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[twissie]

Flu season is upon us, and I'm again floored by people's stupidity. Do we really need news articles telling us to stay home when sick, wash our hands ALWAYS, and cover our mouths when we cough/sneeze? Is the fact that influenza transmits through air by coughs and sneezes, news? Why do we insist on making life miserable for the people around us

Comments

[koyaaniisqatsi]

You should definitely make them wear masks haha.

I had swine flu last year and they made me wear one. My glasses kept fogging up. Boo. :(

[twissie]

I just.. wonder what the reactions would have been like, hahahha 8D

Woah, swine flu. We have that going around here in Norway at the moment. A bunch of people are in hospital, and I think a kid died from it a couple of weeks ago. So we get headlines like "STAYING HOME IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN FLU SHOTS". No shit, Sherlock. Wow.

[twissie]

Me too :/ I miss all the little things that makes life in Japan so convenient.

I... thought it was only possible to get chicken pox once?

Yes, they offer flu shots, but people are terrible at actually taking them (and they are only recommended for certain risk groups - usually very young children and the elderly). Then flu epidemics happen, media reminds people that flu shots exist, and the pharmacies run out (by the time there's an epidemic, I feel it's sort of too late to be taking shots for it, though ....). Besides, staying home is more effective than shots anyway!

[twissie]

It makes no sense. Let's ridicule people for thinking about others! 8D;

[superficiality]

YES! You're totally right, and people are disgusting. It's way better to stay home and recover and not busily spread germs to all your coworkers.

[twissie]

I am glad I find people who agree ;O;

[thesoundofduck]

Woah. That's fascinating about the masks! First of all, I think it's really rude of people to make fun of what anyone chooses to wear?! But you're especially right that they might be doing it out of consideration. It's actually really smart. I don't know why we haven't started doing that here. Are we that vain?

[twissie]

All through my childhood whenever the news showed pictures from China or Japan and there were crowds where people wore surgical masks, the news always assumed that people wore them because of air pollution or whatever, so I guess that's what most people here think. I was excited to discover that this was very far from the truth when I actually lived there.

It is a bit uncomfortable to wear something that covers your mouth and nose when you're sick with a cold, but if you absolutely have to go out while sick, it really is the best thing to do! I am completely weirded out that this is not common practice at hospitals here (like if you are sick with a cold when visiting someone there, for instance). It's just confusing to me after seeing what it's like in Japan where people will push masks and cold medicine on you when you are ill.