My kids are back in daycare so they’re getting colds again, and I got one from the baby. It’s clearly a rhinovirus, no fever, I’m not getting snot everywhere, just a little sniffly. Office manager saw me blow my nose and has been staring me down as if I’m spewing COVID through the halls of a nursing home.
Are people with little colds not allowed out of the house anymore? How are people like this going to emotionally & psychologically survive cold & flu season?
People with colds should have been staying home all of the time. Maybe we will be less selfish now and stay home when ill.
@Anonymous Flu I get, but colds? Seriously? Do you know how many colds kids get each year on average, and then typically the parents? Who gets that kind of sick leave?
@Anonymous The entire world is currently working remotely. The alternatives are not "business as usual" or "stay home with the cold" the options are that everyone stays home or everyone is responsible if and when they go into public.
@Anonymous I’m not working remotely. And I cannot stay home with little kids AND work—certainly not everytime they get a cold.
I went to high holiday services where there was social distancing and masks required. But you know what happened every time someone had to blow their nose? They had to take off their mask and literally blow into the air. That's the exact thing that masks are trying to prevent. What DC's school is doing is requiring anyone with "the sniffles" to stay home until they get a doctors note. So while you claim it's "clearly the cold", that's not so clear and you should get it checked out.
@Anonymous Nah, I already had covid. I cannot believe people are this crazy.
@Anonymous there are clear public health guidelines regarding staying out of public with signs/symptoms of the disease. And, per the CDC website, these symptoms include congestion and runny nose.
@Anonymous But how do people know if others have or haven't been tested yet? Let's say you have allergies and get a runny nose. You get tested and it comes back negative, but you still have a runny nose (no other symptoms). Do you stay locked up until the runny nose ends, which could be weeks or months, just so strangers on the street don't get freaked out?
Also, we need to make it much easier to get kids tested. Spit tests for kids need to be easily available. Kids are constantly getting colds and runny noses. In many cases, it can take a week or longer to get a young child an appointment for a test (most places won't test young kids). 99.9% of parents don't have enough sick leave to take a week or more off every time their kids get a runny nose while they wait for a testing appointment + wait an additional 3-10 days for the results.
If precautions against "airborne" viruses (covid, colds) are being taken, why are you getting a cold?
@Ananonymous Op - That’s a great question. I have my own ideas but I don’t think anyone here will like them.
MD mom - I got a cold last week. It happens. I also stayed home from work and public places and got myself tested. Symptoms of covid overlap with symptoms of an upper respiratory infection.
The same way other people are going to get a cold by being around OP, presumably.
Didn't you say you own your own business on another thread?
@anonymous Yes ma’am
MD mom. The symptoms of coronavirus can overlap with an upper respiratory infection (a "cold"). A fever is not necessary for diagnosis (only four out of five patients exhibit fever -- and let's not forget the sheer number of *asymptomatic* carriers out there!). When I exhibited symptoms of a cold last week, I rightfully was pulled from work and tested for the virus. You should not be at work, and you should not be in public places. Most are posted with notices that if you are exhibiting signs of a respiratory infection, you should not come inside.
This may sound drastic to you, and for sure it is an inconvenience, but we are not in normal times.
+1 I mean think of the questions our children are asked at the door of the school. "Have you been around anyone exhibiting signs/symptoms of covid-19?"
@Anonymous Op- I got it months ago, and it was a lower respiratory infection. I got a killer headache and then wheezed & coughed for 3 weeks. This is a head cold.
@Anonymous MD mom from above. And some people with Covid present with symptoms of a cold, while others have no symptoms at all. Anyone can have mild or severe symptoms.
Reinfection with Covid is highly unlikely but has happened.
It is your decision whether or not to pursue repeat testing for Covid, but there are clear public health guidelines regarding staying out of public with signs/symptoms of the disease. And, per the CDC website, these symptoms include congestion and runny nose.
At the very least, by staying home when sick, you are preventing potentially many people from making hard decisions about staying home from school or work, getting testing, etc when you unwittingly spread your germs.
Get tested Just to make sure.
Stay home
No, you are not allowed in public with the sniffles, at the very least until you have been tested. I understand that the normal rule is "soldier on unless you're dying", but the rules have changed this year. Presumably you were able to work remotely during lockdown, so do that again until you get your test results back. And as to the "how do people know who has been tested and who hasn't?" question--they don't, so it's largely an honor system. It relies on everybody doing the right thing.
It makes me so happy to see the consensus here. If you’re sick, stay home and away from me. Also, if you and your kids are getting colds that easily you are not protecting yourself from Covid. One of these times that will be the virus that comes home.