Seems Janet has been a bit under the weather...and has taken to haiku to describe her ailments. I think this should be the new format for journal case reports.
In other news, I'm heading off to my son's preschool class later this morning to give a talk on germs and hand-washing (and a bit about being a scientist in general, since they're discussing careers and community helpers this month), so blogging will be light today. Tomorrow I'm giving a talk out of town in the evening that I still have to polish a bit, but I have a few things in the hopper to keep you busy until I'm back up to speed on Wednesday.
- Log in to post comments
I'm a scientist, and I don't wash my hands when I come in from playing in the dirt.
BTW, I don't recall when was the last time I had a cold, or for that matter being sick.
I ate dirt, picked my nose and ate it, never washed my hands, and I turned out very healty: notably without any allergies. I think there's a decent argument to be made that giving your immune system a workout (as long as its within normal bacterial threat levels) is good for you.
Of course, I also swallowed my toothpaste as a child, and now my bones are mottled with flouride stains. :)
Oh, I agree--and I emphasized that there are "good" and "bad" bacteria, too. But for preschool age kids, I think it's most important to teach them good hygiene and handwashing habits, since they're germ spreading machines in any case. It's a tough balance to strike between teaching them to stay clean in order to minimize disease transmission in this population, but not to freak them out about germs.