Get a grip, you don’t have Ebola.

Get a grip, you don’t have Ebola.

Ebola no doubt is a terrible disease. It is incredibly deadly, it is very dangerous, and if not dealt with properly it can spread far and wide.

However, wondering about fear mongering does not help anyone. Do you want to prevent yourself from getting Ebola? Wash your hands regularly with soap and hot water, avoid touching your eyes and mouth and any cuts or injuries. Still not satisfied? Carry about some hand sanitiser with you, the type that kills diseases: and regularly apply it. Something like 4000 people have Ebola or rather had Ebola. That is a very small portion of the world population, and is much smaller then malaria, AIDS, or any number of diseases. At the current stage, people who want borders to be closed are more at risk of dying from snakebite than Ebola.

The massive spread in Liberia and other areas, is because of the deep superstition of the people in these areas, which saw them rejecting Western medicine, and blaming witchcraft for the disease, never mind their turning to witchcraft as its cure. When Ebola went into Nigeria, Ebola was quickly dealt with. Other countries likewise have quickly snuffed out the epidemic.

Yes, someone got Ebola, and a hospital negligently sent them home in America. Yes, despite purportedly wearing a full hazmat suit or whatnot: the American healthcare worker who treated this individual, has been diagnosed with Ebola. No doubt that sends shivers through your spine.

Unfortunately, even the best of doctors make mistakes, this is not a sign of the apocalypse, but something to be expected. Many healthcare workers, including the best in their profession, in the areas where Ebola has been ravaging: have died of the disease. The fact that this was picked up in the healthcare worker and he was isolated: is in fact a good sign.

As I have previously reported, measures such as thermal scanners at airports can only pick up Ebola sufferers once they have entered into the contagious stage of the disease. For about two weeks before that they might not show any symptoms at all.

So how can you protect yourself from Ebola? Basic hygiene. It is not foolproof, and you may not survive until the next apocalypse, but it is the best thing you can do right now. Go out and buy yourself some antiseptic hand sanitation. Wash your hands regularly with soap and hot water, and definitely wash your hands or sanitise them properly prior to eating. Don’t go around touching sick people and dead bodies. And if you do think you have Ebola, contact your local doctor and make sure you get good advice. Ebola cannot reliably be cured by medicine, but it can be treated and many people survive the ravages of the terrible disease in question.

C’est la vie. There is always a risk in being alive. Take the risk as it is: real, but unless you are in a certain country or a certain area, not quite as imminent as media would have you believe. Take precautions, be cautious, but don’t hyperventilate. You aren’t in the woods just as yet. Unless you are of course.