DEAR HARRIETTE: My father just suffered a stroke and is in a terrible state. He has started yelling and cursing at the doctors and nurses in the hospital. He has been incredibly rude and disrespectful in ways that are downright shocking to the family. He has said racist things to doctors from other countries. It’s awful. He never behaved like this before. My siblings and I went back and apologized to the people he offended, but we are beside ourselves. He isn’t listening. How can we get him to stop this ranting? -- Stroke Effect, Seattle

DEAR STROKE EFFECT: After reading a range of materials on the side effects of stroke, what I have learned is that emotional outbursts can happen in stroke victims, especially in the early days. Dementia can be exacerbated as well. For many patients, medical professionals suggest that over time there are improvements and some sense of normalcy may return. This depends, of course, on the severity of the stroke. For now, you and your siblings should continue to offer love and support to your father, making sure he knows that you are there for him and that he is not alone. If he continues to exhibit rude behavior toward others, you will have to continue to follow up and neutralize the situation until, God willing, he calms down. For more information on stroke and its side effects, go to: strokeconnection.strokeassociation.org/Summer-2017/Somethings-Different-Personality-Changes-After-Stroke/.

DEAR HARRIETTE: There is a lot of construction just above me in my building. It has been going on for months. Recently, my neighbor and I have noticed mouse droppings in our apartments. Well, it could even be from a rat. The excrement was kind of big, and every trap that I have bought has not worked. I am so upset. I have two small children and am worried for their health and safety. Something has to be done about this.

When I mentioned this to the landlord, he didn’t seem to care. I need the building to take this seriously. It is not healthy to have a mouse or rat in my apartment. Should I report the building to 311? -- Rat-Free Life, Bronx, New York

DEAR RAT-FREE LIFE: Before going to 311, contact your landlord again both by phone and in writing. Request extermination services based on the rodent problem you are experiencing. Take pictures to prove what you have seen. Explain in writing all that you have done to get rid of the problem, to no avail. Ask for the landlord to get the exterminator in immediately to rectify the problem.

If you still get no satisfactory response, then call 311 and explain the situation. Describe the supporting materials you have to prove your concern. Ask the city to help you. The 311 number exists to help citizens deal with non-emergency municipal issues. This certainly should qualify as that.

(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR HARRIETTE: I work in an office with an open format. Mostly we work in cubicles. Recently, this has presented a problem. One of my co-workers was really sick, but he came to work anyway. I get that; we have a lot of work to do, and he didn’t want to be a slacker. The problem is that he was coughing and sneezing and blowing his nose all day for about a week. What happened next? You guessed it! Several of us got sick. So now there’s even more coughing and sneezing in the office. I’m mad. I want to work in a healthy environment. Is there anything that we can do to encourage employees to stay home if they are ill? -- Contaminated Workspace, Atlanta

DEAR CONTAMINATED WORKSPACE: Bring your co-worker’s illness and subsequent spreading of germs to your boss’s attention. Point out that you know everyone wants to do a great job, which includes coming to work no matter what. In this instance, it has backfired on the office because multiple employees are under the weather. Ask your boss to make and enforce a policy about what employees should do when they are sick. If you can show that productivity has gone down because so many people are ill, you may get your boss to notice and take action.

To be proactive, you may want to keep a face mask at your desk. If others start coughing or demonstrating what could be contagious symptoms, put the mask on to protect yourself.

DEAR HARRIETTE: My co-worker is an avid smoker. Every time he gets a break, he goes outside and smokes a cigarette. He does stand in the area reserved for smokers, but the moment he walks back into the building, he brings that awful stench of smoke with him. It’s terrible. He sits right next to me, so I feel like I’m getting second-hand smoke, even though there’s never a lit cigarette in my presence. What can I do to have cleaner air in my area? -- Polluted, Cincinnati

DEAR POLLUTED: I feel for you. Part of me feels for him, too: Smokers have been virtually excommunicated from our culture. Given that smoking cigarettes is an addictive behavior, I know that some people simply can’t figure out how to quit. Your co-worker probably thinks he’s doing the best he can without realizing the impact on you and the others in the office.

What can you do? Invest in a small air purifier that you plug in close to your desk. This will help clean the air of all impurities, including the residual smell of smoke. Keep it on all day to have constant air cleaning happening. You can also spray a room sanitizer that’s designed to clean the air. Look for something that’s more than perfume. That will only change the smell of the air.

You can also ask your supervisor to move your desk. Explain that the smell of smoke is making you sick.

(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)

DEAR HARRIETTE: There’s a woman at my job who has decided that she wants me to be her best friend. Whenever she has a free moment, she hovers by my desk. She tries to go to lunch with me when I go out. She’s the first to sign up if co-workers want to go out for drinks -- if she hears that I am going. This woman is cramping my style. I like her fine, but she is acting like a stalker. How can I get her to give me some space? -- Stalker Co-worker, Philadelphia

DEAR STALKER CO-WORKER: Start by making yourself scarce right before you plan to head out with other co-workers. Be discreet so that this woman does not know your whereabouts. If she doesn’t think you are going to attend particular events, perhaps she will stop going.

You can tell her that on a particular afternoon or evening, you have planned to spend one-on-one with another co-worker. Perhaps she can join you at another time. If the subtle hints don’t work, you may have to be direct. Tell her that you like hanging out with her sometimes, but you need her to back off a little bit. You want the freedom to do whatever you want by yourself.

DEAR HARRIETTE: I have a daughter, and I have a friend with two sons. My friend is set on one of her boys marrying my daughter. Obviously, this is a long way away. The kids are just in high school now. But the reality is that right now my daughter doesn’t give these boys the time of day. She doesn’t seem interested in them -- even as friends. She has her own friend group, and I can’t force her to be close to these boys if they don’t share interests. I used to try to force them to spend time together, but it didn’t work. What should I say to my friend when she asks me to create moments for the kids to get together? -- Bad Match, Sausalito, California

DEAR BAD MATCH: Tell your friend to stop with the matchmaking already. The kids are just that -- kids. They have their lives ahead of them, and you do not intend to serve as matchmaker for them. Point out that when they get older, if they discover each other that will be lovely, but you will not be party to trying to force a match that doesn’t seem to be natural. One of the worst things that a parent can do is to pressure a child to be in a relationship that doesn’t feel like a fit.

I know that there are many cultures where arranged marriages remain common. But that is not the typical American way. Don’t get caught up in your friend’s drama. Ask her to back off. Give the children space to come together on their own. If it is meant to be, you will soon find out.

(Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)