Having a cold around a lot of people

September 19, 2007 6:58 PM

Etiquette filter: What's the best way to handle being stopped up in a crowed situation such as on an airplane or in a large lecture hall? Is it more annoying if I sit and sniff, or occasionally blow my nose? Also, to imagine the worst possible scenario, what do I do if I find myself in this situation without enough tissues?
posted by martinX's bellbottoms to human relations (15 comments total)

Oh please blow your nose. I can't stand listening to someone sniffle for 20 minutes, let alone an entire flight. Blowing your nose takes twenty seconds and people will think nothing of it; everybody's got boogers.

Not enough tissues? Hit the washroom and use toilet paper to blow your nose. Before you leave, grab a handful, fold it up and pocket it.
posted by comiddle at 7:14 PM on September 19, 2007 [3 favorites]

I find the occasionally blow nose less annoying than the constant sniffle. If I am out of tissues, I'll excuse myself if possible and try to get out the there without using the sleeve. What can you do? You have a cold. If I know ahead of time that I'll be in a public area, I'll take some over the counter stuff to dry me out so that I can make it through the lecture or plane ride.

True story, years ago, I was afflicted with allergies that resulted in lots of runny nose type action, no tissues and not able to get out conveniently. For some reason, I put my head in my hands and did a little fake cry, as if I was overwhelmed by something. People handed me tissues, and I blew my nose, and pretended to pull myself together. When people asked me later what was wrong, I told them I didn't want to talk about it. So weird that I defaulted to some strange deceit for a few tissues!!
posted by typewriter at 7:15 PM on September 19, 2007 [1 favorite]

Sudafed 12 hour works wonders for me. Plus that added buzz as a bonus.

But in the alternative definitely go with blowing of the nose. I want to strangle people who sit there and sniffle.
posted by jourman2 at 7:16 PM on September 19, 2007

Please do not sit there and sniff continuously or I will have to hunt you down and kill you. Blow your nose and get the snot out of there. The snot is trying to leave your body via your nose, and does not want to be sniffed and swallowed into your tum. There's nothing wrong with blowing your nose although you don't want to do it within earshot of people who are eating if you can help it. If you run out of tissues, beg a few from anyone sitting around you. As a last resort, use the hem of Martin X's bellbottoms.
posted by iconomy at 7:17 PM on September 19, 2007

Another vote for "blow your nose, please!" Even the heartiest, most trumpet-like nose-blow is much less annoying than constant sniffing and/or throat-clearing. As for tissue substitutes, both napkins and toilet paper will do in a pinch.
posted by Rosie M. Banks at 7:39 PM on September 19, 2007

One more vote for `blow your nose and get it over with'. Like the person who spends 10 minutes trying to stealthily open a noisy packet in a cinema, everyone around you would rather a quick burst of sound and it's over with. If you're self conscious about it, leave the room to blow your nose. If you are worried about this situation arising, consider carrying a nasal spray that will dry you out a bit.
posted by tomble at 7:49 PM on September 19, 2007

Nthing blow your nose.
posted by dpx.mfx at 8:13 PM on September 19, 2007

Another vote for blowing your nose, but even MORE polite (though not always possible; I realize this) would be just staying home in the first place, sniffing OR blowing to your heart's content from the comfort of your own cozy sofa, and sparing the other folks those cold germs.

Oh, come on, someone had to say it =P
posted by zeph at 8:44 PM on September 19, 2007

seconding blow or DIE! People do it in my class, and I think they are uneducated, annoying, gross, and should be shot. Test- record yourself sniffling every minute, and play it back. You'll hate yourself too.
posted by Jacen at 9:03 PM on September 19, 2007 [1 favorite]

Blow your nose, please. Whatever you do, don't sit there sniffling until the sniffling isn't good enough and then hork the snot into the back of your throat. That's nauseating.

When I was in high school, one of the students in the lunch room sat there sniffling repeatedly over breakfast, and after twenty or thirty minutes of it he sneezed. His face was a bright red study in abject horror as he held his hand over his mouth and nose. And then one of his friends handed him some napkins. I have no idea what he would have done if they had pretended not to notice in the same way that they'd pretended not to notice his constant sniffling.
posted by Tuwa at 9:14 PM on September 19, 2007

Yikes, people. You have no inner life that distracts you from what's going on in someone's nasal passages? You want to murder people who have to sniffle? Are you also the same person who sighs loudly in grocery store lineups and swears at other drivers?

Do what you need to do to be comfortable -- blow your nose when needed. It's not impolite IMO, it's just a universal bodily necessity. But it's not practical nor easy on the tender nostrils to blow it every time, so sniffle if it helps you, and touch a hanky to it now and then to help. Disregard what the others are on about. No one should be hated for having caught a very common virus or having a chronic illness.
posted by loiseau at 10:42 PM on September 19, 2007

sleeves.
posted by knowles at 10:47 PM on September 19, 2007 [1 favorite]

Definitely blow it... I think both sniffling and blowing are mildly gross, but blowing is over sooo much faster.

In Japan, however, blowing your nose in public is superduper rude, so you'll often encounter people on the train who are sniffing constantly for like 45 minutes. I don't get it, but I'm not Japanese I guess.
posted by allen8219 at 12:20 AM on September 20, 2007

Blow it. Although the day I took my SATs, I had a baaaad runny nose, and blowing didn't help... I'd have had to blow my nose every 5 minutes. So I just sat there with a kleenex to my nose and let it run while taking the test, or I'm sure everyone else there would have killed me for sniffling the whole time.
posted by IndigoRain at 1:28 AM on September 20, 2007

A nasal spray with a decongestant (not the steroid kinds, but plain old Afrin) will dry up your nose for a few hours if it's a cold. (Sadly, my sniffles are due to year round allergies, and it is not advised to take decongestants on a regular basis.)

As for lack of tissues: ask someone. A woman with a large handbag is likely to have tissues. A woman with small children even more so.
posted by happyturtle at 1:32 AM on September 20, 2007