Mysophobic?

Today's title contains one of those 50-cent words. Mysophobia is the fear of germs. People with this condition do not touch anything unless it has been "cleaned" beforehand. They constantly wash their hands so as not to be contaminated. Any contact with dirt or any other thing seen as "dirty" will send them over the edge and start a whole new bout of cleansing.

I wonder...

Are we creating more mysophobes today?

Everywhere you go there is someone with a bottle of hand sanitizer squirting it all over everything. People use sanitizing wipes, cleaners, anti-bacterial soaps, etc. and cannot leave home without them.

Now, I am all about maintaining a clean body and surroundings and informing people of some potentially deadly illness, but we as a society seem to have become obsessed with germs. When there is an outbreak of some disease, it's decried as an "epidemic" and everyone wears masks and avoids contact with their neighbors. When someone gets the least little bit of dirt on them, it's time for the HAZMAT shower.

Really now? Isn't that why we have an immune system? Isn't it perfectly capable of fighting off anything that would harm us? God created that marvelous system for our protection. When we help it too much, it suddenly finds itself without as much to do and could potentially start fighting the body it was designed to protect. And there is also the potential of isolating ourselves from enriching and much-needed physical contact with our friends and other fellow humans. When we stay behind closed doors for fear of being contaminated, we short change ourselves from a totally fulfilled life.

So I say, if you are healthy and fit, go ahead and get dirty. Don't fret if you haven't washed your hands before you eat that french fry. As long as they aren't caked in mud or show no signs of visible contamination, take a chance. Nor should you worry about the door handle or railing that other people have touched. Your body will take care of any invaders that happen to make it inside. And if one of those invaders does evade all the immune infantry and cavalry that your body throws at it, take the appropriate measures to ensure a speedy recovery.