Worried About Germs?

Worried About Germs?

Worried About Germs?

A global explosion in drug-resistant germs threatens to destroy modern medical advancements and render most antibiotics useless, the World Health Organization warns. Dr. David Hayman, executive director of the WHO's communicable diseases program, states that we could soon be in a pre-antibiotic age in which minor infections are once again lethal.

It seems we've gone from pitying compulsive germ haters such as Howard Hughes, who couldn't stop washing their hands, to worrying that maybe we should start doing the same thing. However, the scary scenarios have yet to occur. More than a decade later, we're still waiting for those germs to appear and "destroy medical advancements and render most antibiotics useless."

The fact is that we've always been surrounded by germs, and always will be. Germs live in the most inhospitable places, and the rate at which they can multiply is phenomenal. Undoubtedly they will take over Earth when were gone, if insects don't beat them to it.

Obviously precautions should be taken to ensure that antibiotics aren't used indiscriminately. We don't want to be ravaged by modern day plagues. But pause for a minute and think about the mindset of those who did live in the pre-antibiotic age. In those days you would never know when the next plague, the next Black Death or yellow fever or smallpox outbreak, would occur. From our perspective of worrying about every little sneeze, it seems miraculous how our ancestors could carry on with their lives without being immobilized by the constant threat of disease and death. With this in mind, maybe we could learn to appreciate that we are likely to suffer from fewer diseases than previous generations. And the current life expectancy of North Americans is about 80 years. We're likely to live a longer life than any previous generation.

Clive Lilwall taught communications at Durham College, Oshawa, Ontario. He is the author of "How to Stop Your 67 Worst Worries." If you are leading a life of worry and want solutions, read "How to Stop Your 67 Worst Worries." The good news is that you can often conquer worry simply by changing your ways of thinking about life.Visit http://www.worryfixer.com

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