Biologics on Public Transport

[b7000]

Anyone have tips for trying not to catch germs (e.g. colds, viruses) while travelling on very crowded public transport while on biologics? I commute on very crowded trains and buses daily.

[AgedCrone]

Personally I think it's the luck of the draw,

I'm on RTX......I never use public transport, I am retired so don't mix with a group of people daily likely to have coughs & colds, and in the Winter I try to visit the shops when they are empty.....the supermarket at 0830 is like the Marie Celeste!

But I still got Flu for the first time ever in February this year. I did have the Flu vaccine in Nobember 2017,so I don't know what more I can do especially this year - as my hospital wouldn't give me my Rtx infusion if I had the FLUAD vaccine.

One old trick is to smear a little Vaseline inside your nostrils......that may just catch some if those cold bugs floating around!

Wish you a healthy Winter season.

[helixhelix]

Wash your hands on leaving home, and on getting to your destination. That's about all you can do, apart from try to duck out of the way of people sneezing at you.

Salt water nasal sprays can stop mucus building up, so can help a bit. Since starting on biologics I have a permanently runny nose and am finding this useful. I did get the start of a cold recently thanks to a friend who arrived with a streaming cold and cough, and despite asking her many times proceded to cough everywhere... But remarkably it went and never developed into anything more than cold. So we still have some natural defences.

Some people also swear by nasal sprays like Vicks First Defence (other brands are abailable) but I don't know how proven this is.

[Hidden]

I think the best thing is to try not to worry about it! We are surrounded by germs.

I travel on public transport, have a disgustingly filthy dog and wild camp in all sorts of muck. Can't honestly say my house is much better! I do wash my hands and use hand gel (when I remember). To be honest, I'm more worried about food poisoning . I'm really careful about that.

All you can do is take reasonable care. I never eat cheese at my friends house. How they haven't died I don't know. Let's just say they like their cheese ripe! Some of their cheeses need a lead and muzzle!

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to Hidden]

I’ ok with food poisoning- been married 45 years and haven’t poisoned anyone yet. Although my other half at some dodgy lettuce years ago when we were camping in France and boy was he ill. Needless to say we are very fussy about lettuce now.

[Hidden in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

I meant I'm careful when eating out. I got awful good poisoning from an egg sandwich. Thought I was dying!

[Hidden]

My sister hasn't left the house for 3 weeks due to a really bad chest and other nasties. She hasn't been on public transport for about 30yrs, doesn't really go to busy public places and, very healthy normally, is on no meds of any kind. She is fastidious about cleanliness and has no idea where she collected this bug. Like you my OH is packed on public transport where you just about rub noses twice a day and certainly share the air.. He will inevitably be touching all manner of surfaces during the day. He washes his hands before eating and so far so good!

[GranAmie]

He swears by 1st defence; I use teatree oil on tissues, and on planes a neck warmer which i can pull up if near sneezers etc, so far so good

[Fruitandnutcase]

I don’t touch public banisters etc. Avoid touching my face, I drink lots of water, wash my hands properly when I get a chance but not obsessively. I use hand gel but only if I’m somewhere that they are around. The Vaseline is probably a good idea.

I generally move if I’m sitting close to someone coughing but that’s probably a waste of time, someone coughed at the back of a bus I was on last week and I noticed a guy from up close to her moved down in front of me - can’t blame him I’ve done that myself before now. It’s shocking how few people have handkerchiefs let alone use one these days.

Have to say I’d love to have the courage to wear a face mask like you see Japanese visitors wearing, I just haven’t plucked up the courage for that although I did pull my scarf right up over my nose when the chap on the bus moved.

I’m ok about regular dirt and grout - manky dog, messy camping, cat in the bed etc but it’s people coughing over me I don’t like. Not since I caught one of the worst bugs I’ve ever had when a girl sat across from me and coughed non stop without using a handkerchief to cover her mouth. The train was SO packed I couldn’t have moved if I’d tried and boy I wanted to. My son is always complaining about people who stand right in his face cough8ng and sniffing when he is on the tube.

[hawker955]

Hello. Yes. You pick up colds and flu etc. from contact not really by breathing it in. So carry an antiseptic hand gel with you to use after you've been holding door handles, work surfaces, and anything in public. a spirit based-one from the chemist should be fine but check with the pharmacist if in doubt. I try not to go anywhere without a tube in my pocket.

[Soreknees2016]

I use hand gel - currently carex aloe vera - got a large pump bottle at home and a little one in my handbag. I caught everything going last winter, including the horrible flu, and as a regular user of public transport, I’m not taking any chances this year!

[AgedCrone in reply to Soreknees2016]

Never use public transport & still got the Flu....I reckon if your name is on that pesky virus it gets you - no matter what you do!

[Soreknees2016 in reply to AgedCrone]

Ah, but it doesn’t hurt to take precautions! And very soon, I won’t be leaving the house without gloves on (possibly rubber ones, and a face mask too!!) 😂😂😂

[AgedCrone in reply to Soreknees2016]

I'll look out for you!

[vonniesims]

Vicks first defence spray for me.

[Fra22-57]

I don't think you can avoid it really.I am on biologic and travel on public transport. Germs are everywhere .one of my daughters contacts me not to go if one has a cold so I don't but funnily I had one and went with it.Anyone could have a disease we pass..try not to worry

[Hidden]

I think it is impossible to avoid germs and what annoys me is that neither my husband or son will agree to having the flu injection so they both bring bugs into the house. At the beginning of the year, my husband got flu but was over it in less than a week. I got it despite having had the injection, but it went straight to my chest (I am asthmatic) and it took weeks to recover from. Then a few months later my son bought a nasty cold into the house and I got it on my chest again and was ill for weeks again. I don't think that you can do much about it really.

I agree about the issue of food poisoning. I had this in 2011 and I really thought that I was going to die, I was just so ill. That was before I was on mtx and prednisolone etc.

[xandii]

I think the Japanese have the solution! You often see people travelling on public transport and in public places wearing face masks. I have a set at home which, if i ever do have to travel on public transport or am going to a very crowded public place, i use but thankfully that is not very often at all. I always carry a small bottle of the sanitiser gel you see in hospitals and even have a couple of pairs of those medical clear rubber gloves just in case i ever have to hold on to a lot of potentially contaminated things in a public place.

Of course, you also have to be prepared for the probable weird looks you get when wearing these things and the odd comment from other people but you can be assured of being as safe as you can be from picking up germs etc..

Are you brave enough to take the plunge or is the chance of picking up something nasty worth the vanity of not taking precautions? Your choice!

Take care all,

X xx

[Hessie5]

That’s has been my worry as the amount of people that cough and also don’t sneeze into their elbow, like You, I too travel on packed trains and tubes. As on biologics, I wear gloves and ensure I wear a scarf and take hankies for when the sneezers start. I always wash my hands too as that is the biggest cause of germs spreading, people not washing their hands. Take cate now.

[Leics]

I always wear gloves when I’m out in public. As soon as I’m at destination I blow my nose and wash my hands even though I’ve had gloves on. I’m severely immune suppressed and so far no colds, chest infections or even tonsillitis this year. Maybe luck of the draw although I don’t go out much. I have used public transport on a few occasions including buses trains and tube. Just try and avoid those who look like they may have a cold but a few germ exposures will possibly help you anyway.