Should You Travel When You’re Sick?

May 11th, 2009 by AmyL · 3 Comments

I had reason to ride a train recently. There was this other family in my car that had a young toddler along. Overall the toddler was quite well behaved, considering he was not even two years old and we were on a 4 hour trip that started at dinner time. The parents tried to get him to settle down and sleep but that never worked out. I think part of it was due to being overtired, and the rest due to the little one being sick. Again, it wasn’t horrible but the coughing set me on edge just a bit.

The thing that did cause more concern was the coughing that the mother was doing. I didn’t turn around to stare at her, but I’m fairly certain that she wasn’t covering her mouth. Sitting in an enclosed space while an adult coughs all over? Not cool. And may I also say: ewwwww.

Given all the health concerns worldwide, would you travel when sick? Is it okay to travel with a cold? What about sick kids? Does the age of the sick person matter in this whole calculation? Am I overreacting to the situation in the first place? What do you think?

While I’m up on my soapbox preaching, I’d love to throw in a quick encouragement to everyone to wash your hands frequently and well (wash from wrist to finger tips and spend at least ten seconds scrubbing). Hand washing is still the best protection against illness. And please… cover your mouth when you cough. A little effort will go a long way to protect everyone’s health.

by AmyL

Photo graciously provided by JCuerva, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved

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3 responses so far ↓

STL Mom // May 11, 2009 at 12:24 pm

My mom once got an anonymous letter from someone at her church, accusing her of making people sick by handing out communion wafers when she had a cold (at her church, members take turns helping the pastors with communion).
She didn’t have a cold. Her allergies were making her sniffle that week. But she did feel terrible that someone was so angry with her that they sent her that letter.
When I feel like giving someone the hairy eyeball when they appear sick in public, I remember that letter. And then I stealthily pull out my hand sanitizer, just in case.
Kimberly // May 11, 2009 at 6:02 pm

A cough doesn’t always mean contagious illness. I can have a horrible asthma cough that earns me withering looks in public. (Yes – I do cover my mouth)

The last time I traveled “sick” I became sick mid travel. I had to make my connection. Again I wasn’t contagious. I had an allergic reaction to a woman’s perfume (she must have bathed in the stuff).

By the time I made my connection, I had the beginnings of a raging sinus infection and an upset tummy from the drainage. I was greatful to the attendant that let me go to the bathroom shortly after loading and got me some tummy medicine. To the man who’s seat I took by accident. (I’m dysgraphic/dyslexic + sinus headache I misread the tags.) We just switched aisle seats, and also to the lady next to me that helped me get off the plane. Her son met her a the baggage area and he got my bags for me. Honestly I think I would have fallen onto the belt if I had tried.
AmyL // May 11, 2009 at 7:21 pm

STL Mom, oh my goodness! How sad that someone didn’t have the class to just ask your mother how she was feeling and take it from there. That said, I do understand why the person was uncomfortable eating something that was handled by someone with sniffles.

Kimberly, I know how the asthmatic cough can refuse to die. If you’re covering your mouth while coughing I don’t worry about it. I might not want to shake your hand, but I wouldn’t spend my trip giving you the hairy eyeball. (LOL I totally love that phrase. Thanks, STL Mom!)

The mom on this trip was ummmm, not exactly hygienic. The coughing was not at all muffled and I am 98% sure that she was hacking and wheezing over all of us. Her social skills in general were, well, not impressive to the point that the couple next to me were laughing hysterically in reaction to everything she loudly said.

I’ve gotten sick mid-trip too, but I made a point of using cough drops, carrying (and obviously using) hand sanitizer, and carefully using tissues that I disposed of safely.

With all the hype about the H1N1 virus, the timing of the whole thing struck me as interesting. Thanks for your very wise and valuable input!