Swine Flu... RUN FOR YOU LIVES!!!!

I've heard people say how the swine flu isn't a big deal because it's just another flu, and I've heard other people freaking out because "OMG We're all gonna die from it!!!" I'm in the middle of these two camps. I was in nursing school, I studied microbiology and the behavior of diseases in populations. I learned all about infection control, communicable disease, herd immunity, sterile vs. clean procedure, etc etc. I have come to the following conclusion regarding the swine flu: you can't avoid it! All four of my kids have now had it, each in varying degrees of severity. Rob and I have also had it. I had it over the summer, Rob is just getting over it with the kids. My sickest kids happen to be my boys. We tried to avoid it. I'm big on soap and washing hands. I'm big on wiping down light switches, door knobs, and especially my piano. But despite it all, I understand that it isn't enough because of community factors. The kids go to school, they encounter their friends. They use hand sanitizer and wash hands at school, but they use desks, door knobs, share pencils, markers, shake hands, hug, sit next to each other, trade cookies at lunch, and in general think more about being social than germs. They then bring those germs into our home where I scramble to kill them. As a family and adults, we go to work and the store, use grocery carts, touch shelves, doors, products, computer keyboards, public restrooms and the like that other people who may be carrying the disease have also touched, coughed, and breathed on. We then bring those germs home to our families and share them. It cannot be avoided if we want to live normal lives.

There really are only 2 solutions to this problem. The first is to be vigilant about washing our hands, sanitizing our work spaces, and not touching our eyes and faces unless our hands have been washed. Germs like to enter through mucous membranes and the eyes and nose are perfect for it! Go to the store, but avoid being in line behind that guy who is coughing all over the conveyor belt, or the mom with the 3 kids who look like they will puke any minute. Wash before you unload your groceries, and realize that you will probably get sick regardless of how much you try to avoid it.

The second solution is to become a hermit. Commit to homeschooling the kids, seal the windows and doors with plastic, live off your food storage, and designate one person to be the ONLY person allowed to leave the house. Probably the person with the best paying job. This person must be fully sanitized and change clothes before entering into the home so as not to bring outside germs into the clean space. Once the flu pandemic is over, remove the plastic, play outside, and enjoy the sunshine again! Because, really, there's nothing like living in a plastic bubble for 6 months to make you appreciate sunshine and fresh air. If it keeps you from getting sick though, it's all worth it!