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Thread: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

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    Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

    Now a couple of weeks ago whilst I was taxi'ing a lady beginner came in to the venue with dreadfull flu and I persuaded her to go home.

    My reasoning was that if you have flu should you really dance and infect other dancers with your ailment?

    Just back in from our Blues night and in the lesson a lady came to me and said " be carefull with me I have the lurgy and am full of flu." Well I said to her "should you be dancing, knowing that you are going to give other dancers your flu."

    My personal belief is that if you are not well, you should stay out of dancing until you are past the infectious stage, therefore not infecting anyone else with your ailment.

    Bit of a contensious viewpoint but I believe it just shows a basic lack of respect for your fellow dancers if you turn up at a venue infectious and ill.
    Personally I avoided her the whole night, but it was fruitless really as everyone she danced with had hand contact with her thus picking up her germs.

    This is just my opinion and I would like to know what you, my fellow Forumites think on this subject.

    Now lets keep it sensible without cries of full medical screening etc, we are talking about a common sense approach here. I mean is it your choice to turn up ill or does it show a basic lack of respect for everyone else?

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    Registered User Trousers's Avatar
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    Re: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

    What's this ?


    The Gospel of Dave the Erect, in 118 parts, part 73?


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    Re: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu?

    It's a good question. Just to complicate it further... what if it's an event you'd already paid for and you find symptoms at the last minute?
    eg.
    • a ticket-only freestyle
    • a weekender
    • a week's holiday abroad?


    Would your holiday insurance pay out if you don't go on your week's dance holiday because you have a cold (I'm guessing not...)?
    Love dance, will travel

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    Re: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

    I've got some of that antibacterial hand wash stuff that you just rub into your hands. No water required.

    I have been tempted many times to put it out on the table but I think this will just be a really bad move for me. I have quite a compulsive personality and I reckon I would become obsessed with cleaning my hands between dances.

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    Re: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

    Quote Originally Posted by Twirlie Bird View Post
    I've got some of that antibacterial hand wash stuff that you just rub into your hands. No water required.
    I always use my anti bacterial hand rub in between my dances, try to be subtle but I'm sure I'm not always.

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    Re: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

    Quote Originally Posted by Maxine View Post
    I always use my anti bacterial hand rub in between my dances, try to be subtle but I'm sure I'm not always.
    All this time I thought you just did that after dancing with me .

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    Re: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

    Personally I think it is OK to go dancing with a slight cold or sore throat as long as you are extra careful about hygiene. A moderate to heavy cold is a however a different matter. No-one wants to dance with someone who looks ill and is constantly coughing and / or blowing their nose so use a bit of common sense. If you have real flu you wont even want to get out of bed let alone go dancing.

    Apart from considering your fellow dancers you are very unlikely to enjoy the evening if you are really feeling ill and there isn't much point in having a bad time and making yourself very unpopular. There will always be other nights to go dancing.

    Agree about the antibacterial hand stuff - an essential item for the dance bag.

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    Re: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

    Quote Originally Posted by Maxine View Post
    I always use my anti bacterial hand rub in between my dances, try to be subtle but I'm sure I'm not always.
    That's not effective against all bugs, and should only really be used on clean hands - i.e. wash them first. I'm with DTS on this one. I caught Norovirus last winter and almost caused the entire virology department to close, fortunately I manged to persuade the managers that I'd caught it at Ceroc, and not because of a "lab incident" I was astounded at the numbers of dancers that told me that they'd been ill just a day or two beforehand, even though the advice was to stay at home for longer than that

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    Re: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

    I remember reading somewhere that you can't catch a cold from someone through close contact such as dancing. It's only from inhaling snot from someones sneeze or from the germs they have on their hands, so if you wash your hands regularly and don't let anyone sneeze on you, you should be ok I think.

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    Re: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

    It's tricky. I understand if someone develops a cold right before a 'paid in advance' night/weekender and still want to go. Who'd want to waste their money ?

    Do think those who are infectious tho shouldn't go to ordinary nights. Tho again, I think these bugs tend to do the rounds and if you don't catch it in one place, likelihood is, you'll catch it somewhere else, so in the long run it makes no difference.

    The antibacterial hand stuff is a waste of time at somewhere like dance. Germs appear through sneezing, coughing and whatnot and travel an amazing distance airborne. You'd have to breathe through a mask and antibacterialise all the time to be safe.

    Plus, of course, there is the argument that the best defence against illness is to build your immune system by catching them all Dunno if that is a correct argument, but it seems to make sense in some ways ?

    So I don't worry about what I catch (cold/flu wise), but do drink Orange Juice (Vit C) a lot and have a couple of thick chicken soups (Best for colds I believe) ready in the larder

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    Re: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

    TA Guy...You have a larder? How posh is that?

    The thing is we have all done it to some degree or another.

    Now normally when I get a cold it turns into man flu and I just curl up in bed and revel in my suffering. I had it a couple of weeks ago and stayed in with nothing but my misery for company. I felt better then went to Luton on a friday and then plummeted back down into the pit of suffering and despair.

    I did not dance for a couple of weeks, then when I felt better I was up, up and away again.

