To open my window on the bus

[notknowledgeable]

It seems to be a mission for some people to fight to have all the windows on the bus closed, for all of every journey? Why? Before covid this wasn't an issue - now it seems people have a point to make.

I get there can be a chilly draught, but just put your coat on, or put your hood up?

I am immunocompromised, and wear a mask and open the window on my way to and from work. Every single time I get ill, ( currently a couple of times a month) my classes are left with non specialist agency staff. I take all the precautions I reasonably can to keep from catching anything, but this constant battle on the bus every working day is really wearing my down.

Tell me you don't know anything about Multiple Sclerosis or COPD without telling me you know nothing about Multiple Sclerosis or COPD....

You realise both those conditions are life-limiting, right? And exacerbations can and do put people in hospital?

And exacerbations can be aggravated by the cold?

And you might want to have a word with the Arthritis Foundation as you appear to be the miraculous sole person whose arthritis isn't affected by the cold. There are reams of articles in medical journals dedicated to the importance of arthritis sufferers avoiding getting cold but I'm sure you know better.....

Your amusement at the seriousness of other people's severe medical conditions really just does underline what a thoroughly unpleasant individual you are.

If you'd come on here and said "I know other people need the window closed for their health reasons, but I need it open for my reasons and it's causing me no end of problems" you'd have received lots of sympathy.

But by refusing to acknowledge that ANYONE else might have a very valid medical reason to need to avoid the cold, you've just shown yourself up to be not only selfish but deeply ignorant.

I'll be sure to tell my mum that. She will love to know that her experiences of her own arthritis where if she gets too cold she can't physically stand up are not incapacitating. Maybe she reacts differently because she is not a teacher and therefore not as special as you.

@notknowledgeable you have a very apt username.

A cold draught!!. Fresh air!.. Even for a few moments every now and then windows should be opened definitely to clear the air.

Op I really feel for you, I struggle on short bus journeys and I run to open every other window if no one is on it.

Right in one of the lock down lulls we were on a hot train and we couldn't get a window open even though it felt like the air con was broken and no train staff had a key that worked.

Having regular open and closing windows won't make anyone instantly cold it takes time for the air to cool down and heat up. It takes moments to let proper air in and reduce stale air.

A cold draught straight through a window and into my fathers face can (and has) made him very ill very quickly, it stops him being able to breathe properly.

But hey, as long as the OP can get to work, who the hell cares right? In fact, why not call me a liar and laugh....oh no she already did that.

I just don't understand if sitting on a bus with open windows is so dangerous for some people, surely that means they can't be outside at all?

If the OP is as insufferable as this at work, I would imagine that her colleagues and students would be more than happy that she is off sick again!

Correct. Not in the cold for very long at all. That's the reality of some disabilities. Be grateful you don't know.

Being outside in the cold was ok for my father if he was bundled up and breathed through a thick scarf for example. Gets on bus, takes scarf off, person in front opens window and a fast draught of cold air hits him in the face.....yes it causes real problems. Its why we cant risk public transport for him anymore. 99 times out of 100 its fine, but when someone like the OP, who is the only person in the world with a real illness, does this it has put him in hospital and on oxygen.

@PyongyangKipperbang
I've had 3 close relatives with various disabilities and issues we had together work around in different ways when out and about.
In your dads case we would have snoods snd things because we have just come out of a pandemic.

I'm sure it's extremely stressful having a dad vulnerable in that way but other people are in need of fresh air for the same time reasons because they are immune compromised etc.

When I've been struggling with my relatives I couldn't expect others to understand their needs nor change their behaviour due to their needs.

The compromise is bursts of fresh air.

Most of the buses on the routes near me don’t have any windows that can be opened or closed and it’s been that way for years

Most of the new electric buses are the same

So how will the OP cope if her buses change of design and she doesn’t have a choice?

Measles is kicking off big time and you can still get it inspite of being inncoclatead, along with many other air borne diseases.

