8 ms·

This year was a great experiment in person hygiene. It was the healthiest I have ever been for a full year, no colds, stomach bugs, anything. I'm not sure whic

• rubicon33 5y ago
  You can do a LOT. I haven't been sick once in 6+ years because I do the following: 1) Almost never eat out. Home cooked meals that I've prepped / washed. This was single handedly the biggest factor that completely removed "getting sick" from my life. 2) Hand wash before touching face, or food. 3) Avoid sick people. If I hear someone coughing or sneezing, I move away from them. Call me a germ freak, I don't care, I've had 0 sick days in 6+ years since I started taking these simple precautions. You don't even need to social distance... just avoid people if they're sick. SOME of this is impossible (on an air plane for example). Turns out, I very rarely travel so have likely just gotten lucky avoiding the dip shits that fly while sick.
  • allturtles 5y ago
    4) Don't have children.
    • ygra 5y ago
      ... that are in kindergarten / school. But yes, the lockdown a year ago was interesting in that I wasn't sick once. But when everyone is at home and you can't see anyone, there's no one to get sick from either.
      • JoBrad 5y ago
        Adopting adult kids is kind of awkward, though.
    • tempestn 5y ago
      Don't know why you're downvoted; this is true. You can personally avoid opportunities for exposure all you want, but your 2-8ish year old kids will get colds regularly from daycare/school, and then will give them to you. I also didn't get sick from March-September 2020. Then schools re-opened here, and I was sick within 3 weeks, and then again a couple months later. And that's even with all the extra sanatization and distancing they were trying to do at school.
      • skeeter2020 5y ago
        don't forget that kids get sick for like 12 hours and you're knocked out for several days.
    • f6v 5y ago
      There’s no way to avoid them even if you don’t have your own. There’s always a parent-colleague you have to deal with, unless you WFH.
    • crowquill 5y ago
      And here comes the childfree brigade again.
  • incrudible 5y ago
    I've done the same except for not eating out, same result. I regularly eat at places that perhaps are not the pinnacle of hygiene. Doesn't make a difference. My theory is that your mouth is already a cesspool where bacteria colonies fight it all out. It makes sense, because "safe" meal preparation is unnatural. Your nose/eyes are far more vulnerable.
    • stjohnswarts 5y ago
      A biological warfare zone more or less in balance but a "cesspool" is kind of gross and unnecessary. Bacteria aren't all bad, and if your digestive tract was suddenly without them you'd die from malnutrition if you didn't get nutrients through an IV
  • sevencolors 5y ago
    Well eating at home can also have failures. Few months ago I accidentally ate some hot sauce that should have been refrigerated but was stored on a room temp. shelf. Looked fine when i ate it but was violently sick for 3 days and thought i had covid :(
  • gjs278 5y ago
    i’d rather be sick than live this pathetic life you are describing
  • thelean12 5y ago
    On the other hand, I don't think I've ever gotten a cold/the flu, at least not since I was a young kid, and I don't take much care to do anything on your list. Sure, I'll wash my hands after using a restroom or before prepping food. But I'll definitely walk into a restaurant (pre-covid) and just start eating a burger without washing my hands first. I feel the biggest factor is just what body and immune system you have... Some people I know just get sick constantly, multiple times a year, and they don't seem to do much of anything differently than I do. I don't think they're secretly licking doorknobs when no one is looking.
    • Mordisquitos 5y ago
      Even though the plural of anecdotes is not data, I must say that my personal experience matches yours as well. I pay no attention to disinfection or antiseptic cleanliness, and I can't remember the last time I was actually ill. In the good old days, whenever someone would "warn" me that they were a bit sick before hugging/sharing a bottle/shaking hands/etc, I would even joke “Don't worry, I don't believe in the germ theory of disease”, because in my personal experience it wasn't worth the effort to avoid it. Needless to say, that joke is now retired—not only because there are very good reasons to be cautious regarding COVID-19, but also because with so much bizarre denialism that has trended lately someone might even believe I was saying it seriously.
