Cough Into Your Elbow

It's the time of the year when the climate change brings about a new bout of pandemic flu outbreak. Every corner you turn this week sees someone either coughing or sneezing away. No matter how well we think we can prevent these germs from getting to us, the fact is we cannot fully avoid them.

Here are some simple but important pointers to help us keep germs at bay and do whatever little we can to stop the spread of germs, whether we have already caught them or not.

We all know that it’s more than polite to cover our mouths when we cough; it makes good public-health sense. Oh, I can still hear my father’s voice ringing in my ears because he must have said the phrase 20 times a day while I was a skinny teeny boy.

One good habit I learnt was that I should really aim my cough into the crook of my elbow or my shoulder, and away from my hands. That way if I am contagious (and it is really hard to know if I am not), the germs coming out of my mouth don’t make it onto my hands, which interact with the world by touching. Since I am less likely to touch things with my elbow or shoulder, the germs won’t spread. This isn't just for coughing. I have often heard the catchy phrase "Sneeze into your sleeve", and it does make sense too!

So do it the way we were taught and cover our mouths when you cough — just do it with our elbows.

See Video here.

See this link to Germy Wormy Website.

For those of us with kids, we ought to take the trouble to inculcate good health hygiene habits that will arm our children for the rest of their lives.

Consider that a young child can touch over 300 surfaces in half-an-hour the worst place for them to cough and sneeze into is their hands. This is a guarantee that the germs will spread faster than light and soon get everyone around the child sick

Next time you see a young child cough and sneeze into their hands, watch where the hands go next. It is an eye opening experience.

But, when a kid needs to cough and sneeze, what are their options?

A tissue? Great for blowing and wiping noses but not always available for germ spreading sudden coughs and sneezes. And think about it, does your child consistently stop and get a tissue?

The air? Infects everything in their path at 90+ miles an hour!

Doctors recommend teaching children to cough and sneeze into their elbow.
Why? Unlike the tissue, the elbow is always there. Unlike like their hand, the elbow doesn't touch everything. But don't take our word for it.