07/23/2004 Entry: "Germs, Bugs, And Other Panics."

I'm getting on towards the last of my antibiotics. I suppose that's good. You're always supposed to complete your prescription to avoid breeding supergerms. I can't afford to have any supergerms right now; I don't really have time in my to-do list to fight off ordinary germs. But since one of my bosses has been out sick, with something undiagnosed but serious enough to warrant trips to the hospital, I'm a little concerned. Every symptom I have is a sure sign that I've picked up some bug or another.

Then when it's announced that they have found West Nile virus in Northern California, well, that just meant I just had to add another to-do list item: panic needlessly. I'm already hypochondriacal; this just means I have another set of symptoms to memorize.

I'm not sure how I found this, but I'm a little embarrassed that I never knew this before now. After all of the science and biology I studied I just found out that there were tiny creatures living literally on our faces. I'm slightly horrified. I'd go wash again if it helped, which, apparantly, it doesn't. (Unless I washed with turpentine or something equally toxic.) There's nothing worse to someone with mildly OCD tendencies than an uncontrollable situation. I know that it's ridiculous, but I can't touch my forehead without getting a little squeamish now. Give me a few days and I'll get used to the idea.

Because let's face it: I still use Internet Explorer. And I don't think there's anything with more bugs in it than that.

Replies: 2 comments

Feh. We get cases of West Nile here every summer in Illinois. Most people who contract it live far out in the sticks. Or people in the urban areas who are in their 80s or older. I can't recall anyone in an urban setting who's your age ever contracting it.

And be even more afraid. Those tiny creatures? They're not just on your face. :-)

Posted by palochi @ 07/23/2004 05:04 PM PST

I just found out that there were tiny creatures living literally on our faces.

I can NOT follow those link--I have the phantom itches just from reading your entry. (Though they seem to be focusing on my scalp and not my face. Ahhhh! Get off me! Get off me! *scritch, scritch*)

Posted by Katrina @ 07/29/2004 02:19 PM PST