Darwin, Corona & the immune system
We are living in truly Darwinian evolutionary times. Although not entirely correct in habitual language, survival of the fittest in March 2020 means that those who will be willing to adapt to change, will win the war against the coronavirus.
In a nutshell, we are creating and living history as we speak.
More pointedly, how many of us thought on March 1st that by March 31st we would become virologists and immunologists in our own right, afraid of our own bacterial and viral footprint?
How many times have we read or heard “we are living in unprecedented times”?
How many times have we said, “Stay safe!” to each other since March 1st? How many times did we forget all those years before?
The world has grounded to a halt
Everyone is suddenly aware of their impact not only on themselves but also their next of kin, and that of the countless others we share trains, elevators, shopping trolleys, door handles and light switches with. It’s easy to predict a big rise in societal obsessive-compulsive behaviour cases that will not come from mangled views created in a single someone’s mind, but from a global stark reality we unexpectedly find ourselves in.
It would be very easy for me to say, “I told you so! I’ve been telling you so since I ran into clostridium difficile in hospital and was told that hand hygiene is the most important thing in the world!”
Welcome to my own OCD world of Dettol: Dettol hand hygiene wipes, Dettol hand gel, Dettol floor cleaner, Dettol floor wipes and Dettol laundry products. You can find them in every room, every handbag, every suitcase.
As the owner of a brain tarnished by MS, rather than protecting the CNS against harmful cells, my immune system finds joy in attacking it instead (CNS: central nervous system which consists of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves), which leads to infection or swelling in central nervous system. In a healthy person, a layer of cells called the blood brain barrier (BBB) prevents toxic substances from penetrating the brain and optic nerves. In MS, however, white blood cells enter the BBB and wrongfully attack myelin, a fatty white substance that protects the brain nerves, causing MS activation that results in the creation of new or changed lesions, and as such possible disability.
But?
Since a lot of the disease modifying therapies (DMTs) are designed to target the immune system, they affect the inflammatory process.
This is where it all went wrong just over a decade ago, and if you’re scared about catching the coronavirus, please regard it as a cautionary tale on how fast and how easily your life can turn against you.
On more than one occasion in the past, it was the reason for trips to the emergency room. The most distressing immune system experience came in the form of a hospital-acquired bacterial infection called clostridium difficile.
Anyone who knows about viral and bacterial infections can tell you that those acquired in long-term care facilities and in hospitals are becoming harder to treat, but also, that their incidence and onset is changing.
Research shows that most C. Difficile victims are people above the age of 65, are in long-term hospitals or care facilities, and those on regular bouts of antibiotics.
∞ I was thirty years below the average age of onset (i.e. 65+ years old)
∞ I refused to take antibiotics for years, as taking them too often or for the wrong reasons undermines your immune system.
∞ I wasn’t a resident-patient in hospital or long-term care facility (although I did have a lot of hospital appointments for my MS).
Hand hygiene was not pressed upon that hard in 2008 which leads me to believe that transfer of the bacterium must have happened through contaminated bathrooms in hospital, or via hand-to-hand contact during hospital appointments. Its dichotomy? It could only be treated by antibiotics, and in my case, by intravenous and oral treatment at the same time.
Morale of the story
Despite having MS, I didn’t consider my immune system to be at its worst until I crawled through the eye of the needle with C. Diff, a needle most intent on pointing the other way. I was sure I wasn’t done with living just yet, so I ripped the needle out and said, “Never again.”
Thanks to vigilant doctors and nurses, I can assure you that their words matter. Thanks to them, I am here because I have been following their guidelines about strict hygiene – in particular hand hygiene. Twelve years later, I still abide by their rules as if life depended on it, because it does.
It most certainly does.
As I am writing this, I have no idea who will be reading this which means that you and I are strangers to each other. But I ask that either way, follow the coronavirus guidelines put forward by medical professionals and your political leadership. Their words matter.
Your life could depend on it.
You may think you are strong, but you are only as strong as your weakest link. And that link may come from a place you hadn’t even thought of. I never assumed that one day, I would be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I certainly never imagined C. Difficile would be added three years later, almost leading me to my own funeral.
Saying it won’t happen to you is so foolish it almost sounds like an invitation to the coronavirus. Don’t be idiotic. Don’t think you know better than top immunologists and virologists just because you read an article on the internet. Listen to them. Listen to political leadership based on facts and science, not on Fox News. If your local government is willing to shut down the country wherever you are in the world, they are not talking about a mere itch, painful foot, or hangover.
Spare yourself and your loved one’s shock, fear, and heartache. The coronavirus doesn’t care who it takes, where you come from or how wealthy you think you are.
We are in this together, alone in isolation, but together.
Stay connected, stay safe.
#InThisTogether #AloneTogether #WriteNow #StayConnectedStaySafe
For more info about COVID-19 in Ireland and abroad:
World Health Organization (WHO)
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
Coronavirus (COVID-19), Center for Disease Control and Prevention
SPANISH: Coronavirus (COVID-19), Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Coronavirus (COVID-19), Health Service Executive, Ireland
Restricted movements and self-isolation
Minding your mental health during COVID-19
COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Government of Ireland
Stay at home: The latest public health measures
Updates and information from across government
National Action Plan in Response to COVID-19
Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC)
Coronavirus updates, RTE News
2018 Winner Best Blog Post with ‘3443 Needles’, Blog Awards Ireland, Ashville Media Group, Dublin, Ireland
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◾ MyTherapy: Best MS Blog for Simplicity 2018
◾ Ireland Blog Awards: Finalist 2014, 2015, 2017
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One Comment
Aimee Straw
Thank you for the encouragement and confidence to take this seriously. It’s pretty scary, but control the controllable, right? It is reassuring to know that good hand hygiene can go a long way to keeping myself and others safe.