Coughing and sneezing into your hands spread germs

Practice Good Hygiene

Good hygiene is always in order, but The Center for Disease Control emphasizes that there is a specific, most critical time to practice hygiene etiquette which is when you are sick. This is especially true when coughing or sneezing. Serious respiratory illnesses like SARS,(Severe acutely respiratory syndrome), influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and whooping cough are all spread by the following four ways.

1. sneezing and coughing.

2. Unclean hands

3, Touching objects after your hands have been contaminated

4. Touching your face after touching contaminated objects.

Poor Hygiene costs everyone

I in a grocery store line one day and watched as the cashier licked her fingers before opening every bag. I realized that whatever germs were in her mouth were being passed to all the customers. I tried to be careful not to touch the bag where her fingers had been and often retrieving my groceries, threw it away.

I also washed my hands a lot because germs are passed along every day. We may not always be able to catch someone else’s unhygienic behavior, but we can monitor our own. Poor hygiene hurts other people and this is why coughing and sneezing into our hands should be a no-no. If you have a cold or the flu and sneeze into your hands then everything you touch will be contaminated. I am amazed at the people who still do this in public even though we are now dealing with COVID.

Imagine a man coughing into his palm then grabbing his grandkids or touching his wife intimately. He then goes out shopping and sneezes all over his vehicle and touches the steering wheel and doors. He picks up multiple items at the store that he does not purchase, thus leaving his germs for unsuspecting strangers.

I saw a woman recently who was not wearing a mask walk into a convenience store, go up to the counter, and cough on it. The clerk was behind protective plexiglass but he shouted at her asking "You got coronavirus"? She said no it was bronchitis but common sense should have told her it was nasty to cough on the counter, practically in the clerk's face.

This is so unfair to everyone else but it happens every day. I pay attention as I’m out and about and more people cough and sneeze into their hands than those who do not even in the midst of the many deaths from COVID. Some folk cough directly into the air without even covering their mouth and that is just plain rude.

Take precautions

The Center for Disease Control says we should cough or sneeze into a tissue to prevent the spread of germs. If a tissue is not available then sneeze or cough on the sleeve of what you are wearing, or your arm. When you keep innocent bystanders in mind you should do what you would have them do for you.

I taught my children to turn away from those nearby when sneezing or coughing but I encounter people who cough and sneeze practically in your face. I know people who have been told to use a tissue or their sleeve and they continue spewing germs into the palm of their hand or fist.

If you find it difficult to break your habit then please at least quickly wash your hands in soap and warm water or use hand sanitizer. Small packets of tissues can be kept in a vehicle, purse or jacket pocket and two or three single tissues should always be on hand, even in a pants pocket. Keep hand sanitizer with you at all times and be mindful of what you touch. Using debit or credit cards in stores requires a lot of fingers touching screens. There is no way to know how many people have touched the screen prior to you or how many germs have been spread.

Germ control

A question to consider is what effect would increasing hygiene practices have on the cold and flu season and especially on COVID? How many more people would remain healthy if the store clerk did not sneeze on the grocery bag or the woman on the elevator coughed into her arm instead of your face?

What if more people washed their hands frequently and did not touch their face and eyes until after their hands were clean? Just think how lost workdays would decrease as well as the savings in doctor visits, prescriptions, and over-the-counter medications. ERs and Hospital rooms would not be overflowing with patients and we all could live much better.

Respect your hands

There is power in your hands, especially your fingertips. Keep this in mind and it will help you with good hygiene practices. Be careful of touching your face or rubbing your eyes without first washing your hands. Keep your fingernails clean and teach children and grandchildren to do the same.

Be sure to keep surfaces of cell phones, tablets, laptops, and landlines clean and disinfrcted. Cotton swabs remove residue and some people mix a little alcohol with water but Apple does not recommend this for their products. Wash your hands before and after using your electronics as a precautionary measure and above all: Fo not cough and sneeze into your hands. Practice makes perfect so repeat it and practice it until you have it down and spread the word.

1. Do not cough or sneeze into your hands

2. Turn away from others to sneeze and cough into a tissue, sleeve or arm

3. Wash hands often and use sanitizer

These three things will not only help to prevent you from becoming ill but will also keep you from spreading germs that may harm others. Share the good news of prevention rather than germs. Parents should begin early with teaching good hygiene to their children. This will cut down on the number of sick boys and girls as well as employees in daycare centers and nursery schools.