Whenever I am exposed to anyone coughing or sick, immediately I get a reaction in my throat where it swells up and is tight and painful. It could be psychosomatic, who knows, but I absolutely feel it and experience it every time. Does this happen to you has this happened to you? What do you do about it? I feel like it's my bodies reaction to immediate exposure/defense. I sprayed some garlic juice in my throat but it still hurts. I'm really paranoid about it not going away and being there tomorrow which would be horrible.

It really pisses me off when people with a cough won't stay away from you. I went into this small store where there were 3 people working and I was the only person there as a customer. One other person came in for a few minutes. Total overkill in employees for such a small low traffic store. But anyways, so one of the employees didn't have anywhere to sit and was just constantly coming up to me and following me around trying to talk to me and show me things. Even though I said I didn't need help and was just looking. She kept coming up anyways constantly and would not leave me alone. Or she would go to some products next to me testing them out on herself. Besides for being annoying, it wouldn't of been a big deal if she wasn't constantly coughing and looked like hell. I don't know if she was sick, and the other 2 employees didn't have a cough, but she kept on coughing, so I kept trying to stay away from her but couldn't. Know my throat is all tight and inflamed. Do you know what this is or what causes this and what to do about it? Thanks.

> It could be psychosomatic

Yes, I think it is. You are repelled by it. You can train yourself to be more accepting. We don't do so well in sterile environments. A little bit of exposure to some pathogens is good for the immune system.

Hi nik,
I can identify with your concern. No one likes to unnecessarily be exposed to pathogens. That might not have been the case of what happened.

I wasn't there to hear or see the coughing person and I'm not trying marginalize what you're feeling now, but did it cross your mind that the coughing person might have had a smoker's cough or cough from the post nasal drip resulting from an allergy?
Some people are very sensitive to dry air.
Some people cough when they get nervous.

What you're feeling now, if its not a reaction to an actual pathogen, psychosomatic might be one way to explain it
but its also not too unusual for people with empathic skills to take on the physical symptoms of other people's health adventures.
You might have picked up on something she was energetically going through, or she might have reacted with a cough to you energy balance.

If you don't think that's the case I still wouldn't stage a full out attack with massive antibiotics (herbs or pharmaceutical). Antibiotics don't work on viruses anyway, only bacteria.
A major organ of your immune system is your lymphatic system.
There are two ways to move lymph so it can do its job, manually (a massage with a very light touch) and by physical exercise.

If your body is healthy, being exposed to that sort of mild pathogen will make you stronger, not weaker. Sterile is not normal, and anyway, it's when you're worn down that you're vulnerable. I would relax and not worry. If you do get sick, look at it as an opportunity to relax and take care of yourself. The stress of worrying about it is probably more damaging.