Evolutionary Medicine

Introduction

    Stay Away From the Flu
    It is nice to get a flu shot it's true
    But if you can't here is what you can do
    Tiny droplets of flu are out for you
    Stay away from the droplets - stay away from the flu
    If someone is sick stay six feet away
    Or a sneeze or cough may spray droplets your way
    And don't touch your eyes or nose or mouth
    Cause droplets of virus come in by that route
    Your food can bring droplets of virus to you
    So, first clean your hands and I'll give you a clue
    Can't find a sink - don't know what to do
    Use hand sanitizer, always carry with you
    Place a dime size amount in the palm of the hand
    And rub over both hands the best that you can
    If these do not work, there is medicine too
    But you have to take it within two days of flu
    I hope this poem helps you not get the flu
    But if you do, try not to spread it too
    Coughing at someone just is not fair
    Cough or sneeze into a tissue with care
    And if there is no tissue that's okay too
    Sneeze away and down, your sleeve will do. 1
  

With the Swine Flu scare this year hygiene and protection have been foremost in everyone's thoughts. Even the children are more conscious about germs and have a preoccupation with hand sanitizer. In every hallway in our school building is a sanitizer dispenser. An everyday occurrence is a child's need to use the sanitizer each time they walk past it, which could be as many as 10 times a day. They also feel that if they use the sanitizer they don't need to wash their hands during their bathroom break and that sanitizer can clean dirt, chalk, glue, and pencil marks from their hands. With this obsession with sanitizer I wonder why the children are still getting sick. Even the children are asking questions pertaining to why they have a cold or flu when they use the sanitizer all of the time. The burning question is: what other factors may influence the spread of germs? From a very young age we have all been taught to cover our mouths when we sneeze or cough, wash our hands before we eat and after we go to the bathroom and to clean up after making a mess. But, with all of the hygienic precautions we take why are we still getting sick? The seminar "Evolutionary Medicine" showed me the bigger picture as to why we get sick. Research suggests that all of our cleanliness is actually doing us harm. Our immune system is not developing the way it used to develop in previous generations. In our seminar we discussed this "Hygiene Hypothesis" which was a completely unknown subject to me but very intriguing.