If you're sick, don't see a movie!!!

[Monterey Jack]

Saw Inherent Vice today, a film so byzantine and complex it was hard enough to follow to begin with, but it wasn't helped by some asshole literally coughing up a lung for THREE HOURS STRAIGHT a few rows back. Seriously, if you can't go more than thirty seconds without a uncontrollable string of phlegmy, booming chest coughs, you are too sick to see a movie in the theater. Bonus suck for the cougher's seatmate literally repeating the onscreen dialogue for the last hour or so of the movie (probably because the goddamn coughing was drowning it out).

[Marmalady]

That is straight out of the 'Little Book of Chaos' I saw some years ago;

'Got a cold? Book one of the best seats at the theatre and enjoy a damn good cough'

[Food Lady]

And thanks for spreading your germs all over the place! I would've asked for my money back.

[Monterey Jack]

And thanks for spreading your germs all over the place! I would've asked for my money back.

But then the theater manager would say, "Well, if it bothered you so much, why didn't you leave earlier?" Maybe because I had to spend FIFTEEN DOLLARS in round-trip train fees to get to your theater. Are you going to reimburse me for that? I can't afford to take public transportation to the theater, plus the ticket price, and leave without seeing the movie, even if I get a free ticket to another showing.

[Captain Trips]

Or don't go to Disneyland if you have the measles...

As a result if this customer's suckiness, we've even had one urgent care facility in town shut down for a day to prevent further spread. And more cases tracing back to this one are coming forward all the time.

If you are sick, STAY HOME AND GET WELL.

[prjkt]

Some cinemas get so cold I end up coughing uncontrollably, but not the phlegm-coated pathogen ball type

[XCashier]

I just don't get that mindset at all. When I'm sick, I just want to go to bed and stay there; the last thing I want to do is go to an ear-splittingly loud movie or a crowded theme park! Even just going to the store for medicine, Kleenex and soup is almost too much.

[greek_jester]

Or don't go to Disneyland if you have the measles...

*snip*

If you are sick, STAY HOME AND GET WELL.

To be fair, at first measles presents as a normal cough/cold.

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/measles...roduction.aspx

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-c...s/con-20019675

Until the rash develops most people would assume it was just a cough/cold and would be unwilling to cancel a trip that has possibly been planned (and paid for) months in advance.

With a normal cough/cold you could simply stock up on tissues, cold meds and hand sanitiser and still have a good time without undue risk to those around you. The sick person could have only started coughing/sneezing the night before they got there, and if the trip involved one or more kids, it would be highly unfair to deprive them of their fun for what they believed was simply a cold.

[Blue Ginger]

I was the chicken poxed person that went to a stadium concert and didn't know that I had chicken pox until the rash turned up 2 days later.

The concert was for an Aussie performer that has had more last concerts than Dame Nellie Melba and I was in the 2nd row.

The concert was on the Thursday night, Friday night I could barely move I was so tired and a few spots appeared, Saturday I was diagnosed and by Monday I was covered in spots.

Once we realised how bad I was, Mum rang the ticket company and asked them to pass the information to the manager and performer and asked them to contact anyone that was sitting near us, as my case was very contagious and severe, as per doctors orders. We also had to notify my class at school and a note went home with all the girls I caught the bus with.

My doc had been a GP for nearly 40 years and it was the worse case she had seen until my dad got it 4 years later. I had it everywhere including my palms, soles of my feet, in my mouth and throat, my ears and my eyelids. I also apparently had them in my sinuses, stomach and behind my eyes. Dad had them only externally, but he had spots on top of spots.

[XCashier]

Okay, if you've got expensive tickets and cannot reschedule, and you're only feeling a little off and don't realize how sick you are or will get, that's one thing.

But if you're coughing up a lung, like in the OP, and the event is easily rescheduled, like a movie that's in the theaters for several weeks or will be out on DVD in a month, you should bloody well stay at home and away from other people!

