I have worked in Pharmacy for three years.
Generally, people come to the pharmacy for two reasons:
One. ) They need a prescription.
Two. ) They need medicine because they are sick.
90% of the time, those needing option two, are after medicine because they have a cold. Sometimes they say flu, but if they had the flu, they wouldn’t be able to stand there and talk to me about how rough they’re feeling. So it’s generally colds. In my first year of working in Pharmacy, I got sick. A lot. The amount of colds I got increased by 300%.
I really fucking hate the common cold.
To the point now where it’s now a phobia. I am genuinely terrified of getting sick. The thought of getting that sore throat that feels like you’re swallowing razor blades makes my blood run cold. I liken getting a cold to what getting shot probably feels like. With my line of work, I generally have to face this fear every day. People, to be frank, are disgusting. They cough and sneeze, and do not cover their mouth, they let their noses drip onto my work counter, they sneeze into their hands (!) and then pass me their money in the same hand (!!). They encourage my irrational behaviour. So I fight back from this by washing my hands, followed by using alcohol gel every time I serve a customer who seems remotely snotty, or buys a cold/flu remedy, even if they are purchasing it for somebody else.
People at work think I’m a germaphobe. I call it being cautious.
When I get in from work, I wash my hands 4 times: Once to get rid of the initial layer of “germy scud”, as I like to call it. Twice to get a deeper clean than the first. Then I use a nail brush and scrub out underneath my nails, and then I finally give my hands one final wash, to wash away any of the germs that might have “fallen out” from underneath my nails when using my brush.
People outside of work think I’m a germaphobe. I call it being cautious.
At work, I am also in charge of a certain area of the pharmacy. It is my responsibility to date check these medicines, to clean those shelves, and also to dress them forward and generally make them look nice for sale. For those who are interested, it’s the analgesics section. When I clean them, I like to pull them forward perfectly straight. My colleague Laura finds it hilarious to mess up/threaten to mess up my display whilst I’m cleaning them. I shriek and flail about a bit. Laura thinks this is OCD behaviour. Laura also once introduced me to a new colleague as “This is Jemma. She has OCD, and is germaphobic”.
I argued that I’m not OCT, I just liked things to look neat. Nobody disagreed with her.
This weekend, I left off work early and decided I’d go stay with my parents. My dad is currently sick. With the common cold. My colleague Linda asked me before I left what I’ll be doing with my weekend. I replied “Washing my hands.” My (germy) dad, also had to look at my computer just before writing this entry, as it kept freezing when I tried to boot it up (I think it’s declining rapidly towards death. My computer that is. Not my dad). Prior to letting him look at my computer, I made him wash his hands, use alcohol gel, and then when he finished, I cleaned my keyboard and mouse with antibacterial spray. Then antibacterial wipes. Then I washed my hands and used alcohol gel. Twice.
My dad thinks that I’m germaphobic and OCD. I think he might be right.
♥: Uneasy. Too many germs about.
♪: Hollywood Undead – Undead.
