I scrub up in the sink, and pay careful attention to the nooks and crannies on my hand such as under my fingernails and between my fingers. I scrub for at least 20 seconds, rinse carefully, and dry my hands on a clean cloth. My hands are now free from contaminants ... for now anyway.
In 2020, this careful attention to hygiene could be anyone, but for people with allergies and the immunocompromised, protocols for safety are second nature. When how well you scrub your hands will decide whether a fatal allergen reaches your lips or not, or how much risk you are exposing yourself to, the attention to detail becomes vitally important.
Yet for the average person, hyper attention to safety protocols is new and unfamiliar. You probably buckle your seat belt getting into a car, or wear a helmet riding a bike. This attention to safety is important, but not quite at the forefront of your thoughts that create anxiety and worry one little misstep can have a detrimental effect on you.
Covid-19 has shone a little light on what it’s like to live with allergies. If you don’t wear a mask, avoid crowds, and wash your hands carefully, you could end up with a deadly illness. It’s not that far off from those who suffer from allergies or other health complications who must follow similar guidelines.
While this may vary depending on the severity of the allergy, this is also in keeping with how seriously different people must take Covid-19. People who are immunocompromised must isolate more and take more precautions then those who are healthy.
It’s also a good comparison of how other people treat the novel coronavirus. Just like some people choose to forgo precautions because they feel it does not apply to them, some people are willing to ignore allergy warnings because they don’t believe an allergy is real or can be life threatening.
An allergy sufferer must be aware of all of these threats, and do what they can to mitigate it. This might mean taking allergy medication for hay fever, washing diligently when contact with an allergen occurs, or carrying an epi pen in case a deadly allergic reaction occurs.
Being prepared for worst case scenarios, and knowing how to handle them is all part of the daily lives of those who suffer with allergies.
If you have found dealing with the new restrictions and hyper vigilance that Covid-19 requires to be a bit stressful, you may have more sympathy for those who have to be hyper-vigilant all the time. It can be a real shock to have the discipline to say no to a family gathering due to infection levels, or to sanitize and wipe everything down to your groceries, but it’s very similar to what severe allergy sufferers go through every day.
As an allergy sufferer and being immunocompromised, I realized I’ve been preparing for Covid my whole life. I just didn’t know it. I practice the discipline to avoid temptations that could lead to an infection, minimize my risk to stay safe, and follow safety protocols. As you hunker down to outlast Covid along with so many others, it’s worth having a thought about the people who must do it every day, pandemic or not. Hopeful and wishing 2021 brings a new sense of empathy and compassion for everyone.