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Hey kids! My name is Amanda, but call me Manders. I'm a psychology/neuroscience/biology student. Throw me questions and I'll throw you an answer. :)

advice

I have a deep fear of germs and getting sick. Even the thought of catching a regular cold drives me crazy. I was my hands for 10 minutes, and at school, I wear a bandanna that covers my nose and mouth to help keep the germs away. I mean, hey it's not my fault that kids at my school go swimming in 10 degree weather over the weekend, and then catch a cold. Basically Everyone is sick at my school ALL the time.

Some of my teachers get mad at me when I wear my bandanna, but if they make me sit next to, talk to, and help out sick people, why shouldn't I be able to wear it? I'm not going to get sick because of one stupid person. Last week, I skipped alot of my classes just because I sat next to sick people in them and I don't want to get sick. Mainly because I just started working out, and if I'm sick, I won't be able to work out. (yes, working out is REALLY important to me.)

Now my question, I guess my question is, is there anything else I can do from getting sick? Any healthy tips that you can inform me on? (Besides obvious stuff like washing your hands.) Do you think the bandanna is a good idea? I've actually considered wearing a surgical mask but then people would think I'm even weirder.

Also, how possible is it that I'm going to get sick if I sit next to someone sick, for about 45 minutes every day? (Keep in mind that I'm wearing my bandanna over my nose and mouth.) ANY advice you have would be helpful because I'm flipping out right now.

I'm no expert on the subject, but I do know a few things.

First of all, there's not really a point in trying to avoid germs. Why? Germs are EVERYWHERE. You'd freak out if you knew how much bacteria was in your mouth.

Also, think of it this way: When you get a shot (Let's use the chicken pox vaccine as an example), there's a little bit of the illness in the vaccine. It's not enough to actually affect you, but the purpose is for your body to build an immunity to the disease. So, really, exposure=immunity, for the most part. That's why in most cases, people only get chicken pox once.
Logically, that means that your efforts to avoid germs and illness will probably backfire when you happen to get in contact with germs. Your body can't build an immunity to something that it's not exposed to. Plus, stress isn't good for your immune system, so constantly worrying about avoiding germs will probably make it more likely that you'll get sick.
And just because you're exposed to a germ, doesn't mean that it's going to make you sick. Like I said, you're always exposed to germs, and if every germ we came in contact with made us sick, we'd be sick 24/7.

I'll still give you some tips, though.
-Don't put your hands near your eyes or in your mouth.
-ALWAYS wash your hands after going to the grocery store, due to the raw meat that's sold there.
-Bathroom floors hold more bacteria than toilet seats do, so put your purse (if you're a girl, anyway) on the hook on the bathroom stall's door.
...Honestly, I can't tell you much more, because everything else I can think of is really obvious.

If it makes you feel any better, I rarely ever get sick. I don't need a mask or bandana, and I bite my nails. (And I should stop, but that's beside the point. Haha.) The last time I had to stay home from school because of illness was in middle school, maybe even late elementary school.

I think that you should try overcoming your fear because it's interfering with your life and your education.

I hope I helped, and if you have any more questions, feel free to leave another one in my inbox!
-Manders

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