      • CodeGlitch 5y ago
        Damn I wish I had your immune system. Pre-covid I would get sick every September and probably 2 other times in the year (I would have the flu jab every November too!). I'm a germaphobe so wash my hands before eating, etc. I also try and stay fit, don't smoke and hardly drink alcohol. Unless there's a trick I'm missing here?
        • sebmellen 5y ago
          Just a thought — the trick might be trying to be less of a germaphobe to build up your immune system (not medical advice).
  • xadhominemx 5y ago
    > Almost never eat out. Home cooked meals that I've prepped / washed. This was single handedly the biggest factor that completely removed "getting sick" from my life. I highly doubt this is the case. And in any event, how would you know?
    • deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
  • varajelle 5y ago
    I'm also lucky to be quite healthy, almost never sick, The last time I had a flu was probably somewhere around 2010, because I was still in my second to last job, which was the only time ever I had to take a couple of sick days But my lifestyle is quite different. When restaurants are not closed, I eat out at least twice a week. I don't often wash my hands. And touch my face all the time. I don't bother avoiding sick people because I don't think I'll get sick. I'm the opposite of germ freak. I don't like washing my appartment and people visiting me can easily see that. The social distancing rules had a big impact on me and the amount of social I get. I guess I'm just lucky with my health. Or maybe my hymune system is well trained. Who knows?
  • chrismcb 5y ago
    Probably 2 and 3 are bigger factors if not getting sick than 1. Although never eating out also reduces your exposure to others that may be sick. Of course avoiding people who cough and sneeze send a bit paranoid. I don't do any of those things, and precovid the only times I got sick were after a plane trip out standing in a long line for hours.
  • noja 5y ago
    > Almost never eat out. Home cooked meals that I've prepped / washed. This was single handedly the biggest factor that completely removed "getting sick" from my life. How do you know this was the biggest factor?
    • rubicon33 5y ago
      I don't "know" for sure that it was, just like I dont "know" that ANY of these factors had anything to with me not getting sick. Maybe, it was all just luck. That said, I've been pretty good about hand washing and avoiding people my whole life. Having grown up in a medical family, personal hygiene was not something completely foreign to me. As a result, haven't had a history of being sick regularly, but it still could/would happen from time to time. It was after I stopped eating out that I completely stopped getting sick. I am not exaggerating when I say that in the last 6 years, I have been sick 0 times. That correlates perfectly with me stopping eating out. Correlation != causation, I know.
    • deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
  • tehlike 5y ago
    I don't think your anecdata proves anything but your own experience. 1. I eat out a lot, including junk food every now and then. 2. Of course I hand wash, but i would not say "before touching face" per-se, but as often as you'd normally expect (restroom breaks, before preparing food and/or eating, after coming from outside). 3. I don't really run away from sick people. I simply am indifferent. I still never get sick, i used to, but probably haven't for more than 7 years.
    • retrac 5y ago
      I've worked a variety of jobs. I tend to a lot of mild upper respiratory infections I recover from easily enough. The only things I could ever really link were routine public transit use. Or when I worked in a bar. When those were true I got sick a lot more than when they weren't.
      • tehlike 5y ago
        I'd imagine it has more to do with ventilation, maybe?
    • rubicon33 5y ago
      Yes well, I would hope if you've learned nothing during this pandemic it's that there is no one-size-fits-all immune system. Some 20 year olds are dying from COVID, others are barely noticing they have symptoms. All suggestions are de facto "anecdata". What works for me, may not work for you. I used to get "food poisoning" once a year or so, but haven't ever since I stopped eating out. That you are more resilient to whatever food born illnesses I was encountering, does not invalidate my own experience.
      • tehlike 5y ago
        That's exactly what i said. I am actually in the "exposing yourself to decent variations of microbes is actually good for your long term health" camp. Not everyone can do that, of course, especially the immunocompromised. I get that. You are telling your experience as if it's one size fits all. It's not. There is a reasonable case to actually exposing kids and one's self to microbes early on. Similar story for food allergies - exposing kids early on actually helps them not have those allergies, for example. Anyway, like i said, not one size fits all, which is what I was against at in your argument. You made it sound like it was.
