rebel_rn wrote:
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Wash your hands. Cough and sneeze in your sleeve. Stay home if you are sick. Stay informed. http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu for more info.
Thanks to rebel_rn, whose tag line this is, for reminding me to mention this. We're promoting these practices at work. It's making me rethink the whole concept of friendliness.
Oh dear. I didn't mean for an end to hugging with my tagline. I hug all the time! I even hug (occasionally) at work, which is a local public health department.
Speaking of coughing and sneezing in your sleeve, take 5 minutes to watch the video here: Why Don't We Do It In Our Sleeves? and you'll have a greater understanding why it's so important. You might laugh a little too.
Wash your hands. Cough and sneeze in your sleeve. Stay home if you are sick. Stay informed. http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu for more info.
Why don' we do it in our sleeves?
Why don' we do it in our sleeves?
Why don' we do it in our sleeves?
Why don' we do it in our sleeves?
Someone will be watching us,
Why don' we do it in our sleeves?
Why don' we do it in our sleeves?
Why don' we do it in our sleeves?
Why don' we do it in our sleeves?
Why don' we do it in our sleeves?
Someone will be watching us,
Why don' we do it in our sleeves?
- Lyrics and music by The Fœtals
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Balochi musician
I disagree with coughing into the sleeve then hugging. What ever is coughed into the sleeve and then a hug passes it around someones neck. Better to cough into your elbow.
I disagree with coughing into the sleeve then hugging. What ever is coughed into the sleeve and then a hug passes it around someones neck. Better to cough into your elbow.
Finally! Someone who understands!
For the rest of youse alls, I was deadvocating hugging after everyone has been coughing and sneezing into their sleeves! The Wrap-Around Germ Transfer . . . not the beloved regular kind.
Pathogens are our friends, if you want a good immune system. Let's face it.
Conversely, our friends are not pathogens.
I will hug my friend, will let my friend hug me, and will remember that s/he is first a friend in my estimation and that it is unworthy of me to look upon my friend and instead see a vector.
Good grief, everyone. Just keep clean and do your bit. This no-hugging thinking is just going too far.
"If you take music out of this world, you will have nothing but a ball of fire." - Balochi musician
Coughing or sneezing into your sleeve and then hugging someone is very unlikely to spread disease.
For a virus such as the common cold, that does live on surfaces for a period of time (5 hours or so), touching the surface can transfer the virus from one surface to another. So colds are commonly spread by someone sneezing into their hand, and then opening a door/using a phone/etc. Then another unsuspecting person comes along and touches the same surface and transfers the virus on to their hand. That's not what will make them sick -skin is a good barrier. They'll infect themselves when they then touch their eyes, or nose, or mouth, or use their hands to eat something, thus introducing the virus into their systems.
If one coughs/sneezes into the sleeve, they could still conceivably transfer the virus to the other person's (back, neck, arm, whatever), but then that person would have to, say, rub their eyes with their back to infect themselves (or eat something off of their back, or whatever).
For flu viruses, which are airborne, you're not really going to get sick from picking up the virus on a surface anyway. But coughing/sneezing in the sleeve will catch those buggers from flying out into the air and spreading to other people.
So keep on hugging! And keep on coughing and sneezing in your sleeve!
Wash your hands. Cough and sneeze in your sleeve. Stay home if you are sick. Stay informed. http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu for more info.
