This works well - thanks.

posted on 9/14/2011 2:24:32 PM

yeah, definitely coughing into your clothes is better than the hand or elbow. a friend of mine coughs into her hand but she only covers the top (area above the upper lip) and the rest of that hand is facing upward so it just goes right out in front of her. i caught her cold that way. i was a little annoyed.

posted on 8/28/2010 8:13:55 PM

I think it is funny how many others also sneeze and cough into their shirts! (I thought I was alone!)  My son (7) also chooses to sneeze into his shirt. Think about how many children grab onto eachother's arms during the day. At least your germs are on you - not someone else - and better contained when using the inside of the shirt! If you think about all those "surprise" sneezes that sneak up on you - it is just faster and easier to tuck into the neckline of your shirt.:) Thanks for posting this!!!:)

posted on 6/12/2010 12:12:47 PM

I usually sneeze on my shoulder, it's actually better than your elbow because that way you won't spread it to others.  If you sneeze on your shoudler & move it up to your mouth, that way less germs everywhere and less likely for others to get unlike sneezing into your elbow which is hard to do when you are sneezing because your eyes are closed

posted on 3/24/2010 8:23:34 AM

There's a reason why schools teach children to sneeze on their upper arms. If done right, it shouldn't spray all over the place. Sneezing into your shirt and having mucus on your neckline is disgusting.

posted on 3/16/2010 10:46:35 PM

avocadoes can be frozen!!  mash 4 or 5 add alittle lime or  lemon juice mix well, put in baggie, squeeze air out, then you always have avocado for dip, just add all your fixins!!!

posted on 3/16/2010 6:17:43 PM

I REALLY DONT THINK THAT SNEEZING IN THE ELBOW IS KEEPING THE GERMS AWAY BUT I USE MY SHIRT I PULL MY NECK LINE ON SHIRT AND SNEEZE IN MY SHIRT

posted on 3/15/2010 8:22:51 PM

I believe in the elbow techinique. At least if it is wet a child can go wash it like their hands. If they sneeze or cough in their shirt they may have to walk around with sputum in their neckline all day.  If a child sneezes, a tight hold over the nose with an elbow works, and a cough, a tight hold over the mouth. I am a preschool teacher and I teach my children how to hold their arm correctly for each thing. We practice it every morning at circle.  If they don't do the elbow we end up changing lots of shirts. Just a teacher's point of view.

posted on 3/15/2010 3:53:05 PM

Excellent advice! I had completely forgotten about this tip, and it is MUCH better than an elbow or tissue.  You keep your germs to yourself, and you usually clean up yourself and clothes at the end of the today. Thanks for reminding me of this way to keep my germs to myself.

posted on 3/13/2010 8:49:56 PM

I can't imagine anyone poo pooing this... this should be taught in schools & hospitals. In a perfect world a sneeze should be in a tissue (& washable hankies should be outlawed). But in a pinch, which this tip is all about, absolutely sneeze or cough into the neck of a shirt. A sneeze into the elbow still shoots 8 feet in all directions, & only prevents the hand from spreading germs. This needs 5 stars from all...

posted on 3/9/2010 11:57:01 AM

I read that when you sneeze, your germs travel at a rate of 700 miles an hour.....I don't know if that's true or not so however you can cover it is a better plan than not covering at all.............

posted on 3/8/2010 8:03:59 AM

My husband does this.  I thought it was gross until now.  Will teach my child the same.

posted on 3/2/2010 8:34:13 PM

When coughing or sneezing into the elbow properly (actually putting pressure from the inside of your elbow to your nose AND mouth), a sneeze or cough will not get past. 

posted on 3/2/2010 5:11:38 PM

I used to use a hankie, but nowdays it seems disgusting: anything wet goes through the hankie and as result, you have germs galore on your hands. It works only if you can clean up in a hurry. 

posted on 3/2/2010 4:51:25 PM

I agree down the shirt is the best way I have found to contain the germs. I think this method should be taught to our children.

posted on 3/2/2010 3:59:19 PM

eww Hankies are nasty.  Its 2010, use Kleenex!

posted on 3/2/2010 3:16:18 PM

Ok, I'm sorry but that's just nasty. Coughing into your elbow is so much easier. Plus, the germs don't live forever, they only stay on the elbow for a certain time, so who cares!

posted on 3/2/2010 12:11:43 AM

Finally!  I have been doing this for years too.  My mother-in-law (AKA Redcross volunteer, retired nurse) thought I was crazy since I was putting the germs back on my skin.  BUT, if you already have the germs, what difference does it make?!  If nothing else is available, this seems the best option.

