Contagion Distance

1. The wife and myself have had one monster of a cold for the last two weeks. Getting over it now.

2. We put ourselves in a self mandated quarantine

3. Our neighbor does not need this cold. He is over 70 and she just had cancer surgery.

4. My neighbor and I had an across the fence conversation the other day. When he approached the fence, I moved back about 15 or 20 feet and tried to stay down wind of him. I was trying to prevent him from catching any of the virus I know I was exuding.

With all that said, I got to thinking about what distance you need from someone to keep them from being infected by what ever sort of disease you might have. In my case, a common cold.

I have a feeling, that "down wind" is going to play a big part in it.

Just a thought. Will be interested in your opinion.

 

Just have children in a school setting.
It will either strengthen your immune system to untold number of contagions or it will kill you.

If a family practices really good hygiene (wash hands, separate tubes of tooth paste, dispose of contaminated Kleenex, wipe down communal surfaces refrigerator, door knobs, etc.). Don't touch eyes, covers cough and/or sneeze and separate sleeping room for sickos. Transfer is not imminent .. It's likely, but it can be minimized.

Oh another thing, dishes ..only the healthy wash the dishes and uses the hottest water available to kill everything. They are also responsible for cooking.

 

It also depends on what kind of illness you're talking about, because of the different transmission vectors some have, and there is a point where someone is no longer contagious even though they're still 'sick'.

If I remember right, bacterial infections don't like acidic environments, whereas viruses don't like alkaline environments. That can be taken into account when choosing/making cleaning solutions.

 

Been reading about the supposed affects of Oil of Oregano... no idea how effective it is...

makes claims about cold n such... how true?

but did notice a warning about talkin with a Dr. BEFORE you start using it and preg fems should avoid...

 

In my reading, it seems as there is no single answer. Some diseases require direct contact and sharing of body fluids aids etc, at one end of the spectrum, and at the other end some spores of anthrax, or small pox may be active in the soil 100 years later. In addition some diseases may be contagious before any symptoms appear and others may no longer be contagious while the later stages of the disease are still present. The evidence in Hawaii with the native population estimated at around 800,000 at first contact with Cook to a low of about 25,000, would seem to indicate that if TSHTF, the problems of distancing, isolation, quarantining, sterilization, etc as a method of controlling disease may mean the difference between surviving and dying and as a general population we have no more experience in dealing with public health problems than the natives on those islands did. All the preps in the world will not help if you are caught at work and the area is quarantined to stop some disease and you can not leave or even practice simple prevention techniques. Being 78, I have had measles, mumps, chicken pox, whooping cough, tularemia, rheumatic fever, and had a dozen different courses of shots in the military and survived. Many of our younger folks have not developed a strong immune system and many others have compromised systems due to age, medical conditions etc, will not survive without massive help and I don't even know how to attempt to help. Bible tells us to distance ourselves, hide in the mountains, don't even go back home to pick up your shirt if it is happening, and to trust no man. Guess the old Jewish leaders had no better answers than we have today.

 

Biggest thing I see...when I have to pee in a public restroom, people will wash their hands and then grab the door handle. You know, the same one the guy that didn't wash his hands grabbed. Like BT, I rarely get sick and I attribute it to trying to not touch anything that others have. Just my little phobia I guess.

 

I was talking about this with my neighbor Friday. She has a bad cold or something and needed to go to the store. She said she wished she had a mask to wear. My doctor's office has masks for people to put on when they enter but rarely do I see people wearing them. In Japan it was normal to see people wearing masks but rarely do I see people wearing a mask in public here. I have seen children wearing masks but I think it is to protect them rather them prevent the spreading of germs. I think it is a polite thing to do, to wear a mask when you are sick.

During the flu season I carry Lysol and will squirt things like the ATM, gas pump etc before touching. I also have masks in my car. I also carry wipes (bleach wipes) and will clean my hands after I have been in a store. We do not use the anti-bacterial gel, it is a mess. It seems to coat the germs on your hands but we prefer the wipes because it removes the germs.

 

LOL, I noticed the same thing.
I grab a hand full of paper towels to open the door with!

 

in all honesty cleanliness is the best thing for common bugs.

While colds and flu are uncomfortable, unless you have a health condition that a cold or flu would kill you. I say get the darn bug and develop an imunity to it. You will be healthier than other people in the long run. I got a cold in October, 1st one I have had in 10 years. I just don't get sick much. It took 10 weeks before all the coughing and flem were gone. The Doc said that was normal for this version.

I did not have chicken pox until I was 30, it wasn't the itiching that was a problem it was the joint swelling. Expose children to chicken pox early, don't wait.

Some unknown disease... I don't know how you protect from it. Have the healthiest immune system you can, take precautions, don't let anyone sneeze/cough on you, and know who is preparing your food.

Avoiding minor bugs, viral or bacterial is a waste of time and resources and I don't think people are healthier because they avoid them. You need a great immune system and that means it needs to be tested periodically just like equipment. that is just my opinion

 

Living overseas so long and not in the best of countries, one gets use to constantly washing ones hands and not touching one's face (especially the eyes) until they are washed. Its a habit but a good one. I would never dream of touching my food prior to washing hands. Also, in times of bad flu, we would carry some containers of hand sanitizer.

Strange enough, the sickest we've been from flu in the past decade was last winter here in the states. Both of us, wife and I, literally was floored for a full month, never seen or had anything like it. I've never been one to take flu shots but after that - well - we both got one this year as soon as they were available.

 

Went to the VA not long back and caught something that stayed with me for a considerable time.. UGH was naz-tay!

 

Nastiest bug I ever had (as well as the missus) was one we caught in New York. I guess we had no immunity for a "foreign" bug and it floored us for 2 weeks. Just too many people there, not for me.