take off and take it when landing, so you cough and cough and cough because your throat is very dry and irritated.
I hid my water upon landing and it really helped calm the cough.
Sympathy please, let's be human.
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Tightly sealing a mask to the face blocked entry of 94.5% of total virus and 94.8% of infectious virus (n = 3). A tightly sealed respirator blocked 99.8% of total virus and 99.6% of infectious virus (n = 3)
Ignoring the low n numbers, this is pretty convincing evidence of the efficacy of face masks.
HOWEVER, they didn't assess infection rates - ie does a 90% reduction in virus prevent infection? Most virologists will say no.
It's like trying to vacuum dust from your home, or putting plastic sheeting on your mattress. They dramatically reduce exposure to allergen, but not enough to have an impact on symptoms under clinical conditions.
I believe (?) it's important for the mask to be changed regularly. A warm, wet being an ideal germ breeding ground. In China I always smile at seeing people in marks and people hoiking and spitting within feet of each other.
A couple of flights ago a sniffer dog jumped up at me at Beijing. I ended up covered in dog hairs and coughing and sneezing all the way home in WT+. I have to say I felt awful for the guy sat next to me. I did explain it was an allergy, but I don't think he believed me (I wouldn't).
Are you a doctor? Have you sent samples to the lab? Or are you just guessing? A large percentage of the population has allergies, and they are not contagious. You have no evidence that the sneezing, coughing, nose blowing person has anything contagious. None. Zero. Zip. Until people who wear perfume are banned from travel, and people who bring their pets INCLUDING SERVICE DOGS are banned from travel, some of us will sneeze and blow our nose, and I make no apology for that fact.
Quote:
Originally Posted by oxtailsoup
So, you settle in to your seat and after a few minutes realise that someone has a heavy cold and is sharing their germs with everyone else.
It feels worse on the upper deck because it's a smaller space. Sometimes half the cabin seem to have a cold.
I usually cringe and find myself trying not to breathe air in! Silly really because I'll die if I keep that up for the whole flight!
Personally I feel sympathy for most people suffering from a cold. I know some people will say they should not board a plane but the reality is that most people just want to get home. I think most passengers have flown with a cold. But I do think there is a point when you shouldn't fly with a cold... When your eyes and nose are constantly streaming, you can't stop sneezing and you are covered in used tissues.... trying to find a dry patch
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Never fun to be sat next to a cougher / sneezer / sniffer / nose blower, but if you travel enough, it'll be you at some point, so I try and be as sympathetic and understanding as I can (from a distance).