posted on 3/1/2010 5:44:59 PM

I use my shirt too.  What if you have an infant and you cough in your elbow, where you cradle thier head?  Scary!

posted on 3/1/2010 3:09:16 PM

Sorry, but the elbow thing is very little improvement over just letting the sneeze land where it may.  Gross.

posted on 2/28/2010 4:40:54 PM

We in the nursing field are tought "Do it in your sleeve (slbow) Nancy

posted on 2/28/2010 4:40:39 PM

I have always taught my kids this.  It just makes sense not to share germs with everyone else- especially when you have friends and family members in poor health that should not get sick for fear of dying.  Great Post!!!!

posted on 2/28/2010 4:37:21 PM

I do the same thing! Also, my kids change clothes so many times a day, so it wouldn't matter if the shirt got a few germs. What difference does the inside of the shirt or the elbowmake?  They both get germs when you sneeze. It just depends on what gets washed or thrown in the wash sooner. Nobody chases kids with Purell on their elbows at school.

posted on 2/25/2010 10:19:48 PM

Thanks for sharing this with people!  Read about it years ago, and we all do it.  I hate to think of people sneezing onto the outside of their clothes.  I guess it's o.k., and long as you don't brush up against them.  Or sit in a chair they have sat it!!  The tissues are o.k., and long as you throw it away each time it is used, not stuff it in your pocket.Then you have to go clean your hands, otherwise, the germs from the tissue just go to your hands again, and you give them to everyone you meet.  By sneezing in your shirt, you may give the germs to the one doing the laundry, but it's much better than the 100 people you are around on an average day!

posted on 2/25/2010 4:07:27 PM

i have done that for as long asi van remember. thats how i showed my kids and grandkids. then the teachers showed them the elbow thing.

posted on 2/25/2010 1:22:12 AM

Gee germs can linger even in clothing.  Being a member of a medical family, using clothing is not adviseable.  Kids may cough or sneeze into clothing, but will forget to tell you.  Clothing should be taken off as soon as possible and washed.  If put into a laundry basket or hamper with other clothing, the germs can eventually get into the air around you.  If the original person does have a medical problem, then other family members can catch it and before you know it it's been passed around, not only at home but everywhere people go.  Some people only use cold water for washing clothes and this will not kill the germs.  My family uses the old-fashioned ways, such as tissue and handkerchiefs, and it is rare for someone to catch a cold or get the flu.  Our doctors have asked us why we stay well during the winter and we just say - old-fashioned ways are best for prevention of illness.

posted on 2/24/2010 7:39:56 PM

Sounds like a good idea..... anything is better than sneezing into your hands

posted on 2/24/2010 11:06:07 AM

That is excellent advice and I have sneezed and coughed this way since I can remember. I notice others looking at me when I do this and I hope they start using their shirt too!!

posted on 2/24/2010 7:51:27 AM

This is great advice

posted on 2/23/2010 11:03:39 PM

I work in a hospital and I would love to post a sign like that , been doing that myself for years!!!!!

posted on 2/23/2010 10:12:56 PM

It is the crotch of the arm and no germs get through!

posted on 2/23/2010 9:59:35 PM

LOL...  I thought the same thing!  your idea makes much more   healthy sense...Thanks

posted on 2/23/2010 6:53:26 PM

We all cough/sneeze into our elbows.  It doesn't go into the air because we have taught the kids to really put their mouth into their elbow.  They do a good job of it.  My 12-year-old son used to cough/sneeze into the collar of his shirt like you described, Patti, but he'd often miss and it would just go out into the air.  Anything is better than coughing/sneezing into hands.

posted on 2/23/2010 1:08:31 PM

You know that's funny, because I do that when I cough, but I never told my kids to do it. It makes sense.

posted on 2/23/2010 10:27:12 AM

I've told mine the same, When there's no tissue ,to cough or sneeze into their elbow, So they won't spread germs.I try to keep those travel packs of kleenex to keep in their school packs.

posted on 2/23/2010 8:39:33 AM

I've noticed even the nurse at the dr's office coughs or sneezes into her elbow!!!  I asked about it, and she said its actually just above the elbow they aim for, so between the shoulder and the elbow, a little tighter of an area to sneeze/cough into.  I don't get it either--sneezing or coughing into a kleenex and then throwing it away always seemed smarter to me--but by the same token, I always made sure my kids had a 'hankie' (I'd wash them in fabric softener, made them nice and 'broken in' so no harshness by the nose) and how to use it...my son is 21, and STILL carries one around (actualy two--one for himself, and one to 'loan' if someone needs one) my daughter uses her 'elbow'....But I agree--I don't see the 'usefulness' of sneezing into my arm....

posted on 2/23/2010 8:07:38 AM