It's not common knowledge to cough into your elbow?

[senseandsensibility]

I'm an elementary school teacher, and for years now we have been training our students to cough into their elbows, and not their hands. This keeps germs off their hands, and from spreading to everything they touch. They take to it immediately, and I rarely have to remind my students because they learned it in kindergarten and first grade before they ever came to my class.

However.... a couple of weeks ago, I was sitting next to a woman at a hockey game and it was very close seating. She coughed directly into her hand several times and of course did not turn her head away as you have to when you cough into your elbow. I was the recipient of a lot of spray.

I thought it was fluke, but today at the doctor's office of all places, I saw multiple people coughing directly into their hands. They all seemed very sick. I saw a mother with four kids doing it, an elderly gentleman doing it, two teenage girls doing it, and a middle aged woman doing it. In fact, with all the hacking going on, I did not see ONE person coughing into their elbow.

What gives? Doesn't everyone know about this?

[arely staircase]

1. I thought it had become common knowledge

but I'm an elementary school teacher.

[yeoman6987]

31. Other important lessons

First of all tell the kids not to open the bathroom door with their bare hands…that is even worse then coughing in the hand. Second, stop allowing them to drink from the water fountain or at least make them use a napkin to press the button….immediate nastiness on that "push down" button and finally the most important of all, make sure they wash their hands with a wipe after touching a NASTY NASTY NASTY menu at the local restaurant. Those menu's are the worst!!!!! Anyway good luck in teaching the kids to cough in their elbow. You teachers are HEROES in my book!!!!!!!!

[arely staircase]

34. uh huh. nt

[raccoon]

2. Well, I didn't know it until maybe 5 years ago, and I am not a whippersnapper.

But ITA, and there should be a public education campaign about this.

[senseandsensibility]

3. I agree. There should be posters up at the doctor's

office at least.

[TexasTowelie]

4. I admit that I've done both.

If I know that I have reasonable access to a restroom so that I can wash my hands, then I might cough into my hands because I can clean up quicker than trying to clean a shirt or jacket. I also might choose to cough into my hands if I'm restrained by a seat belt or if coughing in my elbows may direct the spray to another individual.

I do agree with you about turning your head away from other people when coughing or sneezing. To do otherwise is rude and inconsiderate.

[Xithras]

5. Um, eww.

When you cough into your hand, you're supposed to WASH your hands afterward. That gets rid of any phlegm, germs, or saliva.

What are you supposed to do if you cough into your elbow? Walk around with phlegm and germs on your shirt all day? Blech

I've seen people cough into their elbows before but, at least where I live, they're a distinct minority. I wouldn't call it "common knowledge" by any stretch. And my wife is an elementary school teacher.

[kcr]

7. If you're not near a sink, that's kind of hard to do

If it's on the sleeve of your inner elbow you won't be touching everything and everyone with it and spreading it around, like you would with your hands. It's about not spreading the germs around.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/covercough.htm

[Xithras]

12. True

I try to carry a hankie in my pocket, so it's not a huge issue for me anyway, but I can see how that might be useful.

Still ugged out about having phlegm on my shirt all day though.

[kcr]

14. That's the best solution

Carrying around tissues or handkerchief. Phlegm is jut plain ugh.

[spooky3]

30. I carry a travel bottle of hand sanitizer.

Using that makes more sense to me than coughing onto my clothes.

Of course, the worst are the people who don't even try to cover their coughs or blow their noses.

[senseandsensibility]

8. On the way to the doctor's office I heard a public service

announcement on the radio saying to cough into your elbow. That's what public health officials recommend.

[kcr]

6. Probably not. I remember learning about this when my kids started school

I occasionally see the elbow method mentioned, but there there really hasn't been enough of a public campaign to educate everyone to use it.

[NMDemDist2]

9. i wasn't trained that way as a child and only this year heard 'vampire cough'

had to look it up and saw the wisdom in it.

i have been promoting it since

[senseandsensibility]

18. You made me look it up, too.

When I googled the term, I saw posters for sale that would be great to put up in classrooms. Not cheap, though.

[frazzled]

10. CDC recommends a tissue first, and if not, then elbow or sleeve

Why? My guess is that if you are really sick and coughing up a bunch of sputum, you don't want to put a big glop of slimy stuff on your shirt sleeve or jacket ... and then go walking around or take the bus home, where someone jostles against you. Ewwwww.

Stop the spread of germs that can make you and others sick!
Influenza (flu) and other serious respiratory illnesses like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), whooping cough, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) are spread by cough, sneezing, or unclean hands.
To help stop the spread of germs,
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
Put your used tissue in the waste basket.
If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve or elbow, not your hands.
You may be asked to put on a facemask to protect others.
Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for 20 seconds.
If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/covercough.htm

Actually, this mythbusters video tries three methods: hand, elbow, and hanky. The hanky seemed to win, but they nixed it for the elbow because the hanky gets repeated use. A tissue (if disposed properly) would eliminate that.

[pipi_k]

24. Hahahaha the elbow!

For some reason, I sneeze a lot when I have a mouthful of food

It all ends up in the crook of my elbow just like that green stuff

[3catwoman3]

35. If you are that sick...

...stay the hell home.

