One does not need to have cancer to analyze its symptoms

TV3 rearranged their Sunday night's shows and thus, there was no Supernatural yesterday :(

On Friday, after being 'chatised' by a colleague, I decided to wear a mask on my trip back home. Gosh uols, I nearly died of suffocation! I couldn't breathe. Once I reached the station, I took it off to catch my breath.

And then in the train, I had to take off my glasses because it started to get foggy -- what with me breathing really hard in the mask and the very cold aircond in the train.

Today, I decided to forgo it altogether.

I think the ones who should wear a mask are those who are sick, to prevent their virus to spread to us. The others should just practise good hygiene only lah.

But then again, it also depends on what type of mask you have.

Over lunch today I sat with the Finance SM, whose wife is a doctor. He said the ones that we received from the building management (remember, 1st death happened at my office building?) *that nearly suffocated me, I might add* won't help in preventing the virus from us because it is the type that will prevent stuff you exhale 'be distributed' to the public but not things that you inhale.

He said the ones that can protect YOU from inhaling unwanted particles are the other type that is called 'respirator mask'. It's the white coloured one that looks like a crotch protector tu.

It do concerned me whatever virus I am exposed to on the train because I do not want to expose Mira to it. So on Saturday after her class we went to have our usual kopitiam session at Tesco Midah, I dropped by Watsons to look for those alcohol-based hand cleaner.

You know, all these while I see bottles upon bottles of those little Dettol hand sanitizers, untouched at Watsons or Guardian. This time however, you won't see even a glimpse of it! All sold out. Lol.

Kaya la Dettol this year ek :p

Dettol is not the only brand of hand sanitizer out there y'all. I got the other one -- Eskulin brand with Disney's Pooh characters on the bottle... Eh-eh, I suddenly realize I took the one with Piglet on it. At that time, I chose it because it was pink. How ironic!

Anyhow, with so many people telling you what is 'the best thing to do', I think we should just heed the advise from CDC. Check out this link to learn more. But the gist of it are...

• Wash your hands often with soap and water. Use an alcohol-based hand cleaner if soap and water are not available.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your arm when you cough and sneeze.
  
• Stay away from other people if you are ill.
• Avoid crowded places and large gatherings as much as possible.

It is good to note that you can consider to wear a facemask if:

• You are sick with the flu and think you might have close contact with other people.
• You live with someone who has the flu (you therefore might be in the early stages of infection) and need to be in a crowded place. Limit the amount of time you spend in these crowded places and wear a facemask while you are there.
• You are well and do not expect to be in close contact with a sick person but need to be in a crowded place. Limit the amount of time you spend in these crowded places and wear a facemask while you are there.

Consider wearing a respirator if you are well and you expect to be in close contact with people who are known or thought to be sick with pandemic flu. Limit the amount of time you are in close contact with these people and wear a respirator during this time. These recommendations apply if you must take care of a sick person at home.

So there you have it.

The CDC's page on H1N1-specific link is here. The WHO GAR's page is here.

We all have to do our part now folks. No more finger pointing, please.

Take care, peeps.

xoxo