Awkward questions you've always wanted to ask someone who works in a specific job...

[PinocchiosLeftNostril]

I thought this would be a good way for us to get answers to those awkward questions we would never dream of asking someone to their face in their place of work.

These are questions relating to my life that i would love honest answers to.

Hairdressers - When someone with bad dandruff/psoriasis sits on your chair, do you shrug it off, or do you quickly have a look to make sure it's not lice? Are you able to tell the difference right away or does it need investigating? And do you really want to know what my plans are for the day, or would you rather work in silence?

Teachers - do you get annoyed when parents write in homework diaries that a specific piece of homework was too tricky for their child? Do you take it as an insult to your teaching skills?

Waiter/waitresses - do you expect people to offer to clean up their children's mess before they leave, or do you just shrug it off as part of the job? If you're busy and haven't had chance to clean a table yet, and a new customer came up and asked for a cloth to clean it, would you be offended?

I'm a trainee SLT so not quite sure if I'm qualified to answer any questions regarding that line of work yet.

But i have experience working in a Subway sandwich store, a library, a gym and as a cleaner. So i can answer any cleaning, book or sandwich questions that are burning away inside you all.

Gussie Thanks for your excellent answers. I agree totally with you. It frustrates me that so many women endure incontinence in silence and think it is something to tolerate. Very about that. I have inculcated the importance of these exercises to my daughter and all her friends (much to their ) looks sometimes. Stepdaughter as i mention before is MW training and i have pleaded with her to be good at this aspect of her work.

Are you pleased to get physio prescribing? Do you think it will add yet more pressure on your service? What kind of Px limits will be place upon you?

TheDiet I'm off to bed soon but I have had some lovely replies and information from the MNers on the Muslim Tearoom thread especially in response to a request for info regarding cultural practices and traditions in Midwifery (for my stepdaughter who has started her MW training in a large city) and have loads of things I would like to ask you too. Speak to you all tomorrow.

Do you judge me for keeping my nails boringly short and losing my cuticle knife...?

Nope, but please don't use a cuticle knife on living tissue - it will only grow back thicker and harder!

Question for you, do you ever judge us plain janes if we come in for our nails doing? Do nail techs ever have a laugh about us after we've gone?

I work on my own as a Mobile Tech and I never laugh at a client. I don't judge 'plain janes' as such but I am a colour/glitter addict and rarely wear subtle colours myself so I sometimes encourage people to be brave and go brighter!!! Part of my job is accepting that we are all different and for my 'magpie' clients there are 'understated' clients and as long they are all happy I have a business!

I love making women feel better about their hands. I had a nail-biter in tears (in a good way!) after I'd applied a set of acrylics for her wedding, I felt like I'd really made a difference to her.

God no Horses. Far from it. I assume you are in your career because you enjoy it and it is a boom industry after all. Sensible career choice.

Thank you. I genuinely believe I have the best job in the world.

Horses Are you adequately protected from the chemicals used in nail tech and also the UV lights? That would worry me if you were my daughter.

Yes I am. Because I work mobile I am not inhaling vapours all day sat behind a desk. Dust can be an issue but I am aware of it. UV lamps are not harmful to me or my clients - if a client has her nails done twice a month and her hands are in the lamp for 10 minutes per appt it equates to 2 minutes additional uv exposure (sunlight) per month. Hands are exposed to more uv light through the windscreen of their car driving to the salon!

Sadly there are many myths around nail products......

And no Horses nail techs thick? Nah. Mine owns the entire hair and beauty salon. One of the cleverest - and richest - blokes I know! And a fab nail tech!

Blokes tend to be the most successful nail techs - women represent most of the workers in the industry but the competition winners/educators are often men..... What's that all about?!

Schmaltzing if you have a really weak pelvic floor and struggle to do pf exercises due to a childbirth tear is there a particular 'device' that you think really does work? I have problems but they need to get worse before surgical intervention is an option. There is no evidence that using a device is BETTER than #doyerblardyexercises. There is some evidence, however, that if someone's invested £30 of their hard earned cash that it helps them to commit to doing their exercises for longer.

