Cold Water does not Kill Germs
The season is here in Japan. The season where people's faces disappear under white masks and a general malaise of misery hangs around. It's cold and flu season. I haven't had a class where everyone was present for the past few weeks. Those absences have been getting higher the past few days. I thought I could dodge the bullet. I was wrong.
I am pretty sure I have a cold. All signs point to yes. My nose decided to imitate a waterfall and my throat is alternating between being itchy and painful. My energy levels are low and I keep fantasizing about being in bed. I think my greatest susceptibility was at the kindergarten. I think if I was a kindergarten teacher was first few lessons would be about how to cough in your sleeve, how to blow your nose, and why you should wash your hands. I was coughed on so many times over the past two visits there. I had a kid cough all over his food and his friends's food on Wednesday. A student teacher and I exchanged a mutual look of horror. I am glad to know my sentiment was shared. I understand sometimes you can't control a sneeze or a cough. It just happens. But in most cases you can feel them coming. I would teach the kids the importance of the Vampire sneeze/cough.
Most important lesson ever. Photo cred.
My second lesson would be blowing your nose. I often cringe at the snob dribbling down the noses of the children. Some kids are smart. They ask the teacher for a tissue or if they don't have the mechanics down yet they ask the teacher to wipe their noses. However, many of the kids don't give a hoot and let the stuff rain down unchecked. Sorry, but it grosses me out. What makes me feel even more icky is when they wipe the snot on their fingers and then proceed to wipe it everywhere else. I shudder to think on it. Actually, Japan considers blowing your nose rude. It's perfectly acceptable to snort or spew snot but not to blow your nose. Trying riding a train or bus when half the people have colds. Yes, this would be a lesson I would teach. I might even test them on it! After I taught them the value of the tissue I would proceed to my greatest lesson, handwashing.
This makes the list of my pet peeves in Japan. Most schools do not have hot water. My school has one hot water tap in the front office. The rest are all cold water. Cold water does not kill bacteria! It doesn't not make your hands free of germs. In the winter, it only brings you one step closer to frostbite. What is is amusing is the hand washing posters plastered next to each sink. Yeah, you can scrub all you want but it's not helping the germ problem. I think most the male teachers use the sink to gargle and spit in. I don't see them doing much hand washing. I see hand sanitizer posted in various locations around the school. I am not sure if anyone uses it. The value of hot water cannot be underestimated. I think this also falls under the heading of why you need to use toothpaste to brush instead of just water.
Disease prevention is an odd thing in Japan. I think the masks people wear is more of a courtesy than an actual deterrent. I mean, you are creating a hot and humid environment for germs as you breathe into the mask. The mask can prevent fluids from flying around when you cough or sneeze. But if someone is going around touching everything with their unwashed, germ filled hands then that mask doesn't do anything. I guess it marks you out as the "sick" person to be avoided. Sort of like the scarlet letter. There is also the bravery or stupidity, however you look at it, at people who come to work when they are sick. Taking a sick day is frowned upon in Japan no matter how much a day of rest would help the sick recover. Nope, you must endure and share your germs with the rest of us. Release the T-virus while you are at it.
What happens when you don't wash your hands.
I am pretty sure I have a cold. All signs point to yes. My nose decided to imitate a waterfall and my throat is alternating between being itchy and painful. My energy levels are low and I keep fantasizing about being in bed. I think my greatest susceptibility was at the kindergarten. I think if I was a kindergarten teacher was first few lessons would be about how to cough in your sleeve, how to blow your nose, and why you should wash your hands. I was coughed on so many times over the past two visits there. I had a kid cough all over his food and his friends's food on Wednesday. A student teacher and I exchanged a mutual look of horror. I am glad to know my sentiment was shared. I understand sometimes you can't control a sneeze or a cough. It just happens. But in most cases you can feel them coming. I would teach the kids the importance of the Vampire sneeze/cough.
Most important lesson ever. Photo cred.
My second lesson would be blowing your nose. I often cringe at the snob dribbling down the noses of the children. Some kids are smart. They ask the teacher for a tissue or if they don't have the mechanics down yet they ask the teacher to wipe their noses. However, many of the kids don't give a hoot and let the stuff rain down unchecked. Sorry, but it grosses me out. What makes me feel even more icky is when they wipe the snot on their fingers and then proceed to wipe it everywhere else. I shudder to think on it. Actually, Japan considers blowing your nose rude. It's perfectly acceptable to snort or spew snot but not to blow your nose. Trying riding a train or bus when half the people have colds. Yes, this would be a lesson I would teach. I might even test them on it! After I taught them the value of the tissue I would proceed to my greatest lesson, handwashing.
This makes the list of my pet peeves in Japan. Most schools do not have hot water. My school has one hot water tap in the front office. The rest are all cold water. Cold water does not kill bacteria! It doesn't not make your hands free of germs. In the winter, it only brings you one step closer to frostbite. What is is amusing is the hand washing posters plastered next to each sink. Yeah, you can scrub all you want but it's not helping the germ problem. I think most the male teachers use the sink to gargle and spit in. I don't see them doing much hand washing. I see hand sanitizer posted in various locations around the school. I am not sure if anyone uses it. The value of hot water cannot be underestimated. I think this also falls under the heading of why you need to use toothpaste to brush instead of just water.
Disease prevention is an odd thing in Japan. I think the masks people wear is more of a courtesy than an actual deterrent. I mean, you are creating a hot and humid environment for germs as you breathe into the mask. The mask can prevent fluids from flying around when you cough or sneeze. But if someone is going around touching everything with their unwashed, germ filled hands then that mask doesn't do anything. I guess it marks you out as the "sick" person to be avoided. Sort of like the scarlet letter. There is also the bravery or stupidity, however you look at it, at people who come to work when they are sick. Taking a sick day is frowned upon in Japan no matter how much a day of rest would help the sick recover. Nope, you must endure and share your germs with the rest of us. Release the T-virus while you are at it.
What happens when you don't wash your hands.