It seems as though in this country, that for many years, those who could drag themselves out of bed and to work even during the most serious of illnesses, was the winner. What they also shared was their contagious illnesses, spreading germs far and wide.
No one is indispensable, as important as we each like to think we are. Life will go on if you stay home during an illness.
With school starting and the cold, influenza and stomach illnesses spreading, it is time to think about staying home at the very least from the optional places during an illness.
These illnesses are not only spread by hand-to-hand contact, they are also spread through the air.
No one wants to stand in the grocery line or sit at church, and have the person or their children sitting behind them cough and share their germs.
Not only is that rude, it could also result in a serious illness or even death for an individual with a compromised immune system.
Those on chemotherapy, the elderly, and others with chronic illness can end up with pneumonia from what is a simple cold for a youth. Influenza is a serious respiratory illness today that can indeed result in death or serious illness at places such as nursing homes.
If your child is running a fever, please keep them home. They don’t need to be at the grocery store, the hair dressers, church or at recreation centers.
They’ll most likely recover faster if they are at home anyway. Maybe if they stay home in bed, they can fight off the influenza in a day or two instead of being sick for a week or longer.
There was a real Typhoid Mary in the early 1900s. She was identified as an asymptomatic carrier of typhoid fever. She worked in different places New York, where, shortly after her employment, those around her developed typhoid fever. Outbreaks continue to follow her wherever she went, resulting in the deaths from as few as three to 50.
Indeed, even with antibiotics, we have illnesses that are becoming resistant or are viruses, which cannot be treated with antibiotics.
Don’t be the Typhoid Mary of today. Please stay home if you or your children are sick.
Karen La Pierre