Coughing or Sneezing Into Your Sleeve

Cold and flu season can take a toll, especially on senior citizens and young children, due to their weakened immune systems. Limiting the spread of germs is crucial; and previous prevention protocol suggested coughing or sneezing into the hand rather than into the air. However, that ended with the discovery that germs are alive and well up to three hours on surface contact. Now, coughing or sneezing into the elbow or sleeve is now recommended.

How Virus Germs Spread

• Washing the hands frequently, or using hand sanitizer, limits the spread of germs.

  Germs from cold and flu viruses spread by ordinary means. They are airborne, spreading from person to person through tiny droplets of saliva or mucous expelled into the air during a cough or sneeze by someone already fighting a cold or flu. Likewise, virus germs spread by physical contact, for instance, coughing into the hands and not washing or sanitizing them immediately. This means that when a person does this, he is unwittingly transferring germs to every surface and every person he comes into contact with for up to three hours.

Who Is At Risk

• The elderly and small children are the highest risk groups for colds and flu.

  People with healthy immune systems typically suffer remarkably little during cold and flu season. That does not mean they will not become ill; it just means they probably will not experience complications or the severity of the illness that others may experience. People with compromised immune systems, senior citizens and children easily contract cold and flu viruses, which can easily turn into pneumonia. Pneumonia often requires hospitalization and can result in death in extreme cases or with preexisting conditions aggravated by viruses.

Coughing or Sneezing into Your Sleeve

• A sleeve can help stop the spread of germs from colds and flu.

  Sneezing into the sleeve or elbow is the most effective way to prevent the transmission of germs in lieu of tissue and hand-washing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Elbows do not touch the surfaces; hands do. So imagine the difficulty of dialing a phone or opening a door with the elbows. School-aged children are already being taught the elbow technique as part of daycare and school curriculum. County health departments have started campaigns to educate adults on sneezing or coughing into the elbow instead of the hands. With everyone educated and in compliance, it can vastly decrease germ exposure risk.

Technique for Coughing and Sneezing into the Elbow or Sleeve

• When coughing or sneezing, use the inside of the elbow to cover the mouth.

  When breaking the old habit of sneezing into the hands, it will take some conscious effort. For those die-hard hand sneezers, keeping a bottle of hand sanitizer in the pocket or purse can allow an old habit to continue while not contributing to the problem of spreading germs. When the need to cough or sneeze arises, bring the inside of the arm up and sneeze or cough into the sleeve at the bend of the elbow. An action so ordinary can save your family and friends from getting sick.