Just got shouted at in a coffee shop for coughing in public 🥴

I do think there is a distinction to be drawn between going to necessary places (e.g. work) with a cold and going out and about for leisure. If possible, I think people should stay at home when they have a cold - if WFH is an option - but if they have to go to work, so be it. I wouldn't be very pleased if someone was coughing or sneezing in a coffee shop. Colds hit me hard and take weeks to shake off.

If anyone is worried about getting sick before Christmas then they can surely choose to stay away from crowded coffee shops, it’s not essential they go either afterall. Thousands of people are walking around with colds, coughs etc at this time of year, I have had a hacking cough for weeks following the flu and I honestly wouldn’t even consider not going out other than the first couple of days with flu. Life can’t stop every time you catch a cold.

Don’t be so utterly stupid.

Neither of you are at fault and both of you are being silly.

In your defence, you’re quite right; it would be horrible for you to stay cooped up indoors every time you got a standard cold and part of life is catching colds. It’s impossible to go through life without catching bugs. However, he’s probably quite frightened. We’ve gone through something unprecedented in living memory where lots of us lost people. And now the news is full of hospitals being full and the flu putting people in intensive care. If he’s elderly, he’s probably frightened that catching something that sounds as nasty as coughs can do, might be what finishes him off. Fear can do things like that to people.

On the other hand, if he feels that worried about his health then it’s him who needs to make the effort to stay away from other people. Life can’t stop just because you don’t want to get ill. Unfortunately, this isn’t helped by people who do go to places knowing they’ve got something nasty and contagious, and who firmly believe that their desire to go out and socialise is greater than anyone else’s need to stay out of hospital. That because nobody has gone on tv and told them that they specifically aren’t allowed to do something, it’s perfectly ok to go and visit great aunty Ethel in her retirement home despite having early symptoms of something nasty brewing.

Try and let it go; you haven’t done anything wrong and he’s just frightened. You’ve been out for some fresh air, you’ve had a nice coffee. With any luck it’ll be gone in a few days and you can have a healthy and germ free Christmas. This man doesn’t have the power to ruin anything for you.

I’m in two minds, he shouldn’t have shouted and certainly we don’t all have the luxury of staying home but going into a coffee shop isn’t essential, whilst I do shop with a cold i wouldn’t go into a crowded cafe. Coughing into your elbow doesn’t always cover everything like a hand either

You didn't use a tissue to cover your mouth, which is pretty disgusting. I'm with the old man.

Jesus Christ. If everyone who had a cough or a sniffle stayed at home until it went away completely then the whole country would grind to a halt.

If you go to a crowded place during the winter months then you take your health in your own hands and accept that there is a risk that you may catch something off someone else. And if you are so angry at people living their lives in a totally normal and reasonable way that you resort to shouting at them in public then maybe it’s you that needs to isolate yourself away and not choose to enter enclosed spaces during the winter months.

I am sick to the back teeth of people thinking their neuroses are other people’s problem.

Oh, stop. You were getting a hot chocolate! no need to pretend you were providing some much needed honourable service that society can’t do without.

I've had a cold this week. By your reckoning I should have stayed at home and left 30 children without a teacher this week.

Absolutely!
“Why can’t you sit on a sofa and watch Netflix?” “Go to the park if you’re so desperate to go out.”
And all that because of a mild cold 🥴
Meanwhile, schools are sending out mails about attendance and are telling parents that cough and a runny nose are no reason for keeping their kids at home.

well i think this shows how you actually think. you want your hot chocolate, screw everyone else. You’re entitled to that attitude but you can’t stop others from thinking that you are selfish and gross.

many people will silently judge you and agree with the old man, although they may not say it. You have no right to not be judged.

It's downright ridiculous. Coughs often linger for 3 or 4 weeks after a cold. He can't expect people to become hermits. Not to mention for all he knew you were asthmatic and had nothing infectious at all, or had swallowed a sip the wrong way, or were clearing your throat.

If they want to reduce the spread of coughs, perhaps we could allow schools to allow kids a day off when they're feeling rough instead of demanding they're on the premises unless actually hospitalised or throwing up. Far more colds spreading through the school system than an adult sitting on their own in a coffee shop.

I wouldn't have shouted at you but I do wish people who were sick would keep out of enclosed spaces. DH and I went to two events last weekend where there were people who were obviously sick. We have both been ill all week. I was diagnosed with pneumonia yesterday. Lucky you that you feel well enough to go out. Your cold could be a serious illness for someone else. Did we learn nothing from Covid?

Sadly I think post covid a subset of people (apparently 22 percent if this poll is accurate) have convinced themselves that they we would all be able to avoid the majority of respiratory diseases if people just stayed home every time they had any symptom. It’s obviously bonkers, not least because the diseases often spread outside the period of symptons but also because we would all be spending an insane amount of time isolating at home - but you won’t be able to convince them that these diseases are just an acceptable part of living in society.

The nhs is not on its knees.

I get a runny nose when it's cold too. I also have asthma and a post nasal drip with phlegm, permanently, so I'm often clearing my throat and/or coughing. If I got bollocked by someone because they thought I was spreading viruses, I'd give it right back at them. It's understandable to be annoyed by someone who appears to be viral in public, but it's never okay to shout at them for it.

OP wasn't even coughing out into the air, she was making attempts to smother it and stop it being bunged out around other people. That's the polite thing to do if you've got a tickly throat.

I do completely understand what you’re saying, but the issue is that masks work best at holding things in, not keeping things out. So it’s better for anyone who is sick to wear a mask, in addition to people who are clinically vulnerable. Yes, the NHS is absolutely on its knees, but the best thing you can do, if you can’t self-isolate because I do understand, is to wear the mask, even if it’s just a cold. This is how they do it in Asian megacities like Shanghai and Tokyo. I have to start a very serious immune-suppressing medication in January, and a cold could send me to hospital, unfortunately. A “chesty” cough could kill me.

So to anyone wearing a mask when they’re sick - thank you from me and everyone immunosuppressed!

EDIT: That said, it was very unreasonable for anyone to yell at you! Unless you coughed straight into their drink 😂

I’m asthmatic and as such I have what sounds like a constant ‘cough’ . But although I am not infectious I am aware that the very action of coughing does potentially expel particles that are in the mouth and throat. Hence, I always cover my mouth as the OP did. People should learn a little tolerance………my ‘cough’ will never clear up, am I destined to hide away because people like that man think I should?

Not really the point of your post, but as a fellow post nasal drip sufferer, I can’t resist passing on a trick that solved my post nasal drip

First thing in the morning, crush a clove of fresh garlic between two spoons. Swallow the crushed clove with a big glass of water chaser. Feel your sinuses drying up.

Repeat until magically the cough has disappeared. Start it again anytime you feel that tell tale tickle in your throat.

it’s not ideal but it really does work.

Honestly dont stress op. MN is a bit notorious for demanding people isolate over a sniffle. In the real world most people just carry on as normal if they dont feel like shit.