[Pagan]

With a normal cough/cold you could simply stock up on tissues, cold meds and hand sanitiser and still have a good time without undue risk to those around you. The sick person could have only started coughing/sneezing the night before they got there, and if the trip involved one or more kids, it would be highly unfair to deprive them of their fun for what they believed was simply a cold.

Or, they could just be having a bad time with allergies and not be sick at all.

Once we realised how bad I was, Mum rang the ticket company and asked them to pass the information to the manager and performer and asked them to contact anyone that was sitting near us, as my case was very contagious and severe, as per doctors orders. We also had to notify my class at school and a note went home with all the girls I caught the bus with..

I'm really surprised that the county health department wasn't involved when I developed shingles. I was in a training class with some people that had never had chicken pox or the vaccine.

County health department was certainly involved when my dad came down with bacterial meningitis. Still don't know how or where he picked it up. Poor thing also had a case of shingles a couple months after.

[Sapphire Silk]

I was the chicken poxed person that went to a stadium concert and didn't know that I had chicken pox until the rash turned up 2 days later.

<snip>

Once we realised how bad I was, Mum rang the ticket company <Snip>

You see, your Mom did it right. This is OK. People who are not doctors are not expected to know ahead of time that they have a serious disease. It's after you know or suspect that's the issue. You couldn't have known; once your Mom did know she did the right thing and got the word out to the right people. No harm, no foul.

My doc had been a GP for nearly 40 years and it was the worse case she had seen until my dad got it 4 years later. I had it everywhere including my palms, soles of my feet, in my mouth and throat, my ears and my eyelids. I also apparently had them in my sinuses, stomach and behind my eyes. Dad had them only externally, but he had spots on top of spots.

Chickenpox usually just makes kids very miserable. There is, however, a very rare chance of secondary infections that can land kids in the hospital, and other complications that lead to death are very rare.

In adults, there is a higher risk and chicken pox is considered more serious in adults, especially pregnant women.

Okay, if you've got expensive tickets and cannot reschedule, and you're only feeling a little off and don't realize how sick you are or will get, that's one thing.

But if you're coughing up a lung, like in the OP, and the event is easily rescheduled, like a movie that's in the theaters for several weeks or will be out on DVD in a month, you should bloody well stay at home and away from other people!

This. So this! It's a matter of degree: a movie vs a trip to Disneyland is really an apples vs oranges comparison.

However, we'd know who patient zero was if the family had done what Blue Ginger's Mom had done and called Disney.

I'm really surprised that the county health department wasn't involved when I developed shingles. I was in a training class with some people that had never had chicken pox or the vaccine.

County health department was certainly involved when my dad came down with bacterial meningitis. Still don't know how or where he picked it up. Poor thing also had a case of shingles a couple months after.

Shingles isn't airborne like chickenpox is. Unless someone was touching you, the risk is very low. By your comment I'm assuming you told someone; I'm not sure they'd bother with notifications but at most that's all that would be necessary.

[Tama]

I didn't know chickenpox was airborne!


Good thing I've already had it.

[Latekin]

Unfortunately Tarma, that doesn't always mean you're in the clear. I had the chickenpox vaccine as a kid. Didn't stop me from getting it a grand total of thirteen times.

Most of my childhood memories were "itchy" and "smells like pinetarsol and oatmeal." I remember my worst bout, I spent half my time scooting around the carpet on my back (learned the trick from Bella!).

Thankfully, my Mum was always very, very quick to call the school and let them know when I had it. All the relatives got notification, and I was on house and backyard quarantine.

[Valentinian]

I was Typhoid-- er, Chicken Pox-- Mary once in high school. The guy sitting next to me in Science class had shingles, and thanks to my legendarily substandard immune system, I picked up the virus. Since I'd already had quite a few days off that year what with one thing and another, and I didn't feel too bad, Mum sent me to school... until the spots started showing up... by which time I'd passed it to pretty well everyone. When I got back to class, what seemed like more than half of the kids in our year were out with chicken pox.

I also got reported to the Health Department when I had whooping cough, so they could warn people with young kids that hadn't been immunised yet.