Beck Vass: Dirty habits spreading winter bugs

No one needs to hear you hacking up snot and then re-swallowing it. Photo / Getty Images

Coughing, sneezing, hacking, snotting - Beck Vass says people are un-necessarily revolting.

There are some nasty viruses out this winter.

Everyone says this every winter but this one seems particularly bad, at least to the people around us, in Tauranga.

We were relatively unscathed until a couple of weeks ago when our middle child came down with a fever and asked if it was called a headache when it hurts here, and pointed to his head.

He had never complained about a headache before so I suspected there was trouble brewing.

For more than 48 hours, he had a nasty fever and didn't have his usual appetite. His cough became "barky", the snot started streaming and with that went any chance of the rest of us hoping to avoid it.

Kids wipe snot on the bench top and walls instead of using a tissue. They're disgusting.

But actually, as I have been reminded this last week, so are adults.

Our girl, 6, who already had a cold, went down next with the barky cough, then the baby (nine months) caught it.

We took him to the doctor because his breathing sounded so awful, and it was while I was sitting in the waiting room on a Saturday morning that I decided no one has a hope in hell of avoiding this stuff anyway because people are so gross.

A lot of people don't have any personal hygiene or consideration for other people, or both.

A woman was sitting in the corner coughing freely. She didn't cover her mouth with anything. Just sat there coughing the most awful-sounding disgusting cough, while scrolling on her phone.

Thanks love, everyone here wants to inhale your bacteria-laden saliva particles.

Another man sat nearby, also coughing. He kindly did it with a revolting "hoick" sound at the end. Why do so many men do this?

No one needs to hear you hacking up the snot on the back of your throat and then re-swallowing it. Go to the bathroom or something, do it anywhere but where other people can hear or get infected with your germs.

I was sitting there getting edgier and edgier and worrying that everyone else around us probably had Measles or the flu, or Ebola and thinking what little chance I had of avoiding it for my baby or myself when people like this are among us.

I feel for health professionals having to look after such gross people when it is little wonder why they are sick in the first place.

People do it in workplaces too. This is how everyone else gets sick. I worked with a chronic cougher once. Not only is it disgusting - and detrimental to others should they also get sick from it - but it is also extremely distracting for everyone working around someone who makes a constant noise like that.

If you have to cough or sneeze, cover your mouth. And that's the other thing: DO NOT cover your mouth with your hands! We don't do that anymore.

You cough or sneeze into your inner arm. Sneeze down the neck of your top if you want to, I don't care, just don't cough or sneeze into the air or in your hand when you are going to touch things other people might touch.

Wash your hands. Use soap. Dry them properly. Don't go to work sick.

All common sense, really. Except it's not that common.