It seems to me that America has gone 'germ-crazy'. Nowadays, almost every other commercial on the television is boasting about some antibacterial, germ-busting, protectant. Everyone carries antibacterial gel on their person and it's becoming one helluva racket. Even Kleenex brand has come out with a new disposable towel to replace bathroom hand towels. Nevermind the killing of more trees, must keep our babies from getting sick. Only, do you? And how beneficial is it to keep our kids and ourselves from getting sick?
The flu shot is now an annual trend that Americans desperately wait for. Because, surely it will work to keep you from getting the flu. Oh, wait...that's right - no it won't. It may keep you from getting a "known and untainted" strain, but the flu is this nasty, intelligent bug that mutates and recreates yearly. The shot may, however, keep you from getting really really sick. May.
Here's the problem with all these aids and practices, though: the human immune system works by exposure on many types of viruses and even some bacteria. This means that the body needs to have access to some degree to its natural environment in order to strengthen and enhance its defenses.
As an example, look at the now infamous Amazonian tribe that was wiped out in the '80's by the common cold that the silly white man so irresponsibly gave them. I understand that not every exposure is a healthy one and that a pandemic could and would dispose of a significant amount of people, but does sheltering our children and ourselves really work to keep this from happening?
Even when I was a child, shoes weren't worn regularly and fields and woods were free game for the adventurous. If you bumped it, you rubbed it. If it got cut, you tried to keep it clean. If it started slightly bleeding, you sucked it dry. If it were worse than that, you went to find Momma. And she usually put you in the bathtub and poured isopropyl alcohol on it. At least that's how it went in the South.
Of course, that was then and the times they are a-changin'. Still....I wonder how much are we protecting our own these days? By trying to ward off the microscopic villians that enter our airspace undetected, are we creating a more sterile environment or a more paranoid, weakened population? After all, it is said that the most sure-fire way to get sick is to go to the hospital...
