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Strollerderby
Does Your Kid Know How to Cough and Sneeze?
When she was about three years old, I noticed my kid doing something I’d never seen her do before. When she coughed or sneezed, she would raise her arm and cover her mouth with the inside of her elbow. While I immediately understood what she was doing and assumed she’d been taught that at preschool, this method of germ containment was new to me.
Like just about every adult I know, I was taught to cover my mouth with my hand when I coughed or sneezed. While this is a good way to prevent germs from flying out into the air, it’s also a great way to get them on your hands. And once on your hands, germs can spread like wildfire and end up on anything and everything you touch.
After the 2009 flu pandemic led public health officials around the world to actively encourage people to cover their coughs and sneezes with their elbows or a tissue, you would think that even adults like me would have gotten the message. But, based on the results of a study by researchers at Otago University Wellington in New Zealand, that is clearly not the case.
After conducting observational studies of people at a train station, a shopping mall and a hospital in New Zealand, researchers have determined that few people are following these updated germ containment recommendations. Of the 5.5 coughs and sneezes per observed-person-hour, only 4.7% were covered by a tissue, handkerchief or elbow. And while 26.7% went totally uncovered in any way, a whopping 64.4% were covered by a person’s hands. Ick.
Thanks to my kid, I always cover a cough or a sneeze with my elbow, not my hand. But if not for her constant reminders to do so, I am not sure that would be the case. Clearly I am not the only one who finds old habits hard to break. What about you? Have you been schooled by your kid on the proper way to cover your mouth?
Image: welivefast/Flickr
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5 Comments
Heather commented on Jul 12 10 at 4:32 pmIf you learn to wash your hands after sneezing, then wouldn’t sneezing in your hand be better since you washed away the germs, where if it is on your clothes then they are there all day and you bump into somebody and spread the germs that way. I always use a tissue and wash my hands immediately. I can also completely cover my mouth with my hands, whereas you can’t with your elbow. Just my opinion though.
PlumbLucky commented on Jul 13 10 at 7:53 amHow long can germs actually live on clothing though?
I am curious how exactly my kiddo decided that he needs to sneeze into his elbow. Like you, we’re of the “cover your mouth with your hands” generation. Little man is pretty good about washing his hands too. Heck, its why he tolerates sitting on the big boy potty…he gets to wash his hands afterwards.
Heather commented on Jul 13 10 at 9:35 amyea, my two love to wash their hands, I try not to cringe when I walk into the mess they constantly make in the bathroom from washing their hands. I figure if they are washing their hands then constantly cleaning the bathroom is a small price to pay.
I don’t know how long germs live on clothing, but if they live on your hands I figure they live on clothing as well. I actually kept track of every time my arm or elbow touched something in the course of a day, including how often my kids touched my elbow and it was just as much as my hand.
Kate commented on Jul 30 10 at 12:05 pmThey live on your skin (which is warm, moist, etc.) far, far longer than they can live on your clothing, which is one of the main reasons the sneeze-into-your-elbow thing was invented. I’m so glad my kids learned that lesson at preschool, and now they’ve taught it to me. Let’s face it, you can’t always run off and wash your hands every time you sneeze in them (what if you’re in an elevator, for instance? sneeze into your hands and guess what, you just pressed germs all over the elevator buttons!).
Adriana commented on Jul 08 11 at 12:19 pmI was a learn to sneeze in your had, and I still can’t break the habbit and my kids think that is funny! But all 3 of my older ones do remind me every time I do sneeze.
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