Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from July, 2010

Yuck: Few people correctly cover coughs, sneezes

Associated Press. Mon, Jul 12, 2010 Alas, here's more proof that most people have habits that aren't very sanitary — and sometimes can be plain disgusting. The good news is that about three of every four people cover their cough or sneeze, in at least a token attempt to prevent germs from flying through the air. The bad news is that most people — about two of three — used their hands to do it. "When you cough into your hands, you cover your hand in virus," said study author Nick Wilson , an associate professor of public health at the Otago University campus in Wellington. "Then you touch doorknobs, furniture and other things. And other people touch those and get viruses that way," he explained. Health officials recommend that people sneeze into their elbow, in a move sometimes called 'the Dracula ' for its resemblance to a vampire suddenly drawing up his cape. But only about 1 in 77 did that. Using a tissue or handkerchief