Tag Archives: measles

modern problems, social media

I look like I have the measles.

Pay close attention to the wording of today’s blog post title, “I look like I have the measles”.

Now, pay close attention to what I am about to write. I look like I have the measles. Notice, I didn’t write that I actually have the measles. I wrote that I look like I have them.

Yesterday morning, right after I woke up, I experienced a pretty violent fit of coughing. This happens sometimes early in the morning, just when I’m getting out of bed. I have cough variant asthma, allergies, and experience occasional gastric reflux. All of these conditions can bring on fits of coughing which sometimes get bad enough that I vomit. When I vomit, often early in the morning, it’s usually before I’ve had anything to eat. Consequently, I sometimes wind up dry heaving, which makes the episodes more violent than they might otherwise be. The fragile capillaries in my face break, and I look flushed and spotty, as if I had the measles. This condition lasts until the bleeding is reabsorbed and the tiny bruises heal.

That is what happened to me yesterday. I was sitting at the table drinking some water when I started coughing. I don’t know if the coughing was caused by asthma, allergies, or acid reflux. It doesn’t actually matter. What matters is what happened after the coughing subsided. Suddenly, I felt that dreaded sick feeling of nausea. I knew I was about to lose the little bit of water I had been drinking as I was waiting for my coffee and had my sudden coughing fit.

Sure enough, I hurled, then retched violently a few times with a completely empty stomach. Next thing I knew, my face was all red, my eyes were bloodshot, and the puking episode was over. I ate breakfast and went on with my day, only with red spots all over my face and neck.

Incidentally, I would not want to have the measles. And yes, I have been vaccinated against it more than once.

I know better than to look at myself in the mirror after one of these spells. I did catch my reflection yesterday afternoon and saw my face with its tiny red polka dots. It reminded me of the way the kids on The Brady Bunch looked during the measles episode. If you watch the episode, you see the children look flushed, with little red spots. I have never actually seen anyone with the measles. Most everyone in my age group was immunized, so I don’t remember any of my friends ever having that particular typical childhood malady.

They don’t look very sick. Measles is a pretty big deal, though.

Having just looked up images of measles versus images of petechiae (which is what I have), I did kind of look like I had the measles yesterday. Or, at least, like I had a whole lot of red freckles. Today, my spots have faded a bit, and I’m feeling okay. But I still look a little spotty. All I can do is wait for the tiny bruises to go away. I’ll be fine in a day or two, until the next time I have to throw up, which could be anytime.

  • Measles rash.
  • Petechiae.
See how similar they look? These two photos are random screenshots I took of images for both conditions. I wouldn’t know the difference, would you?

Why am I writing about this today? Well, there are a couple of reasons. One– I am really tired of reading and writing about COVID-19. I’m so tired of it that I find writing about the measles sort of refreshing. Two– I am tired of writing about politics, even though there’s plenty to write about. For instance, I could go off about how Trump buddy Michael Flynn, who was just pardoned for his fuckery, is now calling for Trump to impose martial law and have another election. Seriously? Fuck that guy! The election is over, and TRUMP LOST. Yes, I could rant about that, but I don’t want to today. And three– I want to make a point about people who don’t read carefully. If I was still an English teacher in Armenia, this topic could have made a very interesting lesson for my students. I’ll share it with you readers, instead.

Several people who saw my Facebook post left me comments indicating that they think I have the measles. I never wrote that I have the measles. I wrote that I LOOK LIKE I have the measles. There is a difference. The first person who commented is a nurse. She wisely left me a question mark, which gave me the opportunity to explain what happened. Then she responded appropriately that only time heals bruises caused by vomiting.

However, even after I clarified in the comments what the problem really is, other people still responded as if I had written that I actually have the measles when I only wrote that I “look like” I have them. One person asked me if I had been vaccinated. I responded in the affirmative. At first, I was confused as to why she’d ask me about whether or not I’d had a MMR. Then I realized that she was under the impression that I have the measles, when I had clearly commented that I did not.

