As my mind wandered while I was making myself a sandwich,
I started wondering how busy my immune system is. How many
pathogen exposure incidents occur in a typical day (nearly
all of them dealt with successfully)? If I take seventeen
thousand breaths in a day, what percentage of those include
inhaled pathogens? All of them? A few? How many minor
hull breaches *cough* nicks and scrapes that
I don't notice because they're tiny, allow germs in through
my skin? How many microbes are on or in even food that we
consider clean and safe, that my immune system neutralizes
before they can harm me? (Well, ones that stomach acid
isn't already protecting me from...?)
How much of this stuff do we not so much take for granted as simply lack any awareness of in the first place because, most of the time, our immune systems work so well? For every cold we catch, how many times had we been exposed but not caught it? (I've got a feeling someone on my friendslist will either have a good idea or know what search phrase will coax Google into coughing up an answer.)
I have in my mind an image of a very tired Ozmosis Jones.
There are times when I really wish I could record tactile sensations and email them to friends as easily as I can sounds and photographs. With Perrine curled up on my rib cage, leaning into the crook of my arm and purring quite strongly, this is one of those times. (Some selective editing would be important -- no need to share various aches in other parts of my body along with the wonderful loving-cat sensations.)