September 26, 2026 at 5:10 am

Brother Hoped For A Peaceful Vacation, But His Sibling’s Reckless Behavior Left Him Sick And Wondering Whether He Should Distance Himself Completely

by Chris Allen

sick man wrapped in a blanket sneezing into tissue

Canva

Family vacations can test patience, but knowingly spreading an illness introduces an entirely different kind of sibling conflict.

One young man watched his sick brother reject basic precautions and repeatedly help himself to other people’s drinks.

What followed left him bedridden, furious, and reconsidering how much contact he wanted once college began.

Check out how it went down.

AITA for going low-contact with my brother for deliberately getting me sick?

I (21M) was recently on a family vacation with my brother “Linus” (19M).

About halfway through the trip, he got sick but refused to wear a mask.

He also refused to take any other precautions around his family.

He kept doing things like drinking from my drinks without asking me, even though he knew he was sick.

Of course, I got sick to the point that I couldn’t enjoy much of the vacation because I was stuck in bed.

To him, this was the final straw.

I am just done with Linus’ rude and entitled behavior.

I will be off at college this year and am planning on going low—maybe even no—contact with him over his lack of respect for other people.

Of course, his family accuses him of overreacting, but he doesn’t feel like he is.

But my family is acting like I’m being unreasonable.

AITA?

He’s determined to make sure his health is never collateral damage ever again.

What did Reddit think?

It seems like this commenter has cut their family members off for a similar reason.

Screenshot 2025 08 21 at 11.33.35 AM Brother Hoped For A Peaceful Vacation, But His Sibling’s Reckless Behavior Left Him Sick And Wondering Whether He Should Distance Himself Completely

This was potentially not even the worst thing this guy has done.

Screenshot 2025 08 21 at 11.34.57 AM Brother Hoped For A Peaceful Vacation, But His Sibling’s Reckless Behavior Left Him Sick And Wondering Whether He Should Distance Himself Completely

Why just stop at cutting off the brother?

Screenshot 2025 08 21 at 11.35.45 AM Brother Hoped For A Peaceful Vacation, But His Sibling’s Reckless Behavior Left Him Sick And Wondering Whether He Should Distance Himself Completely

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a brother who doesn’t want to help his sister cover their aging father’s groceries.

They could also just choose to spend less time together without putting labels on it.

Screenshot 2025 08 21 at 11.36.25 AM Brother Hoped For A Peaceful Vacation, But His Sibling’s Reckless Behavior Left Him Sick And Wondering Whether He Should Distance Himself Completely

After his brother knowingly exposed him and ruined much of the vacation, OP decided that college offered a natural opportunity for distance.

His family could have addressed the brother’s behavior instead of criticizing the person who became sick because his boundaries were ignored.

Nothing says “family bonding” quite like adding your germs to someone’s drink and gifting them several uninterrupted days in bed.

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