At my workplace, we are required to wear face masks throughout the day and to do our best to keep a six foot distance from other coworkers to reduce the spread of COVID-19. A few days ago, I noticed that one of my coworkers came into work carrying a plastic bag and that he quickly threw the bag i...
" I have noticed that whenever he comes over to talk to me there is the smell of cough drops in the air." Are you both wearing masks when this happens? How close is he getting to you where you can smell cough drops through two masks (his and yours)?
@sf02, yes, we are both wearing face masks. He usually keeps a six foot distance from me when we talk. I have a very sensitive nose, sometimes I think I am part hound dog.
@user255577 No, Allergies have not gone away, seasonal colds have not gone away, asthma, reactive airways, lung cancer, GERD, blood pressure drugs, COPD, et cetera. My Ex and my daughter have conditions that make them cough and are tired of being treated like they have the plague, and yes, they've both been tested for the beer bug.
@MawgsaysreinstateMonica I've gotten used to saying "beer bug" thanks to getting numerous posts of mine deleted from Social media from saying it.
Does your workplace have guidelines about when people shouldn't come to work? If so, do they mention coughing? Would you be willing to ask your co-worker directly if he's feeling okay?
@Old_Lamplighter, I agree with you that all those medical conditions can cause a person to cough a lot. Yet, since a big sign of someone having come down with COVID-19 is that they cough a lot, it is not unreasonable to speculate that a person who suddenly starts taking a lot of cough drops may be trying to conceal having COVID-19, and this possible concealment should be brought to the attention of a manager.
@Kat, I have to admit that I don't know what my company's guidelines are concerning health issues. I would need to read up on that or ask my manager about it. I could ask my coworker about his coughing and his constant use of cough drops but I think asking him about it may violate some HIPAA law. I think it's best for me to report this to manager and let him decide what is the best course of action to take.
@user255577 Go to either The Lancet, or The New England Journal of Medicine, or the Journal of American Medical Association and do some research, it may serve to assuage your fears somewhat
It doesn't violate any law to ask a co-worker if they're feeling okay, but I understand if you're not comfortable doing so. If you don't know the guidelines about COVID-19 symptoms and being at work, then they're obviously not being strongly communicated, which makes me concerned your manager won't feel obligated to send your co-worker home anyway.
Note that wearing a paper mask all day and the recently drier and colder air (I don’t know where you live obviously) can give some people a sore throat and lozenges can help with that.
I would encourage you to reconsider your decision not to talk to your manager. You're in the US, which is in the middle of a rapidly expanding epidemic. "Stay home if you are sick" is federal recommendation. If your workplace does not have that as an active policy, they should.
Also (@Damila) the mask/weather can exacerbate or even cause a blocked/runny nose, and some of the relevant remedies smell the same. This can also lead to coughing due to post-nasal drip. We've got asymptomatic screening in work, so I can know that on a day when I was clear of COVID I had a runny nose and occasional tickly throat, for which a menthol/liquorice cough sweet worked wonders.
So, on the one hand you might annoy your co-worker by expressing your concerns. On the other hand, in the middle of a pandemic where the main symptom is coughing your coworker who is indoors with you many hours a day is hiding a cough. And isn't saying something like "wow my allergies are bad right now" or "don't worry, I've been tested for Covid". And Covid can kill or severely injure you and your loved ones. Think of it that way and the answer is pretty obvious.
@Old_Lamplighter Sure, if the OP can work from home, great. If he can have a reasonable discussion with the co-worker, also good. Or talk to his manager. But bottom line is that this isn't a "I think co-worker is using his phone too much and slacking" or "co-worker is stealing lunches from the fridge" this is "co-worker si showing signs of a dangerous disease". One way or another the OP needs to deal with it, not ignore it.
@Old_Lamplighter and of course, you take it way too far. All the co-worker has to say is "hey, I understand your concern, I've been checked for Covid and I don't have it, I have something else that makes it look like I've got Covid". No, the OP doesn't have to take a nose swap and get it checked out. Don't be ridiculous.
@DaveG It's already ridiculous. My ex wife has an asthma like illness, and my daughter has allergies, and they're both being treated like lepers. This hysteria is out of hand. If you don't feel safe, stay home and hide under your bead. BTW, I'm old, have diabetes, and heart disease, and I'm not hiding, so it's not a case of "what if you were high risk" either. This ain't the plague. Don't act like it is.
@DaveG A society living in fear, and willing to stage witch hunts over something with a 99.98 survival rate is not a civilized one, and last time I looked asthma wasn't contagious. If you're going to live in abjet terror, hide under your bed.
Besides, as we all know, the virus doesn't travel more than six feet, can't penetrate a mask, and goes to sleep between six AM and ten PM
The sad thing is, I'm far more likely to die from it than you are and you're the one ready to pee himself.
@DaveG But I'm curious, does this only apply to the beer bug, or does poking into someone's medical history for no reason count as swinging one's fist? Or, more to the point, your baseless fear is no justification to trample my rights.
@Old_Lamplighter A quarter of million Americans dead. And the way things are going, another quarter of a million by the time Biden is in office and we can actually do something about the pandemic. But no big deal for you, right?
Discussion on question by user255577:…
Discussion on question by user255577:…