I am sure I am not the only person who had to deal with cooties. I wasn’t sure cooties had a definition, but apparently it is a non-medical term for an invisible disease. When I was younger I thought, or was told, that boys had cooties (unless you were a boy and then girls had cooties). I never wanted to touch a boy or touch anything that had been touched by boys. If there was contamination I would quickly chant, “circle circle, dot dot, now I got my cootie shot.” There were hand motions that went along with it as well.

I realize that H1N1, seasonal flu, and other infectious diseases are different than cooties, but in many places, people are acting as if everyone has cooties.

An article by USA Today talks about how people, churches, work places, and hospitals are changing to avoid H1N1 and other influenza/diseases. Butt bumping and fist pumping has taken the place of shaking hands. Magazines and toys have been removed from waiting rooms in hospitals and clinics. And, my personal favorite, stethoscopes and chairs are being disinfected (I can’t believe this hasn’t been done before).

Protect yourself from cooties and other diseases.