Tips for Safe Sneezing

clipped from www.newsdaily.com Ailing individuals who do not want to spread their infections should sneeze into their sleeves rather than their hands, a British virus expert recommends Professor John Oxford of London's Queen Mary medical school has claimed that by sneezing into one's sleeve or crook of the elbow, a person who is sick can significantly limit the spread of their infection, The Telegraph said Saturday "The new etiquette should be to cough and sneeze into your elbow," "It breaks the chain of transmission, and you must wash your hands properly and regularly." Other keys to preventing the spread of infection are repeatedly washing your hands and using disposable tissues rather than a handkerchief "You should sing 'Happy Birthday' twice over while washing your hands with hot water and soap, a quick squirt of cold water will not do it," the virus expert told the British newspaper. "The handkerchief can be a harbinger of unpleasant micro-organisms. Bacteria can multiply in them."

The new etiquette? I don't believe that the practice is new at all. Haven't we all seen others do it, or have been guilty of doing it ourselves?

Sneezing and coughing into your sleeve helps prevent airborne transmission of viruses and bacteria, but there is a certain yuck! factor in having saliva & snot caked sleeves. The good doctor should have mentioned the obvious need to handle infected clothing carefully and wash it thoroughly...and promptly!