In my 20 months since diagnosis, I've gone to the extremes. First, complete germaphobic. Mask, hand sanitizer, washing hands, the works. Now, I guess my approach is CAREFUL. I sanitize toilet seats, avoid large crowds, avoid public transportation, and wash my hands frequently. If I get into a place where there are a lot of coughing people, I just avoid them, and sit/stand somewhere else, or if I can't do that, I politely leave.
OK, I work at a COLLEGE. Did that make any of you sit upright and sigh? LOL! At the office, I got permission to add an external air filter to my AC/heat vent from the maintenance people (if any of you are interested, I can tell you how I managed that in another thread), I wipe down toilets, and hip check a lot of automatic door openers (ADA access is a great thing--plus being the campus AV guy, I am usually pushing something). I am just simply CAREFUL! If any of my student assistants are sick, they know to not some to the office, or sit in the far back and wipe down everything before they leave for the day. I also have a sign outside our main office area that says: "If you are SICK, PLEASE KNOCK!" It is then that I tell folks that I am on immune suppressants. I also share that I have GPA with ANYONE and EVERYONE who asks. If I can educate people on what I have, most of them then police themselves when they are around me. So far, I haven't had a cold or flu since diagnosis, but I think that has a lot to do with my twice daily sinus rinsing rituals (3 litres, 2x a day).
So BEING CAREFUL works best for me.
MikeG-2012
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