Erase the Shame of Infection

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know that I've been pretty sick this week, knocked off my feet by a shadowy and anonymous illness that seems to have attacked everyone I know in southeastern Virginia.

Now that I am feeling a bit better, I'd like to draw your attention to a related subject. Infectious diseases, by their nature, can be very scary and frightening things, leading to the shunning of their victims, who are often isolated and quarantined. I feel that it's important, in our society, that we remove the shame and stigma from certain near-unavoidable conditions.

Such as the Travel Bug.

The Travel Channel has put together a public service announcement to help bring awareness to this common affliction, but unfortunately, the PSA is so new, it's not up yet on their YouTube channel.

Still, if you feel you've been infected, you can take a step toward the treatment you need by visiting this site - ihavethebug.com - to answer a few questions and undergo a proper examination. The result will be a more tailored diagnosis, such as this one:


Best of luck to you. And remember, there's no shame in admitting that you're infected. It could happen to anyone.