Please sneeze into your sleeve!

Lots of talk of a flu pandemic .
Ugh.

Imgaine the germs you sneeze or cough into your hand appearing on everything you touch. Everything. Now, imagine all the strangers around you who do the same thing. Icky. Scary. That should be enough to make you stop sneezing or coughing into your hands, or even kleenex. Please.

Sneezing or coughing into the elbow is the best solution - hands stay clean, germs are less likely to spread through touching.

Now about this possible flu pandemic...
I know some people enjoy thinking about the worst possible outcomes, and, in most cases, I resiste the impulse to respond. But, for some reason flu pandemics really scare me. Our whole society could be affected by a widespread flu outbreak. I can imagine our way of life changing dramatically.
I was worried about the possible Avian flu a couple years ago. Now this.
My worry is that there are too many Americans who believe in pushing through their illnesses, and they'll infect everyone.
Stay home, please.
Anyway - the point is, flu pandemic scenarios scare me. I am vulnerable to the fear. I know these people are alarmists and assume the worst all the time - I shouldn't listen. I should ignore all the talk and hope for the best for everyone. I will try to stay calm.
(Though I'm tempted to get more bottled water, rice and beans, batteries, and toilet paper.)

Sigh.

And, just because we may not have a flu pandemic doesn't invalidate the good advice to sneeze into your sleeve! Please!

UPDATE: Here's the last bit of an article in the New York Times by Susan Dominus with a little perspective.

The prospect of a flu pandemic could make anyone nostalgic for the good old days when our biggest worries were rising gas prices and China’s seemingly unstoppable growth. Actually, a book like “Preparing for Pandemic Avian Flu” could make anyone nostalgic for the good old days when our biggest worries were a global financial meltdown, high unemployment and entire neighborhoods inhabited by squatters.

For those inclined to big-picture angst, the weather hasn’t helped. By Sunday, it was hot enough to raise inevitable questions of global warming. Would rising sea levels and widespread flooding soon enough make us all nostalgic for the good old days when all we had to worry about was swine flu?

You know what I really miss? Y2K.