Are You a Sneeze Snob?

You know when you're in a public place--like at Starbucks--and the person in front of you lets out a humongous sneeze ... in your air space: Do you flash her a dirty look and try your hardest not to breathe the air around you for the next few seconds. Or do you just shrug it off?

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I would like to officially fess up: I am a sneeze snob. A horribly snobby one. Recently, in the fact, while I was at thedentist's office, a woman was sneezing and sniffling and rubbing her nose and eyes--she looked miserable. After the 39th sneeze (or so it seemed) in my general direction, I looked up and gave her the glance (you know, the "don't you be sending any of those germs my way" look). I envisioned that I'd be spending the next week nursing a sore throat and runny nose, and that my babies would get sick too. For a moment, I was very angry at this woman. Very angry.

Then guess what happened? Her husband walked in the door, handed her a tissue, and said, "Oh honey, your seasonal allergies are acting up again, aren't they?"

I wanted to bury my head. I felt so bad for assuming that she was sick and spreading her illness around to everyone at the dentist office (note: if you're that sniffley and sneezy from a cold or flu bug, I think you should just stay home! P.S. Try these natural cold remedies.), when the poor thing was just having a sudden-onset allergic reaction to the pollen in the air (likely the blossoming tree outside the window).

The experience made me wonder: Do you get annoyed when people sneeze in public?

Here's how to tell if you're a sneeze snob:

*You flash dirty looks to people who sneeze in your vicinity.

*You avoid handshakes with people who have just sneezed or coughed.

*If someone at the store sneezes near you, you veer around them to avoid breathing their air.

*You feel generally annoyed by other people's sniffles.

*It bugs the heck out of you when people sneeze into their hand and not their arm.

*You cringe when someone wipes their nose with their--gulp--hand.

If you answered yes to two or more of these--yes, you are a sneeze snob.

P.S. Ever get exercise-induced sniffles?

Tell me, are you snobby about other people's sneezes?