Kids Talk: COOTIES!

OUR BODIES are like hotels for billions of invisible creatures. That's right, each one of us is crawling with germs and other beasties, and it's completely normal!

Right this very minute, uncountable millions of bacteria are creeping around our bodies. They are everywhere on our skin and hair. They reproduce, eat and leave waste on us day and night. They are at war, right under our noses. Different types of bacteria battle each other to the death.

You can't get rid of them by washing. Oh, you can scrub yourself clean, but they come back almost instantly!

Millions

Just how many microbes are living on you? Well, there may be as many as one and a half MILLION on the tip of your nose!

That sounds like a lot, but bacteria are so tiny that 30 million of them could fit on the period at the end of this sentence.

Tiny Creatures

Bacteria are not the only things that make their home in and on our bodies. In 1972, tiny creatures called follicle mites were discovered living in the holes that our eyelashes grow out of. These mites are actually cousins of spiders! The favorite food of the follicle mite is eyeliner. It's nutritious and so tasty too!

There's More

In the next issue: "What's Living Inside You" ... ( it's really gross! ) KIDS TALK Is a regular column, reserved for youngsters affected by AIDS. We especially invite kids who have HIV/AIDS to send their writings to: Women Alive -- 1566 S. Burnside Ave. Los Angeles, Ca. 90019. This is an on-going project. There is no time-line. Just do it.