Who would want any of them if you can mitigate their risks with occasional window opening.

Pray theater because even in the depths of winter, you can be gasping for Breath, cheek by jowel standing up on a bus with water poring down the windows, stuck not moving.
I can't imagine that in summer, people will be fainting.

Surely the people on the bus are dressed for the weather conditions whilst waiting at the bus stop? So they aren’t going to be cold on a bus with a few windows open. YANBU OP.

But I think that’s the point @Dismaljanuary isnt it? That we all understand there are people with varying health needs and it’s not just about what we want.

The mature thing to do is to check with those around you before opening/closing windows and to try and compromise as much as possible.

In extreme cases it might be preferable for one party to move to another seat if opening/closing is a very big problem.

Unfortunately the OP is insisting that she’s the ONLY person with a valid health concern or an important job, and as such, the atmosphere on public transport must always be entirely catered to her.

YOUR compromise is bursts of fresh air. Ours has had to be him never going on the bus so he has no independence.

The simple fact is that when you want a "burst" of fresh air you will open the window and that "burst" could hospitalise someone. And will you make sure you close the window again? Or will you, as usually happens, get off the bus and not give it another thought?

My point isnt that other people should do what suits my father best simply because I only know him and his issues, and no more should they do that for the OP or your family members. Sometimes we have to go with "least worst". All I am getting from the OP is that she has no evidence whatsoever that her illnesses have been caused by being on the bus, especially when considering her job. There is no evidence that not having a window open on a bus will cause her to become ill. She has just decided that because a window open is what she wants, and she isnt getting it, that its all the selfish public transport users who are to blame. Not the person who sneezed in the supermarket 30 seconds before she walked around the corner, or the kid who was sent to school less than 24 hours after Noro and isnt that great at washing their hands, or the colleague who's kid has flu and hung their coat up next to hers after the kid snotted on it that morning......

All manner of things can cause problems when you have a chronic (and in some cases life threatening) condition, and its up to you to manage it. Thats what we have done but it seems like the OP wants to make the world turn her way instead of trying to find a way to make her own life easier. Frankly I am more concerned about her stress levels than anything else!

Put it far more succinctly than I did!

In fairness, there’s a difference between a brief wait - potentially at a sheltered bus stop - and spending 30-45 minutes sat immobile with a cold wind blasting directly at you through the window as the bus hurtles up and down the bypass (an example from a PP).

My nan could manage a short walk to the bus stop further down her road and hopping off at the stop right outside the day centre. Put her in a freezing cold bus while sat immobile for the journey and she’d be completely seized up and struggling to move. One thing is not the same as the other.

I like an open window tbh but I think it’s important to recognise that this isn’t one solution fits all.

Bus windows being open makes me feel ill. Smoke from vehicles outside comes in, plus it's so much noisier and I struggle to cope with that. I much prefer keeping them closed.

I agree

Arthritis? Maybe not.
MS - absolutely.
Or MS scary sibling - Transverse Myelitis.

Both of these conditions, and many many others are significantly impacted from cold. Especially a rush of cold when a window is opened/held open near them.

Both of these conditions have a symptom called a hug (and it's not a nice hug - imagine a vice crushing around your ribs while someone force punches you in the sternum with a brick, while you fight to breathe as your larynx slams shut.

This most definitely does land us in hospital.

If we can avoid the hug (which is terrifying to us and those around us), there is also laryngospasm which can also be caused by that open window of yours. An open window in a room is different to an open window on a moving vehicle that continuously pushes cold air into the lungs.

But, you're more important that anyone else of course. As long as you get your open window who cares about anyone else around you?

Isn't that essentially what happ3ns when the door open and shuts....

@notknowledgeable I am not immunocompromised but I like the windows open for a variety of reasons... Why does someone who likes the window shut get to trump us just because they like the window shut? It's ridiculous.

It sounds like buses with set windows are a good idea. Then there's no issue and no choice. Air con or heating only.

Glad I don't ever have to take the bus.