[pipi_k]

46. Sometimes...

it's just allergies that cause a person to sneeze, often repeatedly.

Even though it's not cold germs, people still don't want to be showered with spit.

I sneeze all year long from allergies and rhinitis

[Logical]

48. You must have a good job and not worry about not getting paid. Wow. n-t

[3catwoman3]

57. I am a ...

...pediatric nurse practitioner, and if I am really sick, I do stay home so as not to infect my patients (even tho they are typically the ones from whom I catch things - occupational hazard). Understandably, parents are typically not favorably impressed when their health care provider is hacking and sneezing all over their kids, especially if they have a newborn.

[El_Johns]

36. If you have a cold, the elbow is going to get as much use as the hankie would.

[TheCowsCameHome]

11. I only heard about it recently,

and I'm pushing 70.

[gollygee]

13. It's taught to kids

But I didn't hear about it until I had a kid in preschool, where she was taught it. People who haven't had kids since that's been recommended might not know.

[cynatnite]

15. I didn't know about until my kids started school...

That's been a little while ago, but it took me a long time to break the habit of coughing into my hand.

Of course, I thought turning your head away was expected. Her not doing that signals to me that she doesn't give a crap.

[Ino]

17. If she had turned her head away at a hockey game, she'd be coughing directly at someone else.

Better to face forward.

[TBF]

16. My kids were taught this in preschool -

thankfully. I encourage a lot of hand washing as well.

[MineralMan]

19. Nothing is common knowledge today.

Millions of people pay no attention. They don't know tomorrow's weather. They don't know who the Vice-President is. They read nothing, nor do they watch the news. Millions.

[senseandsensibility]

20. Well, that's depressing.

And it explains a lot.

[MineralMan]

42. It is depressing, but a reality.

From snow emergencies to schools closed to to -20 degree weather, a lot of people simply don't know what is going on, since they don't bother to pay attention. During our recent frigid weather, schools in the Twin Cities were closed the other day. And yet, that morning, as I was watching the morning local news, I looked out the window and saw a couple of children from the neighborhood walking to the school bus stop.

I went outside and told them that school was closed and that they should go straight home. It was -20 degrees. They did that. The kids parents had no idea that school was closed, and the children were not dressed for weather that cold, either.

Deliberate ignorance is so commonplace today that it's frightening.

[Fumesucker]

37. Watching the "news" for the most part will fill you full of lies, half truths and distortions

Witness the latest flap over 60 Minutes reporting and they are considered an "elite" news program.

[MineralMan]

41. I don't watch 60 Minutes. I watch my local news

on television, though. That's important. I get the weather, road closures, news about local issues, and more. In the process, I also find out about other things.

You can skip that, if you like, along with the morning paper. I think I'll stick to my pattern, if you don't mind.

[Eleanors38]

56. And how many people remember to turn over outdoor receptacles to stop mosquito breeding?

[etherealtruth]

21. I taught my children to cought into their antecubital space

elbow ...? I don't even know how you would do that ... ?

[pipi_k]

22. Dunno

When I first figured this one out, but I've been doing it for years

I also sneeze into my elbow

People who cough or sneeze into their hands area at least trying, I figure


But people who cough or sneeze right out into the open air are disgusting pigs

[REP]

23. I haven't been in grade school since the 70s and I don't have children -

where would I have heard of this revolting practice? I use a tissue, las decent (and clean) people do.

No wonder I keep getting sick - people are rubbing their snot-encrusted clothing against everything. Thanks.

[pipi_k]

25. Ps...

I found out that I could manage to stifle a sneeze if I absolutely had to by pinching my upper lip firmly between thumb and forefinger until the urge passed


I wouldn't recommend doing it all the time...just for emergencies

[MADem]

26. If you have or had kids/grandkids or relatives in the school system, you know this.

If you haven't had a kid in school for ten or more years or so, you don't. They are teaching it in kindergarten up this way.

[babylonsister]

27. I didn't know this. But when

I'm sick, I try not to infect others. Tissues, etc., or don't go out if I can help it. Knock wood, I'm healthy.

[DRoseDARs]

28. Um, no, even your method is gross and does absolutely nothing...

Your mouth is still exposed to open air and still spraying out into it. Pull the front of your shirt collar forward and over your nose as you bend your head down to meet it. Cough/sneeze on the INSIDE of your shirt.

[kcr]

32. Well that's not going to work either

The spray will just go down through your shirt and out the bottom, since when you pull your shirt up you'll create an opening at the bottom, spraying germs out the bottom and into the air. Plus, icky snot on the inside of your shirt, smearing all over you! Much worse than on your sleeve.

Clearly, the only thing that will work is opening up a wormhole into an alternate universe, sneezing into that, and then shutting it real quick before the germs can spread.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

29. This is why I (seriously) don't shake hands with anyone from about November to March.

I'd rather be thought socially inept than spend a week in bed with the flu.

