Freaking out please help me calm down

[Freak1ng0ut]

I had to go into office the office today because we are being asked to come back- was very uncomfortable but went in at 9- sat there with masks on etc...there was an idiot yes I’ve called him an idiot as he sat in front coughing the whole time I was there. In these times do I need to say how anxiety inducing this is for snorkel person let alone someone like me who suffers from anxiety. My vaccine appointment is next week so not vaccinated- he was facing in front and I was behind him - both wearing masks
I’ve attached a bad diagram but sat here freaking out that he has passed on something to me...possibly Covid

Of course you don’t have to isolate for ten days with a cough if you know it’s not covid, @Sadieeloise5687.

Jesus Christ. That would be idiotic. We have easy access to testing now, you know?

I've been going into central London for work since last August. Using the tube, training with colleagues, two of whom tested positive at some point since then.
I haven't yet had covid. Also have two children in nursery who have been there since June and have had two children there positive.
I've somehow dodged it.
So, if you took the precautions you did, it's unlikely you'd catch it in those circumstances.
Also, if you did, there's no NHS pressures should you need hospitalisation but the overwhelming likelihood, should you catch it, is that you'll feel like shit, but be okay.

I know a few people that had it but the rest of the household didn't catch it. He may have just had a cough but even if he has Covid you may not catch it.

I have a cough at times due to hay fever. It’s never occurred to me to bloody isolate, I have to go to work. If I was told to isolate because I happened to have a hay fever cough, and a negative test, I’d tell them to get fucked.

Smidgeon - are you stupid or just offensive? I said to ask him ‘have you had a test’?!

He was probably coughing from a combination of mask and office aircon......

[quote VaccineSticker]@Bluntness100 “has she spoken to the GP?”
🤣
You want her to ask a GP if it’s ok to be near someone who is coughing all day at work? Are you being serious?
You want her to ask a GP who doesnt want to be anywhere near someone who is mildly ill or presenting with any sort of cough? And who now do mostly a phone consultation to
avoid covid? Do doctors have health anxiety too you reckon?

They would advise on getting the person tested and to isolate.

The current medical advice from the NHS and gov is to isolate and test if you have symptoms.

Inconvenient and rubbish but that’s the state of the world now.[/quote]
Are you ok? I asked if she had sought help for her anxiety.

You will never get back to normal if you carry on like this. You need to see someone about your anxiety.

@Sadieeloise5687 actually the lack of grammar in the bottom half of that post- I assume you were writing what the OP should have said to the coughing man- didn’t make your point clear at all.

I’m pretty sure, by now, knowing what we know about covid and with the easy access to testing, you don’t think ‘oh I’ve got covid, I’ll go and cough all over my workmates’...

@Sadieeloise5687

Why is everyone telling the OP to get a grip? Covid spreads by coughing. If she was sat all day near to someone coughing there’s a high chance she could have caught whatever he had, and yes it could have been covid. Op you should have said something to him. I’d have said that sounds nasty- you are supposed to isolate for 10 days with a cough. Have you had a covid test?

Goodness, so you basically want people like me to isolate for the remainder of my life. I have long term lung disease and I cough. A lot. Seems I've become some kind of social pariah, just to add to my already narrowed life. Gee thanks.

I work in a school with small children and get coughed on daily.
I've just had my first vaccine
Not caught the rona yet

But there are plenty of people who think covid doesn’t exist and/or it doesn’t hurt anyone. Not everyone can be trusted to self isolate and test when they get a cough. It’s therefore normal to worry when we are in the middle of a pandemic and people are constantly coughing around you.
If it were me coughing I would tell the people around me- I’ve had a test and it was negative. Mind you I’m sure the op didn’t much fancy catching whatever it was he does have! It’s not ok to come into work and spread germs whatever germs they are.

Did you not think to say something at the time?

Your anxiety is logical. I would speak to my supervisor re testing. He needs to be tested. People are getting tests without symptoms it’s not unreasonable to expect those with symptoms get tested.

