If the covid pandemic taught us anything, it’s how dangerous germs can be; how easily they can be passed on and left on surfaces and how quickly they can spread.  I hoped that this would be a fact that stayed with people after the pandemic and that, people would think more carefully about how they interact with the world when fighting a virus.  Unfortunately I think it’s something that the majority of society has pushed to the back of their mind, ‘now the pandemic is over and done with, what’s the big deal?’  Unfortunately though, covid isn’t the only virus out there that can make people really unwell and there are still people out there with compromised immune systems and those struggling with a chronic illness like I am. 

Every year, that inevitable time of year comes when everyone seems to fall ill with a cold or similar winter virus and I dread it.  I love autumn and winter but winter illnesses can make these seasons risky for me.  My M.E was triggered by a virus 8 years ago, which highlights the fact that although viral illnesses may be short term; they can have real long term consequences on the body.  I used to be a fairly healthy person, I’d catch the common cold and get over it quickly and life would go on regardless.  I miss my body’s ability to fight off viruses so effortlessly and quickly.  Now, a simple cold can be a real detriment to my health, it can cause a full relapse of my chronic illness, it can undo all the work I’ve done to manage my M.E.  It doesn’t matter how much progress I’ve made with my illness because a simple virus can eradicate it all and leave me back at square one, possibly bedbound and unable to live my life properly.

One of the things during the pandemic which I didn’t find novel was the question “any fevers, coughs or runny noses?” when trying to book an appointment somewhere. I’ve asked family and friends a similar question every winter since I became ill with M.E because when living with a chronic illness that makes fighting off viruses and other illness difficult; it’s all about minimising the risk of contracting anything.  I’m sure some family and friends have thought me paranoid or dramatic but I have to do what I can to avoid winter viruses.  I know it’s pretty inevitable that I’ll catch something over winter and more than once, that’s life.  But, I get really frustrated when someone who is evidently unwell takes no precautions to protect other people who may be less overall healthy than they are.  I’m not sure when people became so selfish, where did a thought for others stop entering people’s minds?  Covid should have taught us how easily it is to spread a virus, how badly it can impact some people.  It’s a lesson that I hoped would stay with more people, that would encourage people to think about others, to be more aware of germs and the ways illnesses are spread. 

My blog post today is motivated by an experience at my local supermarket last week, an experience which really annoyed me and made me want to just hibernate away all winter.  Within minutes of walking into the shop I witnessed a woman blowing her nose and coughing.  A fairly normal sight for the colder months but this woman was making no effort to cough into her hands, or sneeze into a tissue.  Instead she was picking up food, coughing all over it then placing it back on the shelf.  She did it dozens of times and she didn’t even seem aware of the fact she was spreading hundreds or thousands of germs over these food items then just putting them back for others to potentially touch. It’s that ignorance that frustrates me because there was clearly no awareness of what she was doing and therefore no attempt to minimise the risk to others. The worrying thing was, I saw a few people coughing and sneezing without an attempt to cover their mouth or nose, there were a few customers who seemed to have a cold or similar illness but not be worried about spreading it on to others instore.  I completely understand that the majority of people have to get on with life when they have a cold or virus, if you’ve got to go out to a public place then you’re entitled to do that.  I just don’t understand why it’s so difficult to carry a mask if you know you are unwell and it may be contagious, we know how important mask wearing was in preventing the spread of covid.  It’s a simple thing to just put a mask on and protect others, it’s a simple way to limit the amount of germs you are spreading when ill.  Even coughing into your hands or sneezing into a tissue is preferred over freely coughing and sneezing into the air; that’s something I was taught when I was a child.  My Mum manages a shop and it’s shocking how many customers come in and when asked how they are, reply; “Oh I’ve got this horrible virus, I’ve been really ill” or variants of it.  It’s scary to me, how many people have no issue going out and potentially passing on their viral illness to someone vulnerable.  I’m not saying that someone with a virus should lock themselves away, I’m saying that the pandemic taught us so many ways of limiting the spread of germs and everyone seems to have completely forgotten them.  Social distancing, mask wearing, carrying sanitizer, coughing and sneezing into a tissue and disposing of it afterwards.  All these things are simple but people just aren’t doing them.

I don’t think healthy people understand how scary a simple virus is to someone with a chronic illness or poor immune system.  Chronic illnesses like M.E are about daily management, struggling with chronic symptoms that affect every aspect of life.  I have to fight so hard to be a relatively normal, functional being and manage all my symptoms and limit the chance of flaring them up.  So adding a virus to that struggle makes management almost impossible and I’m often left bedbound for weeks, relying on other people to care for me.  I’m never sure how badly a virus will effect me afterwards; will I return to my previous level of functionality? or will I backslide and be unable to do things I’d previously started to manage.  Will it cause my M.E to completely relapse and revert to when I was at my worst, how long will this last? A simple winter virus that most people will recover from in a week, or not even know they have; has a huge impact on my life and health.  I just wish more people understood that, I wish more people considered this when going out with a viral illness that could be passed on to someone more vulnerable. 

It’s one of the reasons that people with severe chronic illness feel so isolated; because to keep our health stable, we have to isolate ourselves.  If people can’t take simple measures to restrict how they spread germs and viral illnesses then what choice do we have; but to avoid social contact. 

I guess my advice for chronic illness sufferers this winter is; it’s okay to be selfish if you’re doing it to protect yourself.  By this, I mean, don’t be afraid to ask people you’re meeting with if they have any cold or viral symptoms, don’t be afraid to cancel social appointments if you believe someone there may have a virus.  Don’t be afraid to tell you’re loved ones how detrimental a simple illness like the common cold can be to you.  People may be judgemental and say you’re a hypochondriac, but the people who genuinely care about you will understand and want to keep you healthy this winter.  More importantly, if you’ve got to go out into public places then do what you can to protect yourself; carry sanitizer, carry a mask, distance yourself from people you see coughing or sneezing, wash your hands frequently and try to limit how many public surfaces you touch. Be safe and do what you can to prevent the spread of winter illnesses, because a lot of people are ignorant of the impact these simple illnesses can have on someone with a low immune system or a chronic illness.

(Just a note to say, excuse any spelling or grammatical errors in this post. I am actually currently suffering with a cold and the fatigue and brain fog are currently awful.)