See what I mean? The explanation was actually clear in the first comments. It seems that a few folks didn’t take a few seconds to read them before they decided to respond.

This particular issue is not really that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. Some people misunderstood me. But what I’m trying to point out is that people often hastily respond to things without reading carefully. I can certainly understand why that is. People don’t feel like they have the time or inclination to wade through hundreds or thousands of responses, yet they still want to chime in.

However, if the people who commented on this thread had taken another second or two, they would have had a better idea of what was going on. Maybe they wouldn’t have felt it necessary to comment, or they would have responded differently. In this case, it wasn’t important. In other cases, it just might be.

I find the subject of communication very interesting, although I’ll admit that engaging in it can be frustrating. Social media has made it much easier to be a poor communicator. First off, you have the devices themselves. Computers, phones, iPads, and the like are distracting, and many people are constantly skimming, playing games, and reading in a half-assed manner. So even if you’re speaking to someone offline, chances are they are distracted by their phone and will miss about half of what you’re saying to them.

Then there’s the phenomenon of people simply reading headlines or statuses and not reading anything else. This happens all the time on news sites. I’ll stop on a story by The New York Times or the Washington Post, for instance, and the comments sections will be chock full of crap. From spammers to people who reacted to headlines rather than reading, there’s a lot of shit to wade through. And so many people will be taken in by “click bait” and leave an uninformed response. Then, when someone calls them out for not reading what they’re commenting on, they complain about not wanting to pay for a subscription. To that sentiment, I ask, “Do you work for free?”

And then there’s the fact that people are often forming responses in their heads even as someone is speaking or writing. Do you ever notice this when you’re talking to someone in real life? You’ll be having a discussion with them and they’ll interrupt you, which is a sure sign that they weren’t listening to what you were saying in the first place. This happens when I’m talking to Bill. He’s used to being in a fast paced environment with Type A people, many of whom are men. He’s learned that if he wants to get a word in edgewise, he has to be willing to interrupt. I sometimes get exasperated and say, “Will you PLEASE let me finish? When you jump in like that, you’re proving that you’re not even listening and we’re both wasting our breath and valuable time.” To his credit, the last time this happened, I pointed it out, and Bill apologized and realized I was right. It’s a bad habit, but I can understand where it comes from, especially in our hyperactive culture where we’re constantly being bombarded with information.

Or someone you’re communicating with misconstrues your meaning or intent, because they weren’t actively listening to what you were saying. This also happens in written communication. People are eager to wade through quickly, so they miss important nuances– like, for instance, I wrote that I LOOK LIKE I have the measles, but don’t actually have it. So there’s no need to send get well wishes, although maybe I might want to do something about my asthma, allergies, and acid reflux issues so I might stop occasionally vomiting in the morning.

On the other hand, I suppose I could have thought preemptively, and made it clear that I don’t actually have the measles in the original post. Or I could have simply kept this episode entirely to myself, which would probably be the smarter thing to do, anyway. I guess I was just making conversation, which seems to be a lost art in this era of social distancing and online communications. But at least this incident gave me something besides politics and plagues to write about today.

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stupid people

The Brady Bunch isn’t a benchmark for real life…

I could be writing about Donald Trump’s unfortunate and blatant lies about how doctors and mothers “execute” healthy babies after birth. Obviously, he’s feeling the heat as the next election comes up, trying to rally the stupid and gullible to vote for him. I certainly could come up with a few minutes worth of ranting about his latest outrageous untruths, which, in my view, really should knock him out of contention for a second presidential term, in and of themselves. But I’m not going to go there right now. I’d rather write about The Brady Bunch.

