Down with the sickness
Monday, May 26th, 2008Boy, I don’t like having to call in “sick.” Whatever I’ve got - a very wicked spring cold or some such thing - would not allow me to fully function in my job today, that’s for sure. There was no question that my only activity this Monday would be visiting a doctor. This “thing” ended my weekend before it was halfway through and sent me to bed during one of the most beautiful days of the spring so far.
Experts continue to say it: wash your hands! I was startled to learn that antibacterial gels don’t kill the pesky C. difficile virus, but regular soap-washing will. More and more I see people using paper towels to push washroom doors open and just generally behaving more carefully about what they touch, and acting more aware of how many hands may have touched it before. Taps with sensors and automatic hand-dryers are the norm rather than the exception.
One phenomenon I’m suddenly seeing occasionally, especially in my North York neighbourhood, is women - mostly younger women - wearing surgical face masks. I’ve seen a few on transit and others simply walking down the street. I don’t know what it is they’re trying to prevent, but last I heard, SARS was long gone and there’s no expected imminent arrival of bird flu. Perhaps we simply have some overly concerned germaphobes in our midst. I don’t think they know anything we don’t know. And we know from the experts that beyond everything else - including sneezing into your arm and avoiding breathing in shared air - hand-washing prevents most germs from spreading.
