Going to the salon sick

[Rach]

This question is similar to the 'going to work sick' thread.

There isn't really anything I can do about this either way, as it doesn't directly involve me, but I'm interested in peoples thoughts.

My mum is a teacher, and has picked up a virus which is going through the school she works at. Its obviously very contagious as half of her class were off last week, nearly all teachers have it etc. She went to work anyway, which I think that was different from going to work in an office type situation, as there were so many sick kids, everyone was exposed whether she was there or not.

Anyway, she has dragged herself out to a salon appointment this morning, quite a long appointment for haircut, highlights, facial etc.

I would assume that there is a good chance she could pass it on to the beautician.

Is it rude to have done this, rather than cancel?

On one hand I'm sympathetic as its a very busy salon and there would be a long wait for another one, and she must be smart for work. She feels she has no choice but to go, although she feels bad. Also that its just 'life' - she can't avoid germs, its part of the job working with people. And that the salon could of course refuse her.

I do feel sorry for her regular hairdresser though, who will probably be ill next week. (Chanches are I will too lol)

What do you think, if you care to tell me 

[Chartreuse]

I'd say it's extremely rude to go out while sick, unless you utterly have to.  Going to work sick is a different story, if you'll lose your job over it.  Going to have your hair done seems particularly rude as you're not just exposing one or two people to your germs, every person who comes in after you is going to be exposed to those same germs.  She's not going to only likely infect her stylist, but the stylist in turn is going to unwittingly expose and infect every single client who come in during the next week.  And while looking good for work is important, sometimes it just has to wait.

I'd say your mother was definitely rude in not cancelling.  She's consciously choosing to go out and infect dozens of people instead of postponing her grooming.

[IndianInlaw]

I'm not sure.

I once cancelled a dental appointment because I was sick.

They were snarky about it and said "Well, since you haven't done this before".


And this was in the days when they didn't wear masks and gloves.

[Rach]

I'd say it's extremely rude to go out while sick, unless you utterly have to.  Going to work sick is a different story, if you'll lose your job over it.  Going to have your hair done seems particularly rude as you're not just exposing one or two people to your germs, every person who comes in after you is going to be exposed to those same germs.  She's not going to only likely infect her stylist, but the stylist in turn is going to unwittingly expose and infect every single client who come in during the next week.  And while looking good for work is important, sometimes it just has to wait.

I'd say your mother was definitely rude in not cancelling.  She's consciously choosing to go out and infect dozens of people instead of postponing her grooming.

Hmm, yeah. I was having trouble deciding what I thought about this.

I do understand what she feels about the situation, she is sick a lot because the little kids of course pass on germs easily. She has to get the treatments sometime (this can include treatment for back pain too, although not today) She does work very hard, and her confidence is tied up with her appearance - it takes around six weeks to get an appointment at peak times.

My Dad thinks its just part of their jobs.

But I was then thinking of the people on the train, in town (she will shop - is that the same?) and the salon. 

Perhaps she should have called them and asked? Is it up to them a little to say something - she looks sick.

I think she at least won't visit Grandma's nursing home tomorrow....

[Verruca]

I think it would have been polite to call in advance, explain the situation and leave it up to them - "I'm sick and fairly certain that I'm contagious.  Would you rather I keep my appointment, since I'm not able to give you advance notice of cancellation?"

Even if she hadn't called first, she could have worn a face mask and canceled the facial.

[Rach]

I think it would have been polite to call in advance, explain the situation and leave it up to them - "I'm sick and fairly certain that I'm contagious.  Would you rather I keep my appointment, since I'm not able to give you advance notice of cancellation?"

Even if she hadn't called first, she could have worn a face mask and canceled the facial.

Yup, I think that would have been better.

It would involve a neck treatment thingy for pain if that makes any difference...

I don't think a face mask would have been effective.

I am tempted to ask her about this when she is finished.

[caranfin]

Funny, I was recently talking about this with a friend. She had gone to the salon and found out, after she got there, that one of the stylists (not hers) had strep throat, and was still working that day. And a few years ago, I cancelled an appointment when I had been diagnosed with strep throat, and my stylist said I should have come in anyway. So apparently they are taught in beauty school that hairspray kills all pathogens, and perhaps they didn't care that she came in while she was sick. 

[Rach]

Me : (Hiya, hair looks nice blah blah) So, did you hairdresser mind the germs?
Mum : Oh, I didn't tell her
Me : Ah right, didn't she notice you looked sick?
Mum : She didn't say anything
Me : Don't you feel a bit guilty she might get it?
Mum : Nope, she has a much easier job than me anyway
Mum : The film was good today
Me : You went to the cinema?!
Mum : Yes, Miss Potter is very good
Me : You've done too much since you are ill
Mum : I have to make the most of my free time anyway, keep going or I'd go mad doing nothing but work
Mum : Put the kettle on, I feel awful

I'm trying not to think how many people that affects.

[Slartibartfast]

I'm going to disagree with some of the previous posters - it would have been more rude to cancel (and therefore leave the stylist with a slot in her schedule she wasn't getting paid for) than it would be go to.  Honestly, how are you going to get sick from working at the salon?  I understand there's a small chance of inhaling bacteria or viruses that someone else sneezed or coughed out, but you're not going to get sick by touching their hair, skin, etc. for most diseases.

[Shoo]

I'm going to disagree with some of the previous posters - it would have been more rude to cancel (and therefore leave the stylist with a slot in her schedule she wasn't getting paid for) than it would be go to.  Honestly, how are you going to get sick from working at the salon?  I understand there's a small chance of inhaling bacteria or viruses that someone else sneezed or coughed out, but you're not going to get sick by touching their hair, skin, etc. for most diseases.

