Ah choo it's that time of year again when everyone crams into close quarters and gives the gift that keeps on giving a virus. Those nasty little bugs that knock your insides out for about a week to ten days. Take your aspirin drink plenty of fluids and get your rest. Last time I had the flu was in the mid 70s. I believe it to be a version of the Hong Kong strain that was going around at the time. I can only remember having it one other time in high school. That was just after getting my one and only flu shot. I vowed then and there never to get a shot. In spite of crawling through some of the nastiest places on earth over the last 20 years I've managed to stay relatively healthy. True we take a decontamination shower (actually two per day) but they aren't the type to get really clean. They're just enough to remove whatever toxic material we may have been removing that day. I always took a third shower at home for good measure.
Viruses - I never really thought about how many there are. You have your equine, bovine, swine and bird, norwalk, legionnaires, herpes, and HIV too. Then you get into the bad boys the hemeragics like ebola, marlburg and west nile. I had to study about that last group in hazardous waste class. I am part of your homeland security in the event some unfriendly were to sneak it into the country. Not much concern about that because I figure if they haven't done it by now then they haven't figured out a way to do it. Then there's talk of super bugs. That's the drug resistant bacteria and viruses. I would say many of them are our own doing with the over use of antibiotics. Oh and there's another thing. If you know you have a virus don't bother with antibiotics they only work on bacterial infections. For a virus you would need an antiviral like Cipro but you may not like the side effects so most hospitals don't give it for common type A flu. There are many more things that'll make you ill like molds, fungi and bacteria but I'll save you the gory details for another day.
Just trying to jog the brain cells and recall a job involving a virus. And it came to me a job involving hanta virus. That's a virus carried by deer mice. It's somewhat fatal (can't remember the exact mortality rate) killing you in about three days. These suspect critters had made their home over a drop ceiling in an office. We had to remove the ceiling tiles, hepa vacuum everything and mist all areas with bleach water. I found one of the nests but nobody was home thank goodness.
So I remain healthy for now. Let's hope that doesn't cause a jinx.
Bank fails late.
4 comments:
Precisely why I laugh that the freaks who use the hand sanitizer every 5 minutes. They're gonna be offed by HitlerVirus just like us unwashed.
And don't forget computer viruses.
My long-ago experience with cold and flu shots was like yours, Demeur. Gave me colds and flu every time, until I finally called a halt to getting them.
However, at my better half's insistence, I've been getting flu shots the past several years with good results. I don't know if the change is in me, the shots or both, but I'm glad for it, whatever the cause.
Never intend to get a flu shot because all I hear are the same stories - wasn't sick till I got one.
Hanta virus is very deadly and you get it from inhaling dust containing deer mouse fecal particles. Lost a guy in Saskatchewan a few years back. Cleaning out an old grain bin, I think.
Bacteria are pretty smart - they hand off anti-biotic resistance to each other like friends pass around a joint. Doctors prescribe antibiotics for colds because it makes people happy. Ten days of antibiotics and your cold is gone. Same ten days without works just as well but patient is unhappy so give 'em what they want.
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