Ralph Lewis wrote:
>
> As one who is really knocked on his ass by UR infections (flu and colds) I
> am very aware of hygiene and also old enough to remember when if you had a
> cold you did not go out in public. Or if you were a kid in a movie theater
> with a cold the usher took you outside. Or if someone coughed in public,
> people would look and ask quietly if they had TB. I also remember the Polio
> summers. Today most people have personal hygiene that would embarrass a pig
> and think nothing of exposing others to their colds and flu's. The spanish
> flu (1914?) killed a third of the human population (someone correct me on
> the numbers).
I think it was more in the order of 20-40 million people died of the
Spanish flu. The public hygeine behaviors you cite are generally the
result of centuries of living with no cures, especially the 1850-1950
period when viruses and bacteria were understood to cause disease but
few cures were available. Now that cures are more common, its not so
rude to cough near someone else.
As one who grew up with severe allergies as a kid, I can say it really
stinks to be treated as a contagious carrier during pollen season.
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