I happen to be a super fan of The Brady Bunch. I was born in 1972, midway through its run. By the time I was a small child, the show was in syndication. I used to love to watch it, because the Bradys seemed like such a perfect family. One memorable episode that has recently come into news was one from 1969, in which all of the Brady kids come down with the measles at the same time. Apparently, anti-vaxers have been using that quaint sitcom episode as an example of what it’s like to have measles. They’re saying that the Brady kids didn’t suffer when they had the measles. They weren’t very sick, and were able to eat and play Monopoly to their hearts’ content while their parents slaved to make them well again. They got a few days off from school and lived happily ever after… at least until The Bradys aired in 1990. Yes, it’s an idyllic episode and one of my favorites. But it’s not reality.

As I got older, I realized that The Brady Bunch didn’t represent reality, even though I still liked watching the show. Unfortunately, it seems that some people are using this old sitcom as “proof” that all of the hullabaloo about vaccinations is just a bunch of hooey. It surprises me that people are really that dumb, but just like the ones who believe doctors and mothers are “executing” newborn babies, there are people out there who think it’s alright to spread the measles and skip the vaccines.

Lots of people have had measles and survived the experience just fine, but there have also been folks who have suffered dire consequences of having come down with the viral illness. Some people have even died. A couple of weeks ago, an Israeli flight attendant who was vaccinated as a child but lost her immunity, came down with measles and wound up in a coma. One potential complication of measles is encephalitis, which is a potentially deadly brain inflammation. That’s what happened to the flight attendant, who was presumably in good health before she got sick with this “harmless” childhood disease. Her doctors have said they’re now hoping for the best.

In New York City, where there’s a measles outbreak going on, twenty-nine people have had to be hospitalized due to the disease. Six of those people have had to be in intensive care. If they survive, there will be quite a huge hospital bill waiting for each of them. If they don’t survive, their nexts of kin will be dealing with the bills.

Another major potential complication of measles is pneumonia, which is sometimes fatal, particularly for those who are already immunocompromised. Even if pneumonia doesn’t kill you, it’s not a very pleasant illness and it often requires medical help to overcome. That means a loss of time, money, and productivity.

I realize that people don’t like to be told what they should or shouldn’t do. No one wants to be “forced” to have unwanted shots. Some people still resent seatbelt and helmet laws. But, speaking as someone with an advanced degree in public health, I’m here to tell you that vaccines are scientifically proven to reduce the risks related to these childhood illnesses. The vaccinations are proven to be an effective way to cut down on measles infections. Sure, it’s a mild illness for many people, but why take the chance of getting it when all you have to do is get a little shot? Why take the chance that you might spread it to someone who will get very sick and possibly even die?

Same thing goes for the mumps. People think of it as no big thing, but one of the potential complications is meningitis, which is a deadly spinal infection. Encephalitis, which is a brain infection, is another potentially serious complication of the mumps. It can also lead to swollen testicles, swollen ovaries and breast tissue, and hearing loss. Most people won’t experience these serious complications, but why risk getting the mumps if you don’t have to? Are you that eager to see your genitals swell?

The science behind vaccinations has been around for hundreds of years. Some of the vaccines that people are avoiding have existed for decades and have proven to lower the risk of contracting these diseases. But really, I just want to know… why in the hell would anyone get their information about measles from a 50 year old episode of a show like The Brady Bunch? Do people go to Spongebob Squarepants to learn about marine biology? Even Sherwood Schwartz, the man behind The Brady Bunch and its measles episode, had his children vaccinated against the disease. I’m sure he had no way of knowing his cute little measles episode would turn into an excuse for people to be foolish and risk their health, or that of their children’s.

If you’re going to look to The Brady Bunch for an idea of how measles might affect the average person, I think you should also look to the old show, ER, for another view. The 2001 episode, “A Walk in the Woods” shows just what can happen when those “rare” complications strike in a childhood illness. The link (it no longer works, so I deleted it) will take you to the full episode and, hopefully, some food for thought… especially if you have young children. And, unlike The Brady Bunch, it’s a relatively modern look at a so-called harmless disease.

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