Colds a Sign of Strength?

I remember a medical speaker saying that hospital staffs are most compassionate towards kids and old folks.  Patients in between tend to get blamed for bad habits -- smoking, drinking, obesity and other controllable factors that  land them in the hospital.  Arm-chair psychologists tell us blaming others for their misfortune keeps them at a safe distance, and I can also appreciate the daily drain of being a caregiver.

But recent research has revoked our right to blame co-workers who bring colds into the office.  Rather than suffering from poor immune systems (due to smoking, drinking or obesity, etc.), " people with more active immune systems may be especially prone to cold symptoms."  (NYT OP-ED 10/05/10)  The article by Jennifer Ackerman, the author of "Ah-Choo!  The Uncommon Life of Your Common Cold", explains its our own " ... chemical agents that cause our nose to run and our throat to swell."

So while that Mom of 3 brings in one of the 12 colds that an average kid gets every year, you might stop and admire that she is managing to maintain her strength as well as her household!

This discovery definitely takes the perverse fun out of protecting ourselves with clorox wipes and hand gels.  If we ward off the cold, it may be a sign we are the weaker one.    I think this is a reminder that our assumptions can be our undoing.