Well, This Explains a LOT...

A fellow teacher emailed out an article about spotting illnesses early. The article began with this:

We found the top ten virus and bacteria facts that teachers have to know (even if you don’t want to).
1) Top spot for classroom viral presence: student desktop [1]
2) Top spot for bacteria presence: water fountain toggle [1]
3) Most germy job: teacher (Are we surprised?) [1]
4) Germs build up throughout the day. By the afternoon, 50% of classroom surfaces have the flu virus. [1]
5) Teacher illness-related absences average 5.3 days a year. [2]
6) 622 million school days are lost each year in the US due to the common cold. [3]
7) The cold season starts in late August and lasts until April. [3]
8) Forty percent of parents have sent a child to school sick. [4]
9) Seventy-four percent of teachers believe they have missed school because of illnesses picked up from their students. [5]
10) Germs can survive on surfaces for up to 72 hours! [1]
Sources: [1] Study by Charles P. Gerba, University of Arizona, 2005; [2] It’s a Snap, Clean Hands Statistics, [3] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [4] June 2006 Clorox Survey, [5] 2005 Scholastic.com survey

So that could explain why I'm so sick all the time. However, I am happy to report that I'm now on my third week of NO SICKNESS! The year started out rough with the flu, food poisoning and a gum infection all in the first month or so, but going strong now! Woohoo!