Should I have said something about woman with manky arm in cafe?

[ClawHandsIfYouBelieveInFreaks]

I took my DDs into a small Italian cafe/icecream parlour in my town yesterday. I left them sitting outside at a table and went in to order.

This is a tiny little place so you're right next to people at the counter where the icecream etc is.

A woman was talking to the young woman behind the till....they seemed to know one another. Woman customer was about 40, very well dressed and spoken. She was saying "So the doctor said it is a bacterial infection but it's improved...look"

And showed her forearm which was manky with infection...uncovered...bright red and pussy looking...the girl leaned over, very interested and I'm not sure but I think she touched the woman's arm near the patch of infection which was about 7 inches or so.

I was but for some reason couldn't think of anything to say! Later the male owner of the cafe came to sit with this arm woman outside near me and I got the feeling the woman was somehow connected to the owners...I should have walked out really...this manky arm right near all the spoons and stuff.

I just had to get this off my chest to see if I was being ott in being so grossed out!

Yabu. It's not like she was the one serving you

I know but it was the girl who was serving me putting her hand on the arm...I couldn't swear to it but I'm sure she placed her fingers on the healthy skin around the sore patch.

if she was a staff member handling food then yes, it's not appropriate.

But I'm not sure what they could have done really if she is an acquaintance or family member. Or even a regular customer. Throw her out for having a skin infection?

Think as long as she wasnt touching anything you or come into physical contact you will be fine. Ive worked in catering places before and its impossible to never come into any contact with anyone poorly or infected with something.

Lol no...I suppose I was just disgusted that someone serving food would think it ok....to touch that arm. And the woman...flashing it about in a cafe!

Vod who? The staff member? She touched stuff I was in contact with.

you said yourself that you don't know for sure that she touched the arm. Would anyone really go out of their way to touch someone else's infected arm?

But even if she did, she presumably washes her hands regularly if she is handling food. And I wouldn't imagine that the woman is thrilled about her infection and flashing it about. Much more likely that it's painful and she is keeping it uncovered because it hurts less that way.

I reckon she did it because she knew you were watching. :o

YABU

YABU I think - presumably the woman who didn't have the "manky" arm was using an ice cream scoop, not clawing it out and sculpting it into the cones with her bare fingers?

You kind of lost me with the overuse of the word manky - are you 13 or something?

I don't know if YABU or not really

But the description of the woman made me laugh. I'm scratching my head here, wondering why we needed to know 'she was about 40, very well dressed and spoken' !!!

"And the woman...flashing it about in a cafe!"

Tatty I don't know. Manky seems to describe this arm pretty well.

Worra I think I said that because she was one of those posh women who frighten me a bit. Some posh people just do intimidate if you're very working class. She spoke loudly like her business was SO fascinating she was doing us all the favour of sharing it.

Irano yourself!

Yabu. Perhaps they were being caring towards their friend/relative/regular customer.

It sounds like you didn't like the woman and have prejudices against 'posh' women. Maybe you have some growing up to do.

I don't have prejudices....I even have some quite posh mates...this was a definite type. Braying, self important....loud...and with a nasty looking arm infection which she thought was imortant enough to wave about close to me and close to all the bloody cutlery!

I wouldn't say anything, but I would avoid going there ever again. If they think that having uncovered infected skin around food is acceptable, then they're probably slack on other hygiene standards as well.

YANBU. The woman serving shouldn't have touched her arm. Stupid thing to do. I would have felt alarmed by it too - skin infections can be highly contagious.

Perhaps you should have said something to her to convey your discomfort to the owners so they could deal with it if they saw fit? I don't think its a massive issue, you are still alive, everything is good...isn't it?

woo I think it's because the arm lady wasn't staff that she was around stuff but it seemed massively silly of the girl to enage with her about it.

I'd have said "Oh I'll have a look later when I'm not working" as a hint that it's gross in front of customers and not hygenic either.

It is unlikely that there will be any cross contamination just from the woman having the infected area uncovered, so whilst it isn't a pleasant thing to see in a cafe/restaurant/icecream bar, it isn't dangerous.

But, speaking as a former nurse, I think YANBat all U to object to the member of staff touching near the infected area and then handling utensils - that is dreadfully unhygienic. There may well be spread of bacteria from the infected area onto the intact skin around it, and I certainly wouldn't want that transferred to utensils used to serve food!

We do all have bacteria on our skin, but it seems only common sense to me that there will be a far higher bacterial load around an infected area. So it would be like the member of staff going to the loo and not washing her hands before returning to serving icecream - would people be happy with that - even if she was only touching utensils and not serving the food with her bare hands?

Technically the woman was a customer! You can't tell her to put her 'manky arm' away! How horrible!
What if that had happened to one of your children?would you want someone saying these things to/about them?

I should think the woman with the poorly arm would have yelped if her friend had touched it! Pretty sure you're safe

Also ... I'm no microbiologist, but wouldn't the infection from a flesh wound only be a danger if transferred to another open wound? I'm not saying it's lovely to swallow someone else's bacteria, mind, but wouldn't your gut murder any bacteria that found their way in?

On the more general principle - I get psoriasis sometimes. It is hideous, painful, exhausting & disgusting. The last thing I need is people in cafes refusing to serve me when I'm 'manky'!!!

Kali no I'd never say that. It was the staff member I was thinking I should have said something to. Maybe tell her to wash her hands or something.

Garlic she didn't touch the actual sore. But the arm...inches from the sore...where the skin ws healthy. And it wasn't psoriasis.... so not sure why you're bringing that into it!

I'm bringing psoriasis into it because I don't want fellow customers expecting cafe staff to avoid me when I have it. You wouldn't know what had caused my skin to be sore & weeping because I tend not to wear a big hat saying "It's psoriasis".

I'm kind of curious to know whether I'm right in thinking bacteria from a flesh wound can only infect another flesh wound, so it's not like the member of staff going to the loo and not washing her hands, because loo bacteria are gut bacteria. Any of you experts?

All that aside, there's no reason why you shouldn't ask a member of staff to wash her hands before serving you :)