DEAR HARRIETTE: I'm pretty sure that my co-worker has allergies. For the past few weeks, he has been coughing and sneezing and blowing his nose nonstop. I am sure he can't help it, but I can also tell you that it is highly annoying. He uses boxes of tissues and doesn't always throw them away. His cubicle is filled with nasty, dirty tissues. Sometimes he comes into my space, and I don't want him there because I don't think he washes his hands. I don't mean to be rude, but I do think he should probably take some allergy medicine and be tidier. Can I say that to him? -- Allergic to Allergy Sufferer, Madison, Wisconsin
DEAR ALLERGIC TO ALLERGY SUFFERER: It's weird how allergies affect more than the person who is directly suffering from the change in the environment. It is likely that your co-worker is oblivious to how his health challenge is affecting you or anyone else. He is likely so besieged by the way his body is being tortured that he has no idea that he is, in turn, torturing others.
So yes, I suggest that you tell him. You may want to come with an offering of hand sanitizer. Tell him that you feel bad for him that he seems to be having such a hard time with the changing of the seasons. Point out that you are a little concerned that he is inadvertently contaminating the office. Ask him if he would try to throw out his tissues right away and just try to keep things tidy. While this may feel awkward at first, at least you will have alerted him to the way he is affecting you.