Sick person coughing on me

[wasdhu]

When I went to my part time job today, one of my coworkers was sick. She kept coughing all day and near the end of my shift she kept getting really close in my personal space. She would stand behind me and just cough freely into the back of my head or cough into her hands and then touch the stuff I was using, at some point I felt her spit land on my hand.

It was an incredibly hard day, I had to fight off an anxiety attack the whole day minus the few bathroom breaks I took to cry and wash my hands. I wore a mask all day and was careful not to touch my face but I don’t feel safe at all. I’m still not over it even several hours after coming home and cleaning myself and everything. And I haven’t been able to sleep because I don’t know if she’ll be here tomorrow. I’m praying she isn’t. I can’t relax because all I can imagine is her coughing all over me.

I don’t understand how post-pandemic we are ok with people actively being sick and not wearing a mask and just spreading their germs everywhere. To me it doesn’t make sense because making someone sick without trying to minimise how much you spread your germs is just actively causing harm to others. I feel a great injustice over this that most people don’t seem to have. I know if I told her to stop coughing on me it would make me the weird/bad guy. But for example, I have elderly parents. Christmas is soon and if I get sick I won’t be able to see them for Christmas, and I will have to spend the holidays alone. The thought of catching whatever this person has just because she can’t be bothered to wear a mask or cough into her elbow makes me feel… very angry.

Is there a way I can tell my coworker (and people in general) if they’re sick to please stay away from me? Or just have some awareness or where they are/what they’re touching? And how do I stop my anxiety of potentially getting sick and spending Christmas alone? And if it does happen how can I still make the holiday nice for myself? …Thanks for reading😢

[EKB]

I get how you feel. It would have been much more considerate for your coworker to wear a mask or at least have some better respiratory etiquette. But the only actions you can control are your own and wearing your mask and washing your hands goes an awfully long way in terms of preventing transmission. Yes you can still catch something, but your chances of being ill are reduced considerably.

When I’m in that kind of post-exposure spiral I try and give myself a few days to worry and then if I’m not sick I consider myself to be in the clear. The majority of infections will start to show symptoms in 3-5 days, so I use that as my worry time and then let it be.

[ErinKC]

I also hate this and I'm sorry you had to go through it! I, too, just don't understand how people are so inconsiderate. But, I don't mind being the "weird" one! Until recently I worked in an office with just two other people. A few weeks ago BOTH of them were sick with something different and both were sniffling and coughing constantly. I literally told them to stay away from me and sanitized my hands ever time they handed me something like a file or a pen, haha. They took it in stride and just laughed at me. But, I didn't catch their stuff!

But, just try to remember, that this person likely just has a cold, or even just the very end of a cold, and you probably won't get it if you were wearing a mask and just being aware. Most viruses other than covid spread more easier on surfaces, so hand washing goes a very long way! Also, covid usually pops up within 2-3 days, so once I'm past that I stop worrying because I can handle whatever else it might be.

But, I'm totally with you on how rude this is.