Almost everyone I know in the AAP NYC program has gotten a cold (or worse) this semester, including myself. If 
you’ve ever been on a crowded bus or subway, you’ll know that nobody likes when you cough or sneeze. Well, the NYC public takes this to a new level. Swine flu scare or not, it’s just plain rude to make faces in the direction of someone who just coughs near you. Granted, I’m sure I’ve made a face or two at a cough or sneeze, but the magnitude of dislike aimed towards those under the weather is incalculable in this city. So you see a lot of people trying to hide the fact that their nose is running, or their eyes are watery, or they have to cough or sneeze. I’m not advocating that sick people can’t get you sick, I’m merely stating that when someone has a cold, they should not be expected to walk from 69th street and 1st down to Union 
Square, or shell out the cab fare during rush hour traffic. No, they need the bus and/or subways just as much as everyone else. So quit it with all the looks of disgust and shaking of heads on the trains or buses at people with colds. They’re not trying to get you sick! So I you take care of yourself (wash your hands, take your vitamins, bundle up on cold days, and all those other things mom’s make you do at age 5), you won’t get sick just by standing in a subway car with a cougher!
Thanks for listening, New York; sick people have feelings too. That 
being said, please cover your mouth when you cough and sneeze, and try not to go around touching everything in sight after you do so. Otherwise, you just might deserve those nasty looks.
