What, me worry?

The human that I am, I have worries in plenty.  From the global pandemic to the odd sensation in my leg, there is no shortage of things and people to worry about.

If only I could put into practice the wonderful words of wisdom from centuries past, from the old country:

शोकस्थानसहस्राणि दुःखस्थानशतानि च ।
दिवसे दिवसे मूढमाविशन्ति न पण्डितम् ॥

- महाभारत, अरण्य

Everyday there are thousand reasons to feel sad, hundred reasons to worry.
Such things only bother fools; not wise men.

Mahabharata, Aranya

Source

A fool I am with all my sadness and worries!

Some day I shall become a wise man ;)

In this vast ocean of worries, I would never have imagined a tiny safe haven in the fact that I wear glasses.  Apparently I should be thankful that I have been shortsighted for nearly four decades! ;)

When researchers in China were analyzing hospital data of patients with Covid-19, they noticed an odd trend: Very few of the sick patients regularly wore glasses.

You, too, would never have imagined this, right?

Based on a sample, researchers found that "since the outbreak of Covid-19 in Wuhan in December 2019, we observed that few patients with eyeglasses were admitted in the hospital ward.”

Of course, correlation does not mean causation.  What might be the underlying dynamics?

Maybe people wearing glasses don't rub their eyes as often? Maybe the glasses act as a shield?

“It does have some biological plausibility, given that in health care facilities, we use eye protection,” such as face shields or goggles. “But what remains to be investigated is whether eye protection in a public setting would add any protection over and above masks and physical distancing. I think it’s still unclear.”

Above and beyond the glasses issue:

The findings also raise interesting questions about how often the eyes might be the entry portal for the virus. It’s long been established that viruses and other germs can enter the body through facial mucous membranes in the eyes, nose and mouth. But the nose seems to be a main entry point for coronavirus, because it has a high number of receptors that create a friendly environment in which the virus can replicate and move down the respiratory tract.

Oh crap, this fool is more worried now!

200,000 and counting :(
With distrust of #masks and #SocialDistancing, it could result in more than 415,000 deaths in the U.S. by January.https://t.co/sBOyb1MVh6#TrumpLiedPeopleDied #Covid19 #BidenHarris

— Am.Dr.Khe (@congoboy) September 19, 2020