To think people at work shouldn't ask 'what happened to your hand?'

This

It’s really not an “extreme overeaction” and by calling it that you’re reinforcing the culture that disabled people are open season for nosey questioning.

Your title is odd, I thought you meant your colleagues!

if you’re not happy with the customer service you’ve received, then complain

but tbh I’m surprised people even noticed it to comment on this.

I can’t believe the number of people on here who think it’s acceptable to ask a stranger in the bank or post office about their injuries. Mind your business.

If we were to reshape the world around every single what-if, what would we be left with? A hand bandage is going to be an injury without a sensitive backstory in the vast majority of cases. I’m not saying we shouldn’t consider what-ifs but this is a pretty extreme overreaction to say no one should ever ask about a bandaged hand

People are commenting as if it were your own work colleagues, who might know this is not the norm for you, asking for info.

It’s not.

It’s random people who encounter the OP as a customer in their place of work.

Speaking as a person with a permanent visible disability that is presumed to be an injury, and therefore open season for intrusive presumption by random strangers, i get how annoying this is.

UK culture deems it fine, or even actively polite, to ask a total stranger “what have you done to yourself” if they appear “injured”.

I’m not injured.

I haven’t “done” anything to myself - and unless you live with something like this you have no fucking idea how incredibly rude and hurtful it is to be asked that question, year in year out, for something you didn’t “do” to yourself and that causes serious chronic pain, all day and all night, for life.

I have a lifelong visible disability, and zero patience with intrusive insulting questions from strangers, acquaintances, passers by or shop staff.

Rant over.

On a more positive note OP, a well practiced deflection is the fastest way to close it down and move things along without somehow winding up judged as the rude one.

“Long story, not interesting” roll straight into a question or prompt they have to answer.

If they persist after that, a firm stare, “I don’t want to talk about it” and roll straight on again.

If they still go on, they’re indisputably being rude now, and you can tell them to stop, or to fuck off as the mood takes you.

You’d probably be on here complaining nobody cared if they weren’t asking 😂

Why don't you wear a massive badge that says 'Don't mention the bandage' if you're that bothered.

If it was in a ‘personal area’ then obviously you’re supposed to turn a blind eye and not ask. Avoiding someone’s massively bandaged hand seems rude.

Oh my word. What has the world come to if you can't show concern and ask a bandaged colleague what happened??

May I ask what generation/age you are?

I agree that random strangers shouldn’t ask. They know nothing about you yet want to know why you have a bandage on… it’s just plain nosey and gets tiring when you get asked over and over.

However a different perspective… I read once about a woman who suffered domestic violence. She’d go into work with bruises and no one ever asked how she got them because they didn’t think it polite. She wondered why the hell no one ever probed to check she was ok and find out what was going on. So if you know someone I think it’s fair enough to ask how something happened out of concern?

Read the OP.
Can’t do it for you.

@Bellsandthistle so work mates then??

I had a black eye a few months ago. Told everyone who asked that my 18 month old son did it. Unfortunately it was the truth

What you will find is that if you look able bodied and like it's a minor injury people will ask.

My broken ankle turned out to be permanent nerve damage and I don't walk far these days.

In the first few weeks everyone asked. I got fed up with it as yes, people are caring, but 40 times or more a day is wearing.

Now I use a wheelchair. I can tell you right now that nobody asks "so why are you in a wheelchair" or "what happened to you". It's seen as rude to ask a disabled person about their disability.

Showing concern I think, nothing else. Most of whom will have no idea who asked previously.

It's just small talk, you don't need to give much information if you don't want to (although I don't think infected eczema is any more embarrassing than a burn!) and they should take their cue from you.

But it's just a bandaged hand, not a mobility aid or limb difference or black eye or your family planning. Some of the comparisons on this thread are a bit OTT.

Its people showing some basic humanity and a bit of care. What arseholes! 😅

I get its annoying but just say something like
"Oh its nothing too serious. I had a bit an accident. How are you doing?"
And move on with your day

years ago i fell, hurt my face nose area black eye swollen lip lasted weeks, had to explain in every shop i went in, if i heart the joke take more water with it next time i could of screamed,i know what you mean totally

I think that's the thing though we should be able to have conversations without asking about people's personal things ? I think it might be easy to miss why this would be embarrassing to OP. I've had impetigo before and I felt horrible about it and wore a mask over it

My best jobs have always been ones where we talk freely, chat and look out for each other. Horrible working in places where you either work in silence or everyone watches what they’re saying. Personally I think without conversation humans fall apart

I wouldn't care if I was asked, it's just showing curiosity and or concern. A short explanation of a few words will do. It should be clear from your response whether you want to talk about it or not. I was asked if I'd been in a car accident by a supermarket worker after dv once. Told them the truth.

I think it's common courtesy to ask if some one has a visible injury. It would be rude not to. It's up to you how much detail and how much of the truth you go into when you reply.
Similarly I would always ask someone when I saw them after I knew they had been ill " how are you now. Are you feeling better" . They can give as little or as much information as they want when they reply. But it's common courtesy to ask.

People who are at their place of work, as explained several times.
Exasperating.
Proof that if you did actually explain what was wrong, most people wouldn’t listen anyway.

I understand how you feel regarding the eczema - I have eczema and it can make you extremely self conscious and upset, so I get the sensitivity here and perhaps that’s why you feel like people are being intrusive. Although from an outsiders point of view, they’re probably asking because it’s visible and it’s also conversational. What always gets me through a flare up is the thought of the new soft skin when it is better and how good you feel when it has healed - hang on in there, it will get better soon <3