Title Page:  Bessie’s Cold and How It Came To BeNarrated

* Bessie Coughing*

 

A. Bessie? Why are you coughing?

 

A. I think I am sick 

A. Sick? Are you sure?

 

A. Yeah I am sure, but I don’t know how it happened.

 

A. You must have gotten germs from somewhere

 

A. Germs? What are those?

 

A. Germs are tiny organisms, alive like you and me.

A. But they are so small you need a microscope to see them.

 

 A. Wow! That

small? How can something so small make you sick?

 

A. Well you see it is because they are so small that they get you sick. They enter your body through places like your nose or your mouth.

Germs get inside and start to eat proteins and energy, Think of Germs like pacman, eating up the little white dots and trying to get the ghosts

A. Some germs can release toxins that cause fever, the sniffles, coughs like yours and other things related to being sick

A. But how do they get inside of my nose and mouth? Do germs fly?

 

A. Kind of. When a sick person sneezes, germs ride the mucus and if you are standing to close, you can actually inhale the germy mucus residue that’s in the air around the sick person who sneezed.

 

A. Eww that’s gross! Is that they only way they get in?

 

 

A. No Bessie, that is just one way. Let’s say I was sick, and I sneezed on this ball. Then I handed you the ball. You are touching the ball, which is covered in my sick germs, and you start to rub your eyes or put your fingers in your mouth. My germs are now in your body.

 

A. Really? Maybe that’s why I am sick right now, a lot of my friends have been sick lately. I probably got it from them. How do I protect myself from germs though?

 

A. There are plenty of ways to stay safe from germs! The first way is immunizations, that means getting shots that keep you from getting specific types of viruses’ and diseases

  

A. Aw man I’ve gotten shots before! They hurt!

 

       

 

A. But they help keep you healthy

A. I guess. What other ways can I protect myself?

 

 A. If you or

someone you know is sick, you should wear a mask over your mouth and nose to keep germs from getting out or in They look silly, but it keeps the germs from spreading

A. If you can’t find a mask, cough and sneeze into your elbow, we call it the Dracula sneeze/cough.

 

   

A. *laughter* that’s because you look like a vampire when you sneeze in your elbow, I like that idea

 

A. Me too because it keeps germs from spreading! Another thing you can do is make sure you always wash your hands after you sneeze or cough on them, after you blow your nose, or after you touch something that belongs to someone sick. Make sure you always wash your hands before you touch your face, and you will find you get sick a lot less

 

A. I do wash my hands, all the time. But I am still sick!

 

 A. Maybe you

don’t wash them well enough. When you wash your hands, you have to use soap, and keep washing your hands for as long as it takes you to sing your ABC’s

 

       

A. You want me to sing while I was my hands?

 

A. If it helps you to wash your hands for a good length of time, then yes! We want to kill as many germs on your hands as possible

 

A. Hmm ok, if it will help keep me from getting sick. What else do you know?

 

A. Well the kind of germ that got you sick is known as a virus. More specifically, the rhinovirus.

  

     

There are hundreds of kinds of rhinoviruses, and you never get the same one twice which is why there is no cure for the common cold.

A. The best way to get rid of a cold is to get lots of rest. Drink lots of hot beverages like tea, and eat things like hot soups (chicken noodle works best).

 

Also soak up some steam from turning the hot water on in the shower.

blow your nose as much as possible to get all the gross mucusy germs out of your body.

       

In about seven days the cold will have ran its course and you will be back to tip top shape!

A. I think I can handle that, in fact, I think I am going to go make a bowl of soup right now!

 

 A. That’s a great

idea, mind if I join you? 

A. Of course you can! Soup always tastes better if your sharing it with friends!

B. As long as you don’t share your germs!

*laughter*