Sneezing Etiquette

When I was growing up, I was always told to cover my mouth whenever coughing or sneezing. Maybe that was just part of the Asian culture I grew up in, but it made sense to me from a health standpoint. So every time I sneeze, I either quickly reach for my handkerchief or turn away.

Almost everyone at work (or anywhere else, for that matter) sneezes out in the open. For instance, my next-door work buddy "Dick" gets nasal allergies, as do a lot of people in my office. He sneezes in his cube three to four times in a row. We even have an employee, "Teri," who's notorious for her bouts of cluster sneezes, and they're the weirdest and funniest sounds one could hear in the office. We even had an employee who's now retired who made sure everyone in the office heard her sneeze. During cold and flu season, it bothers me when Dick sneezes without covering his mouth. That is a surefire way to spread germs around.

How do you deal with your or other people's sneezing? Do you cover your mouth if possible? Are you bothered when others don't? What say you?

 

When in public, I am usually able to get my hand to my mouth to cover if I sense a sneeze coming. Sometimes I miss. At home by myself though, I'm not always as diligent unless I'm preparing something to eat.

Am I bothered when others don't? No, I just think they're ignorant fools.

I sometimes debate whether to say "Bless you!" or "Gesundheit!" or anything at all when passing a stranger who suddenly sneezes.

 

It's good manners and good for other peoples health - if you don't cover your mouth you're an oaf and should be told.

If it's a work situation management should step up and circulate a memo to every employee.

 

Yeah, sneezing into your hand is still useless if you don't wash your hands right after. And gross.

 

Yes, I started doing that some years ago. I forget how it was suggested to me, but now it's habit.

 

As someone who sings in a choir and my voice is dependent on my health, I DO get pissed off if people sneeze around me without covering it in some way. Ninety percent of the time I don't catch whatever got sneezed out....unless I have a church event with a lot of singing. Then I catch every fraggin' bug just by looking at a sick person.

I cover my sneezes with the crook of my arm. I carry hand sanitizer in case I accidentally sneeze on my hands anyway. I know it's not a substitute for washing my hands, but it does the trick until I can.

You know what's really ironic? Colds are the most contagious right before you start showing symptoms. What a sneaky little bastard of a virus.

 

Well it's not uncommon for virus to have an incubation period were you could be infectious but not showing any symptoms of a disease.

 

I've learned a new way of Sneezing etiquette is to cover your entire face with your arm. Not sure if other people do this (I admit I don't) but it seems like that's the easier way to not spread germs. I just look away or look down. Just as long as I don't look at a person and sneeze on them, which would be rude and disgusting.

 

I typically sneeze into my elbow pit, especially if I'm at work.

 

Exactly right... We deal with this all the time with wildfires... We are encouraged to cough into the crooks of our arms to prevent the spread of "camp crud" to our fellow fire staff... You get a fire camp with 1,000 people and sickness can spread like, well, wildfire... There is always a lot of handshaking going on, so this is looked at one way to keep it from going around...

 

Also agreeing. It's been accepted practice for a few years now.

 

I contort myself into an unusual Yoga position and sneeze into the back of my knee.

 

I mentioned hand covering earlier, but it's often more like sneezing into the arm. I'm very wary being around small children who have colds, as I've never had mumps.

 

You've not been vaccinated?

 

My ex taught me her way of doing a contained sneeze, keeping the nasal passage and mouth closed and breathing out, awkward but no messy projection.

 

I sneeze into either my shoulder or arm never my palm. Mythbusters even did a study of this and showed sneezing into your hand spreads germs as badly as not covering.

 

Not to my knowledge. I tend to avoid going to doctors. It doesn't have anything to do with homeopathy, alternative medicine, or religious reasons. I go to them when I have to if I get an ailment that doesn't resolve after a few weeks.

Why? Forty-three years ago, my dad went to the hospital for "routine tests", agreed to surgery (perhaps while still experiencing after-effects of sedation), and never came out alive, leaving me orphaned (at 19, but I was still living at home and going to college). Everything in my life went upside down. I've lived alone for most of the last 35 years, so it's not like I'd be depriving the non-existent spouse, children, or close friends of my presence.

 

When do people typically get Mumps vaccinations? I know certain vaccinations are required by state law, but I'm not sure if Mumps is one of them. Though honestly, I haven't gotten a vaccine for anything since high school (maybe?), so I don't remember what I actually have.

 

Wow, I'm very sorry to hear that.

One thing to bear in mind though is that getting vaccinated isn't only for your own good, but it helps to protect others as well, especially babies.