The Flu is Upon Us, Run for Your Lives

So Flu season is officially underway.

Every year, without fail, the dreaded influenza attacks Japan with devastating effect.

It's particularly virulent here not because they have weak immune systems, nor due to random mutations making their viruses stronger than elsewhere, but (I assume) due to geography and society.

Population density is very high here, especially in Tokyo and the cities.  If one person sneezes on a crowded train, can you hear the other passengers fall?  The answer is yes, because the sneezer can't even raise his hands to cover his mouth, so full are the trains.  This raises some obvious problems in terms of hygiene, and means that a single infected individual may make a great number of other peoples weeks worse.  I assume this isn't a problem in the middle of Siberia, where you're more likely to see a meteorite than other human beings.

The other problem is the people.  No one washes their hands.  Ever.  I've written about this a thousand times before, but it's worth repeating in case you find yourself here.  Don't touch anything, and always bring hand soap/alcohol with you.

I am not exaggerating when I say that I've never seen someone wash their hands in Japan, and I have used public toilets.  They consider rinsing fingertips under tepid water for three tenths of a second 'a thorough wash,' and go about their day as if they're not the reason everyone is always sick all the time.

My speculation on this is that a thousand years ago, when no one knew anything and a splinter could kill you, people ran their hands under water and gave up at that, because the whole thing was a futile attempt at keeping clean and what's the point.  That tradition is still observed outside temples and shrines and whatnot, where literally hundreds of thousands of people will pick up, mess around with, and then drink from the same half a dozen spoon/ladle things.  The water may come from a tap, but it can also be recycled, pumped around a closed loop and topped up with fresh water when it gets low.

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

So water is clean, and touching water imbues the toucher with cleanliness, I suppose?

They all wear masks which is a horrible idea to try and stop getting ill (the masks, they do nothing), but is a great idea if you are actually sick and don't want to make anyone else ill.  For whatever reason, they do not cover their mouths when they cough and sneeze, instead preferring to throw their hands back, find the nearest person and cough/sneeze as loud/hard in their victims face as possible.  This is why masks are a great idea, because they can do that to their hearts content while limiting the risk to their victim.  I doubt the masks do much in this instance, but it's got to be better than nothing, right?  Right?

They absolutely learn about cells, viruses, bascteria and transmission in school, I've seen the books and posters telling the kids how to actually wash their hands and not cough in other peoples faces, but absolutely no one takes notice.

And the hospitals here don't have a bonkers death rate after surgery, so the doctors wash their hands.

As a nation, they know about the transmission of disease, but the grand total of shits given is zero.

In thinking about it, I suppose that's similar to our obsession with soccer.  We are absolutely horrible at it, and we'll never be any good, but everyone gets their hopes up like a bunch of idiots and then get angry and start rioting when we lose.

As a nation, we know soccer is a lie and terrible for our national health, but everyone still gets angry.

Holy Donkey Balls

As it turns out, it only takes a few days of not sleeping to send a person mad.

I caught the flu from a bar floozy on Saturday night, returning home entirely unawares.  I felt a bit rough on Monday, felt about the same Tuesday and then BAM!  I struggled through work on Wednesday but left after all my classes had finished, a couple of hours early.  Thursday was a trip to the hospital for my scans, with enough energy left over to get home and sit on the sofa, sweating into it.

Friday was a trip to the hospital to get the results of my scans, talk to the doctor, then a road trip to the local county capital city for my visa.  That was a long day.

Saturday was a sit on my ass doing nothing day, as was Sunday.  On Sunday, things got worse.  It felt like I had an ear infection, then the glands under my chin (#EDIT# hahaha, I meant in my neck) swelled to make moving my head impossible, and I had no painkiller to combat it.  Every time I swallowed, it hurt.  Not a little bit either.  I couldn't cough to clear my lungs, or swallow to clear my throat.  It's that which makes it so painful, knowing that you're going to cough a hundred times, and clear your throat (involuntarily) a hundred more.

It really sucked, and I didn't sleep.  This after struggling to sleep the few nights prior, meant I didn't go into work on Monday.

But here I am, on Tuesday, feeling substantially better.  I still ache, my joints still hurt a bit, my neck is sore and my head throbs, but I've crested the hill.  I can eat, I can drink, I can laugh and play.  I am better.

And I have grown as a person:

Never again will I kiss a random floozy at a bar.