  • crazygringo 5y ago
    Unfortunately if you take crowded subways or buses, or have meetings in small rooms with coworkers who have young children in school, none of that matters. You still WILL get sick. It doesn't matter how much you wash your hands, or cook food at home. Plenty of germs are airborne and linger. Unless you stay at home all day long, you're going to get sick. Now some people have much more effective immune systems than others, and a lot of that is just genetics. Sounds like you're exceptionally lucky here.
    • irrational 5y ago
      Not if you wear a mask and wash your hands immediately afterwards. I haven’t been in an in person meeting since COVID started, but I’m wearing a mask to the next one I attend.
      • ryan_j_naughton 5y ago
        In Covid's case, wearing a mask only reduces the chance of you contracting the virus by 2%. The real reduction comes from the other person wearing a mask ~20% reduction). Thus, you can't simply choose to keep wearing masks and get significant reductions in getting sick. Everyone would have to keep wearing masks, which is very unlikely. Similarly, before the pandemic it was totally normal to go to parties with a cold or respiratory illness. I sincerely hope people keep the behavioral shift of not going to any events when sick, but humans are selfish and I bet they will largely return to their selfish ways
      • crazygringo 5y ago
        Not true. Wearing a mask is more to prevent spreading a virus you have, than to prevent you from getting a virus. In other words, the main benefit of masks is to prevent people with COVID or the flu from sneezing and infecting others. If you're healthy, wearing a mask is not going to provide a ton of protection from infectious people near you not wearing masks. A little bit of protection, but not a lot. So unless you can convince everyone else in your meeting to wear a mask as well, it's not going to make a major difference, sadly.
  • skeeter2020 5y ago
    you're like a hedge fund manager who's made money 6+ years in a row; your day will come. You can't "avoid sick people" by moving away from those obviously sick. If that were the case this covid thing would have been easy. Best bet is your habbit avoided you catching hay fever from someone with seasonal allergies.
  • itsangaris 5y ago
    In non-covid times I'm not nearly this precautious and am super lucky to basically never get sick. I'd be careful of drawing any meaningful conclusions based on just anecdotal experiences.
  • ketamine__ 5y ago
    Studies seem to suggest that because of the air filtration and air flow that flying is one of the safest ways to travel with other people.
  • travisp 5y ago
    I too rarely got sick for years, even with international travel. Until I had kids, which I notice you don't mention anywhere in your comment.
  • Broken_Hippo 5y ago
    Sure.. but this also means that you don't have to take public transportation, that you probably don't have small children, and you likely don't work in a school, pharmacy, daycare or hospital. Bragging about sick days is hardly indicative. Many if not most places in the states don't give sick days, and folks are forced to go in when sick because they can't afford not to. I should now mention that I worked 8+ years at a pharmacy, and a school before that. I rarely got sick and I didn't do most of your precautions. Just basic hygiene, and got my flu shot every year. And I directly led folks to cough and cold medicines. Some of this time, I stopped to get coffee most days (there was a mcdonald's next door). I just get sick even less now, but that's mostly because my lifestyle naturally isolates me (not in a bad way). I'll also say that sick folks can - and do - get you sick before they show symptoms, and a lot of folks that cough or sneeze do not have any disease that you can catch: Smoking (pot or nicotine) causes coughing: Allergies and irritants cause both coughing and sneezing. You can only do so much. You've just been lucky and have a lifestyle that allowed you to keep away from people to an extent, though the hand washing does help out and honestly, if anyone picks up one of your habits, it really should be somewhat frequent hand washing.
  • globular-toast 5y ago
    You can't avoid sick people if it's your boss at work. My old boss used to make fun of people if they stayed off with "the sniffles".
• incrudible 5y ago
  Just washing my hands regularly and not touching my face had me avoid colds for many years now. I've never worn a mask before COVID.
