>(with credit going to Minnesota Matron for the creative phrase in the post title)
Teachers Fear Germs. Illnesses. Sick days. Whenever I’m sick, I have to leave sub plans. Writing lesson plans for a substitute is twice as much work as writing my own plans. Writing sub plans while ill….agony. Simply agony. Catching up when I get back? I don’t even like to think about it. It’s sufficient to say that illness weighs on my mind a lot more than it does for the average middle class working citizen.
Influenza. Training as a Public Health volunteer made me realize that we’re closer to a pandemic flu than I thought. I’ve posted about my training and fears, thoughts for family preparation, and more. Immediate action? Flu shot. Clinic coming up soon!
Cold viruses, bacteria, pink-eye, and other lovely micro-organisms. 1. I wash my hands and teach the class to do the same. 2. Keep tissue boxes scattered throughout the classroom. 3. I don’t touch the doorknob unless I have to! 4. (see #3) Hand sanitizer on desk and at entrance to room.
Head lice. Yes, the unspeakable. I haven’t seen many cases this year, but in other years the need for nit-picking has been outrageous. Prevention: avoid touching children’s heads. If children hug me, avoid bringing hands to head until washed/sanitized.
Oh, yes, I have my share of phobias that are intensified by my line of work. So excuse me if this post is a little short: I need to check my stock of Airborne and echinacea and vitamin C.
Are you sneezing? Does your head itch? You’re welcome.
>Oooooh, the lice…that gets me every time.
>I’ve been trying and trying to figure out where I could put a compost-bin on my postage-stamp city lot. I can’t see putting one out six feet from the sidewalk, and the only not-public place is so shaded I don’t think it could possibly heat up enough. Darn…
One of my son’s friends is working in the kitchen of a home for seniors while taking a food science course in college. He came to visit the other day, and as he wandered through the kitchen, pointed at various bits of countertop, sink, and stove, reciting, “Salmonella, salmonella, e-coli, e-coli, e-coli, botulism…”
I protested. My kitchen is not pristine, but it’s decently hygenic!
He explained they were studying this right now in school, and “It’s scary, man! I’m amazed any of us are still alive!”
And then he went downstairs and helped my son clean his room.
Let’s hear it for phobias!!
>Here’s how warped I am — I went looking for the public health panic post.
>A low cost, green eco friendly, healthy natural way to deal with lice is to make a homemade liquid from soapberry which grows on the Chinaberry tree and has been used for thousands of years. It works very effectively.