Dealing with Seasonal Allergies is a Real Pain in the Food Industry.

What's the first thing that you like to see when you go out to eat?

Is it your server sneezing, coughing, and red eyed with a runny nose?

Probably not. No one likes being sick, and no matter how nice you may be no one really likes to be around people that are sick either.

Certainly when your server is handling your food germs can quickly become quite an issue.

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My manager and I have been sneezing all day long. We're both allergic to the same thing although neither of us is quite certain what it is.

It always happens right around this time of year though.

Now when most people tell me that they have allergies I'm not necessarily going to believe them right off the bat. Everybody always says it's allergies no matter what kind of sickness they appear to be going through.

The other important thing to know here is that most people in the food industry are extremely clean, but not everyone is willing to go out of their way to constantly wash their hands in order to make sure that you don't get sick. It's a time consuming process and there are a thousand things to do while working at your restaurant.

I'm one of the people that constantly stays clean and I always make sure everyone that I associate with does the same. I'm a trainer at my restaurant which means that sometimes people will listen to what I say.

So how do we deal with seasonal allergies when we're in a public restaurant handing out food to waiting guests?

Well, as I said earlier, washing your hands is a must. Fortunately we have access to something like five sinks and we all use very powerful soap. It's definitely not good for your hands, but it is good for the Peace of Mind of those who come to eat with us.

Washing your clothes is very important too. You always want to wear clean clothes because you never know when you might have sneezed on the shirt you had on yesterday. If it's allergies you might say that's not much of a big deal but you never know what kind of germs got spread around. We want people to continue to come and eat with us and we don't want them getting sick for any reason.

Washing your sheets and pillowcase is extremely important. It's easy for dust mites to get all over those things. They definitely contribute to allergies.

I usually tell people to do this no matter what, but it definitely helps when it comes down to things like sneezing and having allergies.... Go for a walk. Sedentary lifestyles are killing us.

Even if there's something in the air that is causing your allergies getting your chest pumping and your legs working will get your circulation system going and it will help your body to recover from whatever is ailing it.

It mostly comes down to being clean and staying healthy.

The last thing is to not let it get you down if you happen to be sneezing and coughing a lot. You can't exactly stay home from work just because you are suffering through some allergies even if it makes your clients uncomfortable.

If you take care of yourself your allergy symptoms shouldn't become too bad. If they do, you can always pop some over the counter drugs. I try to avoid them when I can though.

Dealing with Seasonal Allergies is a Real Pain in the Food Industry.