The Quest against Germs
Take a time capsule to the 19th Century in Eastern Europe. France and England have joined forces to battle Russia, who is hell bent on invading Crimea (modern day Ukraine) into its already formidable empire. It was the first war in history covered by the media with photos being shipped back to Western Europe and war accounts being published in newspapers.
Months into the war, the number of casualties had been appalling. Eyewitness accounts show soldiers dying by the hundreds with little regard and effort in saving them. It was this dreadful picture that forced a young Englishwoman named Florence Nightingale to sail for the front and help care for the soldiers.
Such a heroic tale is being told in medical schools at present. The legend of Florence Nightingale led to saving of the lives of thousands of soldiers. However, Nightingale did not make any miracles. For all her accolades, all she did was clean up the aid stations, sanitize everything near the wounded soldiers, and fight germs and infections that eventually led to the saving of many lives.
After the war, the English Army established its first medical school and all armed forces of the world implemented strict sanitation and cleanliness in their field hospitals – a great contribution by a woman that was novel for its simplicity.
Sanitation is one of the most basic health care regimes but is often the most neglected. Germs are everywhere and human hands, the most overworked of all body parts come in contact with these microscopic organisms every second. These germs are then transferred and transmitted to other places. If we are not careful, germs land in food, in cooking utensils, on children.
Bacteria, small as they are, travel through almost anything – by air, through water and through contact. The bad bacteria, commonly called germs thrive in areas that are not clean and multiply rapidly. They thrive by killing good cells that is why after some time, their hosts become weak and die. Too many germs in the body cause illnesses and disease. Like the soldiers in the battlefield during Nightingale’s time, too many germs caused infection and led to death of so many soldiers.
It is very essential that each person adopts a clean and sanitized lifestyle. Frequent washing of the hands with water and soap and with sanitizing solutions would go along the way. Adopting a clean lifestyle, from the household to the car and the office prevents the proliferation of harmful bacteria in the environment that may carry diseases and illnesses.
Germ killing goes in hand with a health lifestyle. Although keeping our bodies and our environment clean is a good step, we must also support with a healthy diet that will make our bodies stronger to fight germs. For germs will never disappear, they will always be around, in little things. And they will attack once we let our guards down.
