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You have a bad cold. You meet your DH's boss for the first time. Do you take the hand he offers to shake?

I can't imagine shaking someone's hand while being sick, it's just mean.

If you're going to make the excuse of being sick, you need to put on the whole act -- as you're walking up to the boss, cough and blow your nose, and then make the excuse that you are sick.

If you're on meds that have controlled your symptoms, no one will believe you and will think you're rude. So, even if you're on the meds, make the big show, and politely decline on those grounds.

I will say something like, "Hello....(insert niceties here). Feel as though I may be coming down with something. Not sure though. (so they don't think I am some asshole knowingly going out in public sick). I'll spare you the possibility of getting you sick. It's that time of year.... blah, blah blah". People are totally fine with it.

I sure as hell hope someone would tell ME if they were sick or thought they were getting sick and not shake my hand!

I HATE handshaking. Always have. Ever notice how many people cough into their hands, pick/scratch their nose, scratch their dandruffy head, leave the washroom without washing their hands...then they want to shake your hand? Weird.

Then again, I'm a bit of a germ-a-phobe...in case you didn't notice

If I'm knowingly going into a crowd or meeting new people then I will wash my hands carefully beforehand and will shake hands, ensuring that I don't get germs on them again.

If this isn't possible then I have no problems putting my hands up in front of me as they extend theirs and saying "Apologies, but I'm worried about being contagious and would rather not pass anything along". I usually get a big smile and thanks when I say this, and nobody has ever seemed bothered by it.

I'll give a man's perspective and say I'm the one offering while giving the chance to decline because among men, handshaking is pretty much a mandatory requirement. It's a grievous insult to refuse to shake hands between two men because that's just what many of us were taught. Even if you hate the guy, you still shake his hand. It's an archaic custom that I dislike, but it's still there whether or not I like it.

(11-17-2010 05:46 PM)PrairieGirl Wrote: [ -> ]If you're going to make the excuse of being sick, you need to put on the whole act -- as you're walking up to the boss, cough and blow your nose, and then make the excuse that you are sick.

If you're on meds that have controlled your symptoms, no one will believe you and will think you're rude. So, even if you're on the meds, make the big show, and politely decline on those grounds.

PG is wise. And funny!

Eddy, handshaking is common among ALL people who have good manners. I'm pretty much appalled by women and men who don't offer to shake hands, or who are limp about it. If it's against your religion, the namaste works well, too. I always offer to shake hands. It's a sign of openness and respect for another person's humanity. It has nothing to do with gender binaries, which need to be totally wiped out. The loss of this gesture is simply a sign of one generation failing to pass good manners along to the next.

Shaking hands is the main way that common contagious diseases are passed around.
To knowingly do so when ill is unconscionable.
I once found a website that showed how many people are infected when one person does such a thing and it went into hundreds of people!


http://healthmad.com/health/just-a-hand-shake/

"What does a handshake procure? The astonishing answer is disease. One may claim to have clean hands. That may not mean germ free hands. There are air borne diseases and diseases caused by contaminated water and food. But Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, after a number of surveys, have come to the conclusion that diseases spread through touch, predominate the former in number."
"Some of the innumerable diseases that spread through person to person contact are the common cold, influenza, conjunctivitis, abscesses, athlete’s foot, diphtheria, hand foot and mouth disease, impetigo, and the recently added to the list, sars, bird flu and swine flu and ailments created by parasites like ring worm, scabies, and the various fungal infections. Leprosy spreads through contact, but requires longer period of touch. Everyone picks up germs on his person and whether he gets infected or not, often transfers them to others. These are known as transient germs."

"Shaking hands is generally a friendly gesture, a primal practice, known and ritualised all over the world. This tactile demonstration of warmth must have started with the intention of showing the trust for one another and hence effect co-operation among fellow beings. There are other ways of greeting too. Bowing is popular in Japan, China,Korea and India. Namaste, closing the palms in the front, is unique for Indians."

http://uclue.com/?xq=3263

"You might be interested in this article on what health professionals call
'social distancing':
http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/o...ancing.htm
It seems that the biggest social factor for spreading the flu is crowds
(parties, schoolrooms, events, etc), and there's much less emphasis on
shaking hands (though in the event of a severe pandemic, reducing
hand-shaking is one of the CDC recommendations). "
"
"H1N1 flu outbreak, the Harvard Opinion Research Program (HORP)"
"14 percent report that they personally have stopped shaking hands with
people,"
http://www.harvardscience.harvard.edu/me...ainst-h1n1

"Jan 28, 1979 - According to their research, 10 seconds of hand-to-hand
contact with an infected per son resulted In the transference of cold
viruses in 7 of the cases tested. "
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wJc...0%2C655028

"73% became infected after hand-to-hand contact" (colds)
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=XSU...%2C3222472

"It is a common misconception that most illnesses are spread through the
air by coughs and sneezes, rather than by hand contact. This
misunderstanding could be why 51 percent of survey respondents said they
clean their hands after sneezing or coughing, while only 17 percent said
they clean their hands always or most of the time after shaking hands."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/2004/06/23/2729.aspx

http://www.helium.com/debates/294592-sho...son?page=1

http://bet.healthology.com/infectious-di...yk3418.htm

If I have a cold, and I am forced to be outside and with other people. I ALWAYS inform them that I am sick and to stay away from me. Its the polite thing to do. I would never purposefully shake hands with anyone let alone a boss if I was sick.
I would politely tell them, stay away and make a joke with my fingers crossed as if I was the devil. And to let them know, I am highly contagious.
But that scenario is far from ever happening for me.
Cause 1. I never go out when I am that sick.
And 2. My hubby's boss's are never around for me to meet period.
But, I figured I would let you all know that I am very polite and courteous to others when or If I ever get sick.

I don't shake hands when I may not be well, either, but I apologize for it.

Hand-shaking history: an open hand shows you are weaponless and have good intentions. It's a gesture of peace. Yet, people are so ignorant about how to do it (or why they even should) that they give frickin' lessons in our business school!

So after a round of hand-shaking, you can wash your hands or use some anti-germ gel.

Don't get me started on having to teach manners in school. The business students are the absolute worst in terms of politeness and when I worked at colleges they were the most demanding and least appreciative.

(11-19-2010 11:55 PM)Eddy Wrote: [ -> ]Don't get me started on having to teach manners in school. The business students are the absolute worst in terms of politeness and when I worked at colleges they were the most demanding and least appreciative.

But Eddy! They excel at cheating and plagiarism!!!

I always politely decline and usually try to be warm and funny about it by saying "Thanks, but I'm afraid I'm germy today-still fighting this cold, and would feel awful if I got you sick, too." No one has ever taken issue with it.

I don't tend to shake hands at the best of times. I have the sort of job, life and mannerisms that put me in a position where people often don't try and shake my hand. I'm super casual and smiley, and if I'm working (ie running around a room booting up computers) I just say hi to the principal across the room and introduce myself as the computer technician whilst looking busy.

If I were genuinely sick and someone tried to shake my hand, I would absolutely decline politely. There is no good reason to pass germs on to someone through some stupid social convention.

In a a lot of countries, it's custom for people meeting to kiss each other on the cheeks instead of a handshake. I wonder which one is worse regarding passing on germs.

Follow the local custom, with modifications for illness or religion, or risk the fallout for not playing nice, I guess. If it's a business situation where shaking hands is de rigeur, and you don't, it could refelct poorly on your organization. You can always plead illness to avoid it, though.