There are some excellent devices available. There are also some absolute useless guff. Regardless, if you are going to spend money your first, best option is to get an actual assessment from a physio who knows their way around a fallen fanjo.

I'm happy to answer DMs. Really, and truly. I'm like a fanjo evangelist, and I bore my DH no end by yakking on about this stuff, you'd be doing me a favour...

Horses I do

Petite myth or not being told fingernails on average hold more bacteria than a toilet seat puts me off

Thanks Mignonette

There are two types of auditors. External ones who crawl all over financial data to check that it is accurate, true and fair to support the annual accounts. And internal ones who crawl over internal processes to provide assurance to senior management and stakeholders that the organisation is managing risk appropriately.

I am the latter type. And I love it. Processes over balance sheets every time! Numbers get very boring after a while. I love the people element of internal auditing and you just don't get that with the financial side.

Thank you Horses. My Grandfather always said a day where you learn something is a day never wasted and I have learned something from you and so many people today.

I am crap at applying polish but am wearing a lovely pale lime on my toes (YSL-posh I am [smile) but need a new Winter colour. What are your recommendations for colours and what brands do you recommend?

I really must go to bed. Have a day of looking after my niece tomorrow!

Olympic I am going to come back tomorrow with more questions for you. Be warned as am intrigued.

I MUST got to bed but cannot tear myself from this thread.

dietstarts smashing, I have loads! Mostly awkward ones about cultural sensitivity - I'm afraid that my perception of Islam is limited to thinking it seems like a smashing idea to convert every single time I have a hangover...

There are a few dads at the school gate who have a very strong Muslim faith. I understand not to touch them physically, you know, nudging their elbow or whatever - but, is it awkward for them if I strike up conversation with an uncovered head? Our boys are friends, and I'd like to get to know them as the kids play together, but, I don't want to make them feel uncomfortable generally speaking, I am well covered what with having a body not worth showing off at the school gate

Really Mignonette? I am delighted someone has questions about auditing Ask away!!

Night night x

szeli 'doing nails' involves biology (anatomy/physiology/structure of the natural nail), chemistry (how nail products work) and customer care. Running a business involves marketing/numeracy/literacy as well as dedication and committment.

Nail Techs are brighter, more savvy and hard-working than you realise!!

I worked in Marketing for a household financial services company for 16 years before I set up my nail business. It frustrates my that I work in an un-regulated industry meaning that there is no recognised minimum qualification....

Der, How did I manage to disconnect what Olympic does from our own Clinical Governance? I am scatter brained sometimes.

Mignonette come and join me on my soapbox! My governing body and the royal college of midwives have just published a joint paper about teaching pf exs. I don't actually agree, at that point in their life a woman is only really interested in information pertaining to getting the baby out or feeding it or maybe getting some sleep.

I'd teach the stuff in sex ed, with a huge focus on the effect that having a strong pelvic floor has on your sexual function, for both men and women. That'd get them interested. Then, they'd hopefully do the exercises when they brushed their teeth, and, you never know, maybe 50% of women over the age of 50 wouldn't have fannies falling out.

Prescribing - good for the physios who are prepared to study, pay for the training, do the work in their own time, learn an important skill for no extra pay. Good for them.

This is quite the best thread in a long old while. More thanks, again and especially to mignonette for making my family's everything just right, but also to everyone else and the OP for such a wonderful thread. This, THIS is why I love Mumsnet.

Mrs PennyApple Pharmacist here. Re Antibiotics and alcohol, the answer is that it depends on the antibiotic

Metronidazole (Flagyl) and tinidazole are metabolised by the liver and, in some people, block the metabolism of alcohol so it "backs up" and a very, very small amount gives you such a hangover you want to die so you certainly avoid alcohol with them.

