I wouldn’t be alive today if I hadn’t taken some very strong antibiotics for serious infections in my liver over a period of 11 years. And if I was in ICU, the antibiotics got even stronger. I really get a sense you are skimming the very top of this issue, and don’t have much science at your back. So what happened to me after my 11 years of being very sick and in the hospitals so many times I lost count? I had a liver transplant. And with that comes anti-rejection medications so I can keep that new liver, and then immunity problems, big time. When I walk into an ER sick with a fever (almost always sign of an infection, whether viral or bacterial), I introduce like this: “Hi, I’ve got a temp of 101 degrees and I’m a transplant recipient.” I get swooped into the nearest exam room, processed and assessed quickly, and the testing begins. The doctors know, the nurses know they have a potential serious problem facing them. But you don’t know anything about that.

Most of the general population goes around oblivious to how they are spreading whatever ongoing viral or bacterial problem they have. They smear their noses with open hands and then place those dirty hands on hand rails, tables, bus seats, door handles. And then they may wipe their eyes or scratch their ears, too. If I have to touch public things, I never touch my face or eyes or ears. Or eat anything. Before I scrub my hands with soap and water. Not some antibacterial gel. Scrubbing 20 seconds, rinsing well with hot (preferred) water.

Do some reading. And oh, keep YOUR hands off your face, out of your nose when you’re in public. I would very much appreciate that. So would all the other transplant recipients in the world. There are more of us than you know.