There are many things covered in the news everyday that make readers think to themselves, “Well, duh.” Still, some of these pieces serve as important reminders and others are just cool to read. This piece, in particular, follows the path of the former: music festivals are a hotbed of disease.
In an article posted to Quartz this morning, it was said that “England has seen 234 confirmed cases of measles linked to festivals and other public events between January and June this year—a huge jump from the 54 confirmed cases in the same period last year.”
Though other figures for transmittable diseases are less readily available, it makes sense that when you put tens of thousands of inebriated, sweaty, tired individuals together in a crowd, things can get messy. The chances of transmitting or contracting something soars even higher when a festival introduces camping – putting thousands of people in close quarters, sharing porta-potties and lunch benches on a daily basis is clearly less than sanitary.
At a festival, getting sick should be the least of your worries. Fortunately, it’s not difficult to stay clean and safe with a few simple tips:
- Familiarize yourself with waterless washing. Shampoos, hand sanitizers, and wipes will help to keep you clean and bacteria free over the course of the long weekend.
- Don’t neglect brushing your teeth, either. In the event that you lock lips with some stranger during the festival, you don’t want to have halitosis, caused by a mouth full of bacteria.
- Don’t be a hero – if you know it’s going to rain, prepare for mud with boots. It’s also not a bad idea to wear a trashbag over your person in order to stay dry. No one wants a cold at a festival.
Try not stress too much over these things though. The overall incidence of transmittable disease is fairly low, and the chance decreases the less time you spend in large groups of people. Most importantly, you’re at a festival to have fun, so don’t let the chance of something happening distract you from what you’re really there to do.
H/T Quartz