Penicillins are excreted in urine via the kidneys, alcohol is a diuretic so flushes more water from the bloodstream into the bladder, taking the antibiotic with it so lowering the blood levels and making it less effective. With those you can drink in moderation but a lot will reduce the efficacy so that is probably why medics tended to advise against it as they knew drinking in moderation was unlikely!

P.S. gussie you'd be well proud of my pf! Four DC and it's thanks to the exercises that my MW taught me 20 years ago that it's in tip top condition.

mignonette darks are always good for winter and blues are popular in the winter collections this year.... I like OPI polishes, 'Keeping Suzi At Bay' is a lovely colour. Dark reds like 'Black Cherry Chutney' are classic and really wearable!

heps

Actually timid I have a question for you. For the past two years in Feb, Dd3 has been hospitalised with double pneumonia. She now, after all sorts of meds (incl asthma ones) takes Azithromycin 3 times a week. Is this likely to prevent yet another 10-14 day stay in Feb. Will this actually stop the infection growing again? X-rays show the cloud in her lungs and every so often the shitty cough starts trying but it seems the Azith is holding it back. Really - is this the only way to stop/suppress it? She's been on it since March if that helps.

gussie

This is such a brilliant thread. I have some questions:

estate agents when you say "Someone else is really interested in the property", what percentage of the time are you lying to try and get an offer on the table?

doctors receptionist/admin staff: do you often think that some of your colleagues are in completely the wrong job?
I have met some really helpful staff at doctors surgeries, but I have without question also met some of the most obstructive and insensitive people ever, amplified by the fact that the job involves dealing with highly stressed people and a sense of urgency!

timidviper what's the deal with penicllin V and oral contraceptives. I'm on long term prophylatic use of penicillin and rd the pill won't be as effective. Is this true or an old wives tale

I'm an English student now, but worked in fundraising (as a manager, planning direct mail, telephone fundraising and the dreaded chuggers) for over a decade. I've also worked in a chippy and a bookshop.

petite & xaphania- I know someone who was involved when community paediatrics was set up. Have been told it was originally supposed to be like other countries i.e. they'd see the non urgent & leave serious stuff to hospital paeds. But its been suggested the funding got nabbed by people with other ideas and pushed into what community paeds is now ... and GPs still see kids.
Massage - was having a massage last month and got curious how they dealt with men with spotty backs, she said it doesn't bother her as nothing's popped on her ... yet ughh

Hepsi I must admit I don't know much about this but I have seen this antibiotic used in older patients with COPD (chronic bronchitis or emphysema) who are prone to severe chest infections so it sounds like the same type of treatment.

With all medicines the prescriber weighs up a benefit/risk ratio and it seems like, if the regular asthma medications don't prevent your poor DD being so ill, this is a chance of a high benefit from a safe, established drug. In asthmatics the lungs produce more secretions and are less efficient at coughing them up which provides a perfect breeding ground for bacteria; warm, damp and lots of lovely phlegm to feed on. Azithromycin is a good antibiotic for penetrating (DS used to have it for persistent horrid snot) so it sounds like a good next step.

I'll try to remember to check my BNF for children for you when I am in work next week

Still This is a really interesting question and there may be more than one answer!

One is that antibiotics may affect absorption of the contraceptive hormones so you do not get a full dose.
Another is that the antibiotics may speed up liver enzymes to break down the hormones quicker so they have less effect.
Antibiotics may also cause diarrhoea which wash hormones out of the system faster so reducing the effect.
Another way which is really interesting (gets us pharmacists sadly excited!) is that a large proportion of the oral contraceptive hormones are metabolised by the liver, they are conjugated or chemically bound to another molecule and excreted in bile into the gut which you would expect to be the end of it but the gut flora (that's all the bacteria, yeasts and stuff) then breaks this conjugate down, back into an active form which is then re-absorbed and gets a second chance to act. If an antibiotic changes the balance of flora in the gut, which it may do as it kills bacteria, less hormone may be recirculated.

As modern oral contraceptives tend to contain low doses of hormones they are more prone to any or all of these things reducing them to an inactive level which is why they don't use them and antibiotics together.