Why I Don’t See Sick Patients as a Threat

Why I Don’t See Sick Patients as a Threat

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Written by: Michelle Davies

Published: 17 February 2026

Created: 17 February 2026

Last Updated: 17 February 2026

At this time of year,I notice the same pattern.

Appointments are cancelled with messages like

“I’ve got flu symptoms.”

“I don’t want to pass anything on to you.”

“I’m cancelling to protect you.”

I understand the care behind this.

It’s thoughtful.

It comes from kindness.

But I always say the same thing:

Please don’t cancel for that reason.

I don’t subscribe to germ theoryin the way it’s commonly taught.

I don’t believe illness is something that jumps from one person to another.

I can be around people who are coughing, sneezing, spluttering and run-down -

and I don’t get unwell.

Not because I’m lucky.

Not because I have a “strong immune system."

But because I see symptoms differently.

In my experience, thebody expresses symptomswhen its internal environment is overloaded, depleted, inflamed, or under prolonged stress.

Symptoms are communication.

They’re a signal, not an invasion.

When someone is unwell, I don’t see them as a threat to my body.

I see a nervous system asking for support.

A system under strain.

A body trying to rebalance itself.

My work is centred around regulation, coherence, flow and resilience.

When the nervous system is regulated, the body doesn’t need to react defensively to the world around it.

So if you’re coughing, sniffling, exhausted, or “coming down with something” -

that doesn’t make you a danger to me.

You’re welcome exactly as you are.

What I do suggest, if your body is showing flu-like symptoms, is gentle support rather than suppression.

Manuka honey to soothe and support.

Hot lemon water to hydrate and encourage flow.

Avoid meat and dairy to reduce digestive load.

Avoid sugar, which drives inflammation.

Tap the chest and repeat, "I am healthy.”

Tea tree oil for clearing and freshness.

Olbas oil to open the breath and ease the sinuses.

None of this is about fighting the body.

It’s about supporting it while it does what it already knows how to do.

The body doesn’t heal through fear or avoidance.

It heals through safety, reassurance, and regulation.

And that’s the space I hold every single day.