I am a bit of a germophobe. It stems from my years as a chef when I constantly handled raw meats and other slimy and slippery food articles. I always had a bucket of bleach water by my side (health code regulations) and washed my hands excessively.
So, yesterday I could not feel a little cornered when I was on a crowded red line train on my way to the TD Banknorth Garden to cover the Bruins/Hurricanes second round playoff series.
The Swine Flu has come to Boston, with nine confirmed cases of students at the Harvard Dental School (Harvard is, of course, a stop on the red line). I could not help myself looking around on the train wondering "who has it?" It becomes a little bit of a germ induced paranoid mania. You scan the faces near you; "does that person look a little peek-ish? Did I just hear a cough? Who just sneezed?" It is like being trapped in a long, metal petri dish.
So, here at Travel Red Line Boston we have come up with five things you can do to avoid getting (or giving) the Swine Flu while on the train.
1. Don't Touch Things
This is good advice even without a global flu pandemic. The world is a dirty place. Really. Especially public transit. The best thing to do is try not to touch too many surfaces or, you know, random people. This can be tough on a crowded train if you have to stand and hold the rail. If you find yourself in a situation where you feel that the metal rail you are holding onto is an incubus for the plague (really, so many people hold onto those rails) just try to make sure that you do not spread the bacteria you picked up to the rest of you. Do not touch your mouth or your eyes or anywhere on your face. Do not eat and try not to drink anything until you have washed you hands. This is sanitation 101, but it is worth acknowledging that simple things that can save your health.
2. Carry Hand Sanitizer
This fits in with Don't Touch Things. Face it, you are going to touch surfaces that, if you thought better of it, you probably would not touch. The smart thing to do is grab a little bottle of hand sanitizer and use it early and often. I do not mind Purell, but there are other brands out there that work just as well.
3. The Six Foot Rule
I always likened this to the five-second rule that people say about food that has fallen on the floor (which is complete garbage by the way, if food falls on the floor, depending on the floor, either wash it off or throw it out). The Six Foot Rule says that if you see a sick person, try to stay six feet away from them at all times. See that guy with the red eyes and the chills getting on the train car with you? Veer away, go to the other end of the train. Chance are he may just be really hung over, but why take that chance?
4. Dracula Was On To Something
When you are coughing in a crowded place, it is best to cover your mouth. The problem with this is that most people, quite naturally, use their hands to do so. The problem with this is that your hands are the most likely part of your body to spread bacteria (see above). The Dracula Cough is where you cough into your elbow, thus keeping your hands germ free. Remember the old Dracula movies where he held his cape up to his face so all you could see were his sinister, menacing, beady eyes? Well, you can pretend that you are an evil vampire while doing the people around you a great service.
5. Drop the Mask
Really brah, the dew-rag over your mouth is not going to save you. In fact, it will probably only attract germs to it leaving you with a germ infested hankie over your mouth. The only people who should be wearing the mask are people who are already infected. The mask helps stop the flu from getting out though it not a cure-all, 100 % effective item. The Los Angeles Times has a story on that explains the advantages (or not) of the masks.
Are you a paranoid android? Need the mask just to feel better about your surrounding? If you do you might as well do it with some style. The normal surgical and respiratory masks are so dull, try sprucing them up. Like Hello Kitty? Make a mask. Nothing screams "I am infected with the Swine Flu, please stay six feet from me and don't lick my face" like Hello Kitty. Check out some of the fashion statements here.
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