• stjohnswarts 5y ago
  IF nothing else comes of this I've been much better about wiping surfaces and using hand sanitizer. I don't see myself going around indoors everywhere with a mask, but I won't feel weird doing it during flu season either. Hopefully it's a bit more normalized.
• f6v 5y ago
  Usually my colleagues at the office didn’t wash their hands before eating and showed not so great overall hygiene. They also missed many days due to “stomach bug”. And then there’re people with children, they’re always sick. Yes, it’s been a great year in terms of not having to deal with many people. But I have to say I’m a bit worried it’ll go back to usual soon.
  • crocsarecool 5y ago
    I am hoping people get serious about staying home if they’re sick. “I’m not contagious.” If you’re not contagious, then how did the whole office get wiped out?
    • throwaway803453 5y ago
      Too bad companies do have policies about this as it implies discouragement of taking sick days. Perhaps the CDC has some guidelines that help such as "stay home if you have had a fever in the last 48hours".
  • ryandrake 5y ago
    Just to add onto the anecdote pile. I used to work for a Silicon Valley tech company which, due to it's well-known obsession with secrecy, had office buildings with a lot of closed doors you needed to grab and open to get anywhere. Probably 4-6 different doors to handle just to get to my own office (itself with a door that people grab). I've never taken more sick days in my life. I always seemed to have some sort of URT infection or stomach bug, despite trying my best to keep good hygiene.
• dfxm12 5y ago
  Stopping the spread of disease is on everyone. It's important to understand that the precautions we took helped to keep others healthy, as well. It's great to continue with your personal hygiene regiment, and it's even better when the people you interact with (and the people they interact with, etc.) do it too. So, do you what you've been doing & convince others to do the same.
• zanmat0 5y ago
  Have you been sleeping more because of WFH? That could be the major factor here.
  • throwaway803453 5y ago
    I got sick 4 times in 2019 and am normally sickly for about 90 days a year. Sick 0 times since Feb 2020 and almost no "feeling shitty" days. The major change was hand washing, face masks, no bars, no gym, no movie theaters, and no travel. For the first time in my life I feel unstoppable.
• eismcc 5y ago
  I think I got sick a lot from poorly ventilated meeting rooms. I can recall multiple times coming into a room with stale air smell and get sick not long after.
• agogdog 5y ago
  I will certainly continue to wear a mask in crowded places like public transportation and concerts. This has been eye-opening for me in terms of virus transmission vectors. I kind of fell into the trap of "no one around here does it, so I'm not going to do it either."
• kelnos 5y ago
  One thing that would be great would be if people would throw on a mask if they have to go out while they're feeling sick. This is considered common courtesy in some places, but just isn't done much in the West. You could do so yourself even when not sick, and that presumably would help protect you from people who are sick (and are probably not masked), but I expect that will be considered socially "weird" after things go back to normal. Continuing to wash your hands often and avoid touching your face (especially after touching things in public like door handles, elevator buttons, etc.) probably would help as well. Agree that social distancing isn't really practical outside of the current situation. But really, there are just a lot of things that you won't be able to avoid, at least not unless you want to stay at home more often than you used to rather than venturing out. Conference rooms at an office, crowded public areas, public transit, even lining up at a popular takeout restaurant... all of these things make it easier to pick up something from someone else, as virus particles in water droplets can linger in the air for quite some time.
  • prawn 5y ago
    For your list in the last paragraph - children at school or childcare. Our childcare lists any reported illnesses on the door of each age group's room. Sometimes there can be 2-3 items on a door: gastro, colds, HFMD, etc. Of course, you find out after your child has been exposed and brought it home. Like others, we haven't had any real illnesses in over a year, as well as living in a place which hasn't really had COVID cases in many months.
• wesleywt 5y ago
  It might be that you working from home. I think you get infected at work and the kids at school.
• globular-toast 5y ago
  I doubt it has much to do with personal hygiene. I always washed my hands. That hasn't changed. What's changed is personal distancing, in particular not sharing an office, train, hotel etc with sick people. I really hope the long term effect of this will be huge social stigma against being in public with a contagious illness.
• sabersei2 5y ago
  You have no clue what health is.