All a sick person has to do is touch something, leave their germs, and then the next person to touch it can pick it up and get sick.  You don't necessarily have to have someone cough or sneeze in your face.  That's why grocery stores are such germ factories.  A sick person coughs into their hands, grabs a cart by the handles, and then the next person who uses the cart picks up the germs on his/her hands, then touches their nose or mouth and there you go.  That's how illness spreads.

[Cyndi]

^If a sick person touches their eyes, nose or mouth and then touches the rest of their face(scratching itches, etc), then the germs on their hands are now on their skin and whatever else they touch. The next person who touches the infected surface then touches their eyes, nose or mouth and voila, they're infected.

I hate to be within five feet of any person who is visibly ill with any kind of sickness unless I know they aren't contagious.

Of course it's nothing washing your hands frequently won't solve(I do whenever I go out and try not to touch my face until I can wash my hands). But how many times are we conscious of touching our faces?

[Chartreuse]

All a sick person has to do is touch something, leave their germs, and then the next person to touch it can pick it up and get sick.  You don't necessarily have to have someone cough or sneeze in your face.  That's why grocery stores are such germ factories.  A sick person coughs into their hands, grabs a cart by the handles, and then the next person who uses the cart picks up the germs on his/her hands, then touches their nose or mouth and there you go.  That's how illness spreads.

Bingo. All it would take is a simple act like her rubbing her eyes or being not too careful about how she goes about blowing her nose and her hands have germs on them.  Then the door knobs she touched would get infected, the money she handled to pay for her visit would also be prime germ carriers.  Any magazines she looked at while waiting for her haircut would be infected, ditto for any furniture or counters her hands rested on.  Anyone who handled those objects after her would be just asking to get sick.  According to the Mayo Clinic, flu and cold germs can survive on surfaces for up to 48 hours.  Think of all the things that one person's germy hands can touch during that time.  Think of all the people who will touch those same objects after them. 

One of the major ways that cold and flu germs are passed involve people rubbing their eyes, nose, or mouth.  Your mucus membranes are a great place to pick up and deposit germs.  Out of habit, how often do we all unthinkingly touch our faces?  Yes, it can be prevented with hand washing, but when you're out and about during the day, how often do we actually wash our hands?  It's no wonder that epidemics happen.

Etiquette is all about not inconveniencing others, correct?  I think that one open slot at a salon is only inconveniencing one or two people, as opposed to choosing to show up sick and potentially infecting dozens of people.  The first is a slight inconvenience for a few people and may involve a slight loss of income.  The second choice can be a massive inconvenience for a lot of people, and the missed work can involve a large loss of income for all of those people.  And for those in the population who happen to have immune issues (pregnant, elderly, infants, children, etc), something as minor as the flu can do long term damage or be fatal.  Willingly going out in public when you know you're sick and likely infectious is irresponsible and seems very self-absorbed.

Of course, I admit that I've got strong feelings on the subject, I grew up in a household headed up by a parent who worked for the public health department.  I've had it drilled into my head about epidemiologic issues since I was just small. 

[MineralDiva]

If she were so ill that she couldn't stop coughing, sneezing, shivering  or running to the bathroom to take care of either "end," then yes;  she should have stayed home.

[Slartibartfast]

Yes, in theory she could infect the whole population of the salon by leaving "germs" everywhere.  In practice, though, how many public surfaces do you touch every day and not get sick?  Our bodies are made to fight off occasional bacteria, and unless you have a compromised immune system, you probably have contact with sick people all the time and it doesn't get passed on.

It's an issue of perception - same reason a study I saw found that more than 3/4 of participants refused to drink a glass of orange juice that had had a cockroach dipped in it, even when they saw the cockroach had been sterilized first . . . they KNEW there weren't "germs" transmitted, but the idea icked them out.  (That would ick me out too, though!)  Same thing with not washing your hands after using the bathroom (assuming you don't pee on your hands), eating food that fell on the floor, and sitting on tables or desks.  None of those are really likely to make you sick, but we tend to associate bathrooms, floors, and clothed rear ends with "germs" even if transmission is unlikely.

I see why elementary school teachers get sick a lot at first - they are not only working in proximity with kids, but they are often dealing with more bodily fluids than adults would transmit (chewed pencils, uncovered sneezes, potty accidents, snotty hands).  An adult who realized they were sick should be able to keep actual bacteria and virus transmission to a minimum - can't do anything about the perception of "germs," though.

[snoopygirl]

I'm going to disagree with some of the previous posters - it would have been more rude to cancel (and therefore leave the stylist with a slot in her schedule she wasn't getting paid for) than it would be go to.  Honestly, how are you going to get sick from working at the salon?  I understand there's a small chance of inhaling bacteria or viruses that someone else sneezed or coughed out, but you're not going to get sick by touching their hair, skin, etc. for most diseases.

All a sick person has to do is touch something, leave their germs, and then the next person to touch it can pick it up and get sick.  You don't necessarily have to have someone cough or sneeze in your face.  That's why grocery stores are such germ factories.  A sick person coughs into their hands, grabs a cart by the handles, and then the next person who uses the cart picks up the germs on his/her hands, then touches their nose or mouth and there you go.  That's how illness spreads.

My work is such a germ magnet. With everybody coughing and sneezing its a wonder I haven't gotten sick. I joke about my strong immune system. Really I think its all the Purell I use at every chance I get. Of course that stuff dries out my hands and they crack but I would rather have dry hands then be sick.