MEN ARE PIGS, HANDWASHING AND THE SWINE FLU - FINAL THOUGHTS ON OUR PRACTICE SUPERBUG

One of the lessons we are learning from the recent global outbreak of the Swine Flu is the speed and ease by which it spreads throughout the world. From a small village in Mexico, a world can get infected – demonstrating the massive inter-connectedness that we have in our societies. The government suggestion of using Kleenex and washing hands, while simplistic, does actually tackle what has essentially become  an exercise in laziness. Too few people wash their hands, regardless of whether it is to retain a measure of sanitation or to prevent the spread of germs. Trying to stay clean proves to be an interesting task. Certainly wash your hands. A common practice now, especially in restrooms, is to use the paper towel you dried your hands with to open the door – and with good reason. With an informal statistic showing that more than 30 percent of males using the bathroom did not wash their hands and touched the handle on their way out, a paper towel seems a very good idea. A study of how germs are spread involves all aspects of our lives. ATM machines, restaurants and coffee shops, libraries and malls are all areas of multiple proximity contacts. I touch the counter to pay for merchandise. You touch the counter to pay for merchandise and, in the process, receive some free germs from me. At work, using a photocopy machine, filing cabinet or telephone puts you in very close contact with fellow germ-infested humans. Teachers and day-care providers always get the sickest; here you have a tightly packed institution of learning and germ development where one cold becomes 30 colds in a short time. Is it any wonder why a school would close down for the Swine Flu? Do you pump gas? How about pushing the supermarket shopping carts? Rent videos? Workout at a gym? These activities bring you direct germ-to germ contact. And let’s not forget dining out. Are you feeling like Mexican food tonight? Carnitas? It is customary in our society for business people to shake hands as a greeting. You’d better wash that hand afterward, especially if the man whose hand you shook fell into the 30 percent category. The funny thing is that were you to look at yourself under a microscope, you would find that we are actually a hosting organism for a multitude of life forms that live on our bodies. Germs are not our enemy; germs are actually our friend. Despite the anti-bacterial nation we live in, exposure to germs is what allows us to build immunity. Studies have shown that people who excessively clean actually do not help their immunity. Think about the concept of vaccination. You are receiving a sample of the virus, so your body defenses can wipe it out and store the information for future use. It is ironic that on the one hand, germs can be helpful and on the other, fatal. The 1918 Spanish Flu that killed millions of people worldwide remains a warning that we could be overrun again. Another argument suggests that those people who could not develop immunity to the Spanish Flu were the millions who died. The rest retain that immunity. It is a nice argument were it not for the fact that the flu mutates from generation to generation. As we watch the Swine Flu spread throughout the world, we can take comfort in the fact that however the story ends, we will always be one step ahead of a virus with our names imprinted upon its genetic code. While I can deal with it that way, I’m still not shaking your hand! MisterWriter originally printed in the Clayton Pioneer 5/8/09