Madhair - I think you are a bit mad.

It’s the law that you have to isolate if you have a cough until/unless you then test negative.

It says you only have to isolate if this is a new continuous cough.. so don’t be stupid - your regular background cough is not new and would not meet this threshold.

Yes people still have to isolate if they have a cough - the pandemic isn’t over.

I’d have said: “what the turn around time these days? When I did my PCR last year it took just over a day, how long was it before you got your result? Also, isn’t the weather awful, and did you see the football last night, bloody VAR (these are typical phrases you can use in any conversation in the U.K. (except Scotland, the weather is shit there all the time))!

@Sadieeloise5687 thank you! Yes that exactly what I would have done atleast to the people sitting around me, I would have dropped an email saying yes I’m coughing my guts out but it’s the aircon or whatever but nothing else.

Also agree I don’t want to catch whatever he’s got..looked like a lot of people here would willingly catch something??

I have been into work with a cough - because I had a test and it's not covid
(I also checked with my manager about coming in and she OKed because I'd had a test)
To be honest in this situation my first thought would be that they are in the same situation as me, rather than covid

I had covid in January and I'm fairly sure it was the Kent strain. I'm in a household of six. No one else caught it. I had ( unknown to me) it for days before I isolated in my own room. I also didnt develop the cough until mid way through my isolation.

Deep breath. So many other things can cause a cough.

I also sat next to a twat who came into work wit whooping cough when I was heavily pg. He knew it was whopping cough and I was pg. No one caught it in the office

@Blankspace101 no- partly because I was on back to back meetings, however when I got back home had an email from him asking if I found my first day back on and I did inform him the coughing did make me jittery given that I’ve worked from home the past year and not been at close proximity to anyone other than family for this long. No response, that’s what’s freaking me out. This is someone who writes paragraphs so the no response makes me think is he unwell?

I'm sure he wouldn't go in with Covid! Could be plenty of reasons e.g. heavy smoker, recovering from lung cancer, probably being treated like a leper

@VaccineSticker

Why should the op chill out? He’s bang out of order! This is how potentially he can end up making everyone isolate for ten days. The inconvenience of it all, nevermind catching covid, stresses anyone out. Put yourself in her shoes. Since when have we become an unsympathetic, nasty lot? I had to isolate for couple of days while my pcr came back and it was soul destroying. Be nice. Have some sympathy.

Why is he 'bang out of order'? We don't know why he was coughing. I cough due to hay fever, should I stay at home indefinitely?

OP I agree that you need to speak to your line manager. Your employer should have policies in place: we have been open pretty much throughout and we have lots of covid policies now. It sounds like your employer does too given that you're distanced from each other and wearing masks.

One of the policies we have is that if we have covid symptoms we need to self isolate and have a negative PCR test before we can come back to work.

In fact isn't it national guidance to self isolate and test if you have symptoms?

This guy has symptoms and therefore needs to self isolate and test. Hopefully he has done so and tested negative which is why he's in work. We can go to work with coughs etc but we need a negative PCR.

Obviously you can't ask him as it's not your place. But in the circumstances I'd say it's fine to speak to your line manager and say that you've noticed a colleague has covid symptoms and you are worried about contracting it. They can then make the necessary enquiries and act/reassure accordingly.

Part of their duty to you as an employee is to not put you at risk and part of that duty in turn is to ensure that any covid policies are followed.

So that's the practical steps you can take. In terms of managing your anxiety, I guess utilise whatever coping strategies work for you when you are feeling anxious eg distraction, grounding or whatever. Listen to music, do breathing exercises, whatever helps.

If I was hacking my guts out at work, I’d apologise profusely and assure everyone it’s hay-fever/an acceptable reason to be coughing. I’d be telling everyone that I’ve done a test and it was negative.

@Sadieeloise5687 re telling each other why we're coughing etc - that's exactly what we all do at work! It seems pretty normal in lots of interactions these days. This guy didn't though so in that case I'd just raise it.