THE ELEVATOR FART

5/5/2020

Vintage Elevator Photo by Evidently Cochran - Creative Commons License

the elevator fart

Frequent elevator riders would attest to that on crowded elevators, more often than not, there is always someone who silently farts. People usually pretend not to notice, but from the corner of their eyes would scan around if they could make out the culprit. Who on here has that typical guilty look?

In these days of corona fear, we should not be on a crowded elevator, but forget about that for a moment and indeed, if your office is on the 45th floor, you can hardly be expected to take the stairs. So yes, you happen to be on a packed elevator, hoping that just this time, you will be safe. Of course everyone is wearing a mask, after all, we are responsible citizen that take the well-being of our fellow elevator riders to heart.

Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels

The masks we wear, as everyone should know, do not protect ourselves, but the other people. You may feel it redundant, since you have no symptoms; you are not coughing, you have no difficulty breathing (though it is harder with the mask on), no fever, no chest pains - in short, you feel fine. You could possibly not be infected. But hold on: by now you should know that there are many, many people that carry the virus (experts say) that are asymptomatic. These are the dreaded "dark figures", and this is the reason you and I are compelled by law to wear a mask.

Photo by Tetyana Kovyrina from Pexels

Now a word about another symptom that you might be infected after all.

It has been reported that a loss of smell and taste is one of the symptoms.

Loss of smell and taste validated as COVID-19 symptoms in patients with high recovery rate.
Study suggests clinicians should include sensory impairment as standard screening measure

Now back to the elevator.
In past, you had noticed, more often than not, that someone had farted. But now, of late you never smell anything! It cannot be because of the mask - the ones we wear have gaps on the sides, they do not fit as tightly as the protective N95 type masks medical professionals are wearing. If someone farts, you should smell it. But you don't!

Beware my friend - this is a sign, even in the absence of any other symptoms, that you could be infected! Get yourself tested!

Only problem is, if you ask for a test and telling them that you could not smell farts on the elevator, they won't test you, but just laugh at you. So now you have to live with the uncertainty and fear of being possibly infected.

Another study shows that panic and fear lowers your immune system.

Photo by Korhan Erdol from Pexels

Your Panic Is Increasing Your Risk

Our planet is in fear. But while we are seeing global messages daily to protect our physical health such as washing our hands, social distancing, etc., we are being given very little in terms of our mental/emotional health. The panic surrounding the coronavirus is sweeping our world, and while I am not minimizing the seriousness of the virus, the panic itself is making us all more susceptible to its potential spread. You need emotional tools and practices to keep your immune system healthy to combat the disease, just as you need physical practices, such as washing your hands, to prevent its spread. ............................ READ MORE - PSYCHOLOGY TODAY

So now the only sensible solution would be if you locked yourself in your home and never came out - they say this COVID-19 will be with us for the foreseeable future. So no end in sight unless Bill Gates saves the wold.

But you could take the easy way out, take one last ride with the elevator to the 45th floor and ...........