This one goes out to anyone and everyone who, like me, has seasonal allergies in any form and right now is being treated like some kind of ultimate evil for sneezing, coughing, or even just having a sore throat and mentioning it during the COVID-19 crisis.
It’s bad enough every Spring and Summer feeling like nature is attacking you, sometimes not being able to even walk outside without quickly going from “feeling fine” to “feeling like death” all because pollens and fragrances from plants cause your body to over-react. It’s another thing when these symptoms, being generally upper respiratory, wind up being at least on the surface similar to common symptoms, and in the case of sneezing and coughing, are critical transmission methods of the SARS-CoV-2 disease.
It’s a two fold thing, as, on the one hand, people treat you like you’re infected with it mostly because they are idiots — they think because this disease is such a big deal that it’s the only thing you can catch right now, as if every other illness like a normal sore throat, allergies, minor colds, flu, what have you, don’t happen. They still do, and will. Secondly, the fact is if you are infected and, especially if you’re an asymptomatic carrier you actually, horrifically, could be spreading the disease with a cough or a sneeze.
Remember, the safest thing is to presume everyone is infected. To presume you are, and that everyone you meet it. That means you should presume that, yes, you’re a carrier, and you should try to prevent the spread if you do indeed have it, which then means when you have a bit of a caught or sneeze you should limit your activities of going out, even though it’s likely just a normal seasonal reaction! Dealing with people looking at you like you’re carrying the plague all because you sneeze due to pollen isn’t fun.
The worst thing, however, is never knowing for sure if you’re just dealing with a seasonal issue or if it’s actually happened and you may truly have COVID-19. Even right now I have a sore throat. I figure it’s seasonal issues combined with me talking more at work, since the phone never fucking stops ringing and conversations can go on for far longer than they should — people think you’re their personal assistant when they call a game store, it seems. Is it, however, just the fact that it’s Spring, or is this the first sign of something so much worse coming in? I don’t know, and I can’t just stay home. If I get legitimately sick, of course, I will, and hopefully it won’t be COVID, but if it is… well fuck, and the worst thing is I wouldn’t know for sure until later than normal because to me it’s likely to, for a start, feel just like normal seasonal crap.
Please understand this is the case with many people, though. If you don’t have allergies, I’m sure someone you know does, and we don’t like it any more than you do. We’re scared too.
That’s all for this one. More to come, as always.
Stay safe everyone.
