The Memo...

So... when did everyone decide that they were going to start sneezing/coughing into their elbow crevasses instead of their hands? Apparently, I didn't get the memo. I started noticing this phenomenon about six months ago. Was there a 20/20... Oprah... Colbert Report on the subject?

Today someone gave me a strange look because I sneezed into my hands. Ummm... that was sanitary in 1980, so what's the difference now? Maybe it's because before 1980 we were just sneezing and coughing into people faces, so moving to the hands was a good thing. But now that we got that down, I'm assuming that we have to remain progressive health-wise. How was this new motion decided? Did a bunch of doctors get together to decide social rules of health decency (kinda like the Colonel Sanders conspiracy in So I Married an Axe Murderer)? If so, I have to wonder if that same group of doctors might be playing the game "what'll they do" just to see how gullible we all really are.

The thing that looks funny to me is that when you cough/sneeze into your elbow it looks like a Dracula move. Just imagine, if you were wearing a cape that was attached to your hand, that movement would look very devious. I thought it was a take off of the twilight craze when I first saw it, which I'm adamantly opposed to... so I went ahead sneezing into my hands in protest. But now it seems so much more common, so really... when was the update, did everyone get a text and I was left out?
Email Post

Comments

licketysplit said…
Ok, this is pretty funny but I worked at a hospital for 2 years and when I started we actually had to watch a video on the appropriate way to cough and sneeze- which is into the elbow. It's because germs can live for much longer on skin than they can on material, but if you are wearing short sleeves it really doesn't make a difference, except that your hands are more likely to come in contact with other surfaces that will spread the germs. If that makes any sense. :)
May 3, 2011 at 7:46 PM
Mike said…
haha nice camille
May 3, 2011 at 11:41 PM
Lori said…
I seriously was going to do a blog last week about how I hate when people sneeze into their hands instead of into their sleeves, haha. Ok, here's me on my soapbox, when people sneeze into their hands germs get on their hands and they then touch something which someone else then touches and germs get transferred easily. This seriously grosses me out, sorry! I'm all about "sneeze (and cough) into your sleeve".
May 6, 2011 at 5:15 PM
Laura said…
I saw people talking about how you should sneeze into your elbow on the news a ton during the Swine Flu epidemic. But when you think about it, sneezing into your elbow is better than your hands.

Whenever I sneeze into my hands I often get a bunch of spit/mucus on my hands and I have to wash them or wipe them on my jeans... gross.
May 8, 2011 at 10:43 AM
Post a Comment

Popular Posts