After living in New York City for years, touching the subway pole every day where tests have proven fecal matter shows up fairly often (yes, fecal matter), and then traveling around the world nonstop for the past two years, my body has built up a tolerance against infections.
I have been exposed to many crazy things, but I don’t get sick very often. Maybe once every 3-4 years. The photo above was taken at a hospital in Chiang Mai, Thailand, when I thought I had contracted malaria. They asked for a stool sample and gave me the small cup. Talk about stage fright! Thank goodness it was only a bacterial infection.
But overall, I lead a very healthy life. Eating proper nutrition and exercising regularly. Sleeping 7-8 hours regularly.
With the recent news of the spread of the coronavirus, the only contagious thing in my opinion is FEAR.
What is happening to our society?
I guarantee you have shaken hands with someone who had germy hands (or didn’t wash their hands after using the bathroom – I saw it happen recently at black tie gala).
Haven’t we all heard of the flu? The CDC estimated that 61,000 people died worldwide from the flu during the 2017-2018 season. That is a lot of people unfortunately. With the coronavirus deaths at a slightly higher rate (but not much higher), why are we freaking out when the flu does a very similar thing?
Sure, we have developed and utilized vaccinations that have helped prevent our bodies from contracting the influenza virus. But the point here is that similar infections like the flu and unfortunately, deaths have occurred for decades and centuries.
Just think: what if we began tracking the spread of the common flu like we have been tracking the coronavirus. By now, we would all be shut-ins, never leaving our houses again.
I was at a cocktail party last week and was introduced to a group of six people. When I reached my hand out to shake hands with the first person, the individual reached their elbow out instead. It was awkward because everyone was silent and stared at me for a reaction. I shrugged it off and held out my elbow to connect. (Although that same person with the elbow reached out their hand towards the end of the night to shake my hand after interacting with over 50 people and imbibing cocktails.)
I get it. It is better to be safe than sorry. And I was recently informed that many other cultures don’t shake hands or touch in anyway during greetings. In the United States, our culture is to shake hands. So this doesn’t automatically give us an excuse to stop being kind and not greet one another.
And yes, some people who have a compromised immune system should consider taking extra pre-cautions as the spread continues (maybe the same way they do during the flu season), however for the vast majority of us, STOP THE PANIC! You will be fine, just like you always have been fine!
In response to the panic, I thought it made sense to share what I am doing to prevent a coronavirus infection. Maybe this will inject some rationalization back into our brains!
DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical professional. The following are the common sense daily practices I utilize to remain healthy.
Top 5 Ways I’m Preventing a Coronavirus Infection
- Stop touching my face. This is a tough one, but is good practice. Stay away from the eyes, nose and mouth.
- Wash my hands for at least 20 seconds first thing when I arrive home before touching anything (and make sure hand towels are washed frequently)
- Sanitize hands with alcohol-based sanitizer first thing when I get into my car before touching anything in my car
- Live a healthy lifestyle with proper nutrition, exercise and adequate sleep.
- Stop worrying about contracting the coronavirus, continue to live my life as I always have and did not alter my lifestyle in any way.
Remember the fear after 9/11, ricin scares in envelopes, sarin gas scares in subways (my mom bought me a gas mask to take to work with me every day in New York City just in case), SARS, MERS, the stock market crash of 2008? There will always be something. And guess what, we continue moving forward in a healthy way!
This too shall pass. It may get worse before it gets better. But stop waiting and panicking and pausing your life. Live your life NOW!
If you want a daily dose of calm, I created this video on my FaceBook page to help you calm down!
Are you doing anything exceptional to prevent infection? Share your thoughts below.