    I honestly think a common sense approach is best, but how do you define common sense.

    The thing with dancing is that it is a contact sport and germs are spread between dancers like porn in an all boys school. We have a thread about hand cleanliness on here, combine these two factors and biological warfare seems almost like childs play.
    Now believe me I am not having a moan, I am just curious to your, my frllow Forumites, musings upon this medical dilema.

    I may add that it was only a miracle of modern medicine that I pulled through my recent bout of man flu.

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    Re: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

    Quote Originally Posted by dave the scaffolder View Post
    I may add that it was only a miracle of modern medicine that I pulled through my recent bout of man flu.
    ???

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    Re: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

    Quote Originally Posted by Batgirl View Post
    ???
    Combined with a lot of TLC, I may add.

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    Re: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

    Quite frankly, if I've got a proper cold (don't really get flu) then the last thing that I want to do is to go dancing. Trouble with colds is, the bit where you're most infectious, you don't even know you've got it.

    Have to admit that I've been dancing when I've felt a bit under the weather, which might not have been too good for the people around me, but then I'm never sure that it's going to turn into anything. Feel like that at the moment as seem to have a cold brewing, but I most certainly won't be dancing - out of consideration for myself more than any other dancers!

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    Re: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

    Quote Originally Posted by Batgirl View Post
    ???
    Quote Originally Posted by dave the scaffolder View Post
    Combined with a lot of TLC, I may add.
    Nice get out of jail card played there

    Speaking for myself, I honestly don't know at which stages of a cold/flu/any other lurgy I'm actually infectious - so I tend to (perhaps wrongly) gauge my decision on whether to dance, by the apparent 'snot/couch factor' level that I have. This may of course, be way too late!

    DavidY raised a good point earlier too, in that would we still make the same decision(s) if the event was prepaid? Hmm.....really don't know to be honest!

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    Re: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

    But Dave..... Of course you should dance with Cold or with Flu if they ask. Didn't I see a thread somewhere that you started about never turning down a dance??

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    Re: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

    If you have a cold, when it is that you are infectious?

    Actually have a cold at the mo, have been trying to steer clear of people in general so as not to pass it on, definitely wouldn't go dancing with it.

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    Re: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

    I wouldn't dance if my nose was running or I was feeling like flu was coming on, but general sore throats and things don't stop me - you don't know if a sore throat is caused by something contagious or not and I am not likely to get close enough to infect other people.

    When I started dancing earlier this year I was horrified at the number of people who would scratch their nose, or poke their finger in their ear and then would hold out their hand for a dance. It took me a while to realise that I wasn't likely to catch anything (normal) from someones hand provided I then didn't scratch my own eyes or nose or mouth, so now it doesn't worry me and I wash my hands regularly.

    I think it is the same with colds and flu - unless someone sneezes in your face, then you generally catch colds by putting the virus directly onto your eyes/nose/mouth with your own hand. If you can avoid doing this then dancing with someone with a cold should be fairly harmless. (Although I am not a doctor or a virologist(?)).

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    Re: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

    Quote Originally Posted by Twirly View Post
    Quite frankly, if I've got a proper cold (don't really get flu) then the last thing that I want to do is to go dancing. Trouble with colds is, the bit where you're most infectious, you don't even know you've got it.

    Have to admit that I've been dancing when I've felt a bit under the weather, which might not have been too good for the people around me, but then I'm never sure that it's going to turn into anything. Feel like that at the moment as seem to have a cold brewing, but I most certainly won't be dancing - out of consideration for myself more than any other dancers!


    Spot on!!! As far as I know! Certainly most illnesses go through their contagious period (shortly?) before they hit.

    Having said that, it's really no fun dancing with someone who's constantly sniffling and/or sneezing .... oddly enough I'd be more inclined to just give a big hug!!! Work that one out!!

    Also, there's the old psychosomatic effect ... when I see someone with a cold, and start thinking about me getting a cold, then I talk myself into it!!!

    So, I think that I'd be happier toward the end of my recovery when I feel that I've got my symptoms (mostly) under control!!

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    Re: Should you dance with a Cold or Flu

    Quote Originally Posted by MrB View Post
    When I started dancing earlier this year I was horrified at the number of people who would scratch their nose, or poke their finger in their ear and then would hold out their hand for a dance. It took me a while to realise that I wasn't likely to catch anything (normal) from someones hand provided I then didn't scratch my own eyes or nose or mouth, so now it doesn't worry me and I wash my hands regularly.
    I think it's the regular hand washing that makes a difference. And, if you wash in cold water it helps cool you down too.

    I'm always amazed at the people who cough or sneeze into their hand and then offer it to you I usually carry a tissue in my pocket in case I feel like sneezing or coughing. I wash my hands a lot too.

    On the subject of colds and flu. If you have flu you will not be well enough to dance - if you are well enough to dance you probably don't have flu. If you have a mild cold I can't see any reason why you shouldn't go about your normal business so long as you don't cough or sneeze - or if you do you do so into a hankie. The germs are spread in the fine droplets you produce when you cough or sneeze.

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