[Logical]

50. Well, that is weird. How do normal people react to you? n-t

[Cleita]

33. I dunno as a person plagued by air allergies since childhood, I was provided

with a hanky to put in my pocket and sneeze into. I was also told to wash my hands whenever I had the chance. Since the cloth hanky wasn't enough to contain all the snot as I grew up, I always learned to carry tissues around. Today, I keep boxes around my house, my car, my purse, my pockets and my desk at work when I work and a little plastic baggie for disposal. I know many people don't have the problems I do, but really a little packet of tissues on your person at all times, whether purse or pocket, is really a good thing to do. Coughing or sneezing into your hands or sleeves only spreads the germs.

[Cha]

38. I sneezed into my elbow today..

It's common knowledge with the people I hang with.

Sorry, to hear it's not more widespread, sas.

[IcyPeas]

39. Howard Dean on Bill Maher tonight did it

coughed into his hand twice. He is a DOCTOR. I think it's force of habit for the older generation.

[TorchTheWitch]

40. I was never taught to do that and won't

And I won't because turning one's head to cough into their elbow usually means that your throat is too constricted to cough anything up. It also might mean irritating the gag reflex thereby making what should have been a clearing cough a much more unpleasant experience and for everyone else in the vicinity. One's head shouldn't be turned when coughing... productive coughing is only productive when the throat isn't needlessly constricted. There's a reason when the doctor during an examination tells you to cough also tells you to look straight ahead and NOT turn your head first.

I was taught to cover my mouth when coughing or sneezing and to always carry a handkerchief or tissues... if no hanky or tissues then cough into a hand and then be careful of touching anyone or anything and wash your hands. More importantly, I was taught to be mindful of what I was contacting with my hands and to keep them away from the eyes nose or mouth without washing them first.

In the doctor's office everyone coughing is already sick... why care about spreading germs in an environment where everyone else in the room is already infected anyway? Seems like the most logical places to not care so much about your coughing making the person next to you sick when they already are which is why they're also coughing.

I think it's stupid to teach kids to turn their head to cough when turning one's head usually means the coughing is unnecessarily unproductive - like teaching kids to stifle a sneeze.

Sorry, but I'll not be coughing into my elbow anymore than I'd blow my nose on my sleeve. And I also remember the acute embarrassment as a kid when I once sneezed on the front of a wool sweater in history class thereby leaving a glob of goo on it that wouldn't absorb or be wiped off and was grossly noticeable.

[Ms. Toad]

43. Umm . . .

Because not everyone at the doctor's office is infected with the same thing, so you could very easily be infected with something other than what you came in with?

Because you may be perfectly healthy and there just for a check-up?

And, although you could, you really don't have to turn your head at all to cough into my elbow. For most people, if you grab your shoulder with your opposite hand, your elbow is right at your mouth, so your first concern is not really relevant.

Sneezed in hankies, in particular, are really disgusting and germy. They tend to be moist and balled up (so they don't dry out between coughs), which means that the germs stay alive far longer than they do on a sleeve which dries out quickly between coughs or sneezes. And almost no one, other than you, touches the inside of your elbow - so you are less likely to transfer the germs to anyone else than if you cough/sneeze into your hand (or a hankie) which is very likely to touch many things before you can wash it.

[pipi_k]

47. Pretty much

what I was going to say also.

Someone else might be there coughing and sneezing from allergies, not a cold or flu.

Someone with a cold or flu could have a whole different strain. Not caring about coughing or sneezing in that person's direction could potentially give him/her a secondary infection.

[Codeine]

44. I find the whole practice revolting.

My little boy was taught to do that at school and when we pick him up there are always a million little filthy rugrats with snot-covered sleeves running around hacking into their elbows. Every kid there is sick because every child has a semi-permanent disease vector on their person at all times. We taught our son to use tissues like normal, clean people do. If he has no tissues he can cough into his hand and immediately wash. We make sure he has a little pack of tissues with him in his Ninja Turtles backpack so he doesn't get caught out often.

Other people can have children wearing sputum-crusted clothing -- I'd rather not. And if I saw an adult coughing into their sleeve I'd avoid them like, well. . . the plague.

[stevenleser]

45. Thank you! I had no idea about this. nt

[Logical]

49. Obviously it is not common knowledge! Not sure the point of this post. n-t

[jberryhill]

51. Although Republicans are advised to use their assholes

Since it is not as much of a stretch as their elbows.

[Warpy]

52. They even did it on Mythbusters

and coughing and sneezing into your elbow cuts nearly all the spray. The hand does nothing but contaminate every surface you touch until you was the germs off while filling the air with infectious droplets. Even tissues don't work.

I'm glad kids are being taught that in school. Maybe flu transmission rates will drop by the time all the people who are afraid to cough into their elbows because it wasn't the way Mom showed them in the bad old days are gone.

[Myrina]

53. News to me ...

[oregonjen]

54. I've had checkers at the grocery store cough in their hands and then continue checking my items

Without even using sanitizers. Yuck! I even asked one to use it and she refused saying she wasn't sick. I called the manager and complained.

[MadrasT]

55. I have never even heard the suggestion until this year.

Nor have I ever seen anyone actually cough into their elbow.

It makes sense, but no, around here it sure isn't common knowledge.