Is My Blog Showing?: March 2009

No, no...it's not my phobia of milk. Although that one is pretty bad. I have a phobia of germaphobes.

We are a family of hand washers. After we play outside, before we eat, before I prepare a meal, after we go potty...we wash our hands. No big. I wipe off my counters as needed. I don't pick my teeth after cleaning the potty. I would like to believe I take reasonable precautions.

There are just a few things that I do not bring into this house. One would be any product that has "anti bacterial" on the label. There are places where anti bacterial has its place. A doctor scrubbing up for surgery? Yeah! Bring it on! Wiping down my counters, walls, floors, sinks and/or my kids after someone sneezes at a playdate? Not so much. You know why? Because that person more than likely sneezed for one of a few reasons...he has/is coming down with/is getting over a cold or the flu, perhaps. Or he lives in Texas, where almost no one escapes allergies. Do you know what causes the common cold or the flu? A virus. No amount of removing any bacteria from your person or surfaces in your home is going to kill that virus. And when you use these products, you are more than likely just pissing off any bacteria present without effectively killing it. Pop quiz...you know what happens when you piss off a bacteria without killing it? It gives you the big ole' middle finger and mutates because you hurt its feelings. Nice. That (along with the over-prescribing of antibiotics that doctors give to get rid of neurotic mothers who demand that something must be done to get rid of Jonny's cold...but that is a whole other can of worms) leads to the resistance of antibiotics that would otherwise do their jobs. Yipee!

We have an immune system for a reason. It works very simply: Body is exposed to germ. Body recognizes that bug is bad. Body produces antibodies to kick germ's butt. Body then remembers said germ for future reference. Next time that germ enters your body, your immune system says "Hey! I defeated you once, I will defeat you again!" And chances are, you will not get as sick as before or you will not get sick at all. Voila. Foolproof? Nope. We'll all get sick from time to time (Hello?! Three of the four of us just got over the flu). But it is basic biology that you have to get sick sometimes in order to be healthy. As I said before...I take precautions. I don't let my kids lick the carts at Wal Mart. However, I do not freak out if Maddi's friends at Mother's Day Out or our playgroup show up with a runny nose or a little cough. I don't WANT them to be uncomfortable or sick. I like to sleep at night with the best of them. But I do not expect any parent to quarantine their child because they might or might not pass on the common cold. And you know... Maddi has had maybe a third of the runny noses or coughs this year. She didn't get sick and run fever for the first time until she was 18 months old. This is the first time Allie has had a fever...at 15 months. Because I let their immune systems take care of things.

Blah. I know what you are thinking. "Dang Lyndsey...why the soapbox?"

Eh. No biggie. I just witnessed a mom go all freaky deaky on her kid at Chick Fil A today. And the following self righteous conversation she had with her girlfriend following the incident made me roll my eyes. Her bubble kid is in for it when she comes into contact with her first germ.