Doctor, doctor, are we sick?

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands — Most of our readers will probably notice the similarity of my column headline to the Mother Goose version that goes; Mother, Mother, I am sick. Call the Doctor very quick. Doctor, Doctor, will I die? No my child. Do not cry.

Unfortunately, the only doctor I know who makes a house call for my benefit is my friend Dr. Mike Sarte, and the only reason I would ask him is because I can’t make up my mind if I’m sick enough to be hospitalized, or stable enough to stay at home and in bed.

 The Mother Goose rhymes come back to me in light of the growing number of H1N1 cases in the Philippines. When we left the Philippines at the end of May, the country only had one confirmed case of H1N1 flu. Eighteen days later the numbers have reportedly ballooned to 92.

There is cause for concern. But our concern should not be limited by our fear or our selfishness or plain stupidity. People are worried about getting the H1N1 flu and because of this, they have become more conscious of people around them who cough, sneeze, or have the sniffles.

Unfortunately, we always see the problem in others but not in ourselves.

When I asked people about the H1N1 situation in schools, the reaction I got was, “oh it’s those rich kids who came back from their vacations in the US and Canada”.

From a medical and anecdotal perspective it would make sense that the H1N1 virus would come from abroad. How it got spread around should not only be our concern but our responsibility.

Stay home!

I don’t know how we got here, but we have reached a point in society where we no longer “listen” to what our bodies are telling us. Instead we “listen” to the news, the clock, our organizers and our mental schedules.

It has become unpopular to call in sick even when we do feel sick. We have all been taken over by a performance spirit that tells us to report for work even when we’re sick because it will show our dedication and might even score points for us.

Parents have become wary or skeptical when school children say they don’t feel well. Half of the time we have a tendency to wonder if it’s for real or just an excuse to stay home.

Ironically child experts tell us to pay attention. School is generally great for kids. If they don’t want to go to school, something may be seriously wrong. 

We dismiss the first signs of illness by saying “Sinat lang yan” (it’s just a mild fever), we self-medicate by taking paracetamol. Then we go out not realizing that we may have simply delayed the onset of a serious ailment or a highly contagious disease such as H1N1 flu.

In the days when I was in the corporate world, I strongly believed in telling sick employees to stay home. The last thing you need is a sick employee who is in no condition to work. Their productivity is reduced, the quality of their work will be poor if not risky to the company and the worst thing they can do is spread their germs around which ultimately reduces the productivity of the entire company.

It is sheer stupidity to expect or allow “sick” employees to report for work. Most managers tend to stay with the philosophy of “getting their money’s worth” from employees, but rarely consider the collateral damage or total impact of one person with the flu, sore eyes, or even chicken pox which gets spread in schools.

The worst case scenario that people never consider is that the disease you carry around may not kill you but it could kill other people who are already suffering from other complications. Just think of how many people die as a result of severe asthma and cardiac complications because of all the smoke from fireworks during the New Year.

Last Sunday while attending Sunday service here in Den Haag, I learned by sheer coincidence that one of the expat moms had just had the flu but came to church. I admire her devotion but I was not very impressed with her social responsibility.

Going to church knowing you’re still under the weather or could still be an active carrier of any type of flu is equivalent to taking a dog with rabies for a walk in the park! I am in no rush to meet my Maker and I don’t appreciate people trying to do me that favor.

Mind your manners

Here’s a quick test you can do around you. Try to observe others as well as yourself when you cough or sneeze or yawn. Do you instinctively cover your mouth and try to contain the volume of your projection when you do these things, or do you thoroughly enjoy the sensation or the sense of relief?

Do you carry a handkerchief with you whenever you leave the house regardless of where you are going? Most people have limited the use of a handkerchief as a fashion accessory particularly for formal occasions. The handkerchief is supposed to be a multi-purpose “tool” for hygiene, not a fashion accessory.

How did we get here, you might ask? Well blame it on advertising and television.

TV and advertising often need to exaggerate things in order to sell. So it’s no surprise to see people coughing, sneezing or blowing their noses with the loudest volumes and void of the social guidelines such as covering their mouths or using a handkerchief.

Unfortunately TV and advertising do affect our judgment or lifestyle, so ultimately we have started to do the same things that we see on television. Because we copy what we see, we eventually become like them. We lost our manners and hygienic behavior and now we’re all getting sick.

People tell us: Say it, don’t spray it. Perhaps we should spread the word on manners and hygiene rather than germs.