The Science Of Sneezing: How To Avoid The Germs

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – It's cold and flu season, and you've probably heard people sneezing all over town.

But what's the best way to sneeze and not spread germs? In a tissue? Into your arm? Into your hands? CBS2's Dave Carlin got some answers.

Guarding against colds and flu is an uphill battle; the war that can be lost with a single germy sneeze from someone sick.

"I kind of hate when they sneeze out in the open," Queens resident Anasha Sarwan said. "I'm just like okay am I going to catch something from them?"

Dr. Madeleine Schaberg of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary says sneezes are triggered by allergies, cold and flu, and for some people, bright light.

"It's really a primal, basic reflex," she said.

They are our bodies' way of clearing irritants and resetting nasal passages, so don't try to suppress them, Carlin reported.

The science of sneezing recent studies show they travel faster and cover more ground than previously thought.

"What's surprising the speed at which the sneeze is exiting the body," Dr. Shaberg said.

A video was taken with a high speed camera by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and found it is not uncommon for the uncovered sneeze to travel 35 miles an hour and 50 feet.

Another study looked at sneezing in airplanes.Researchers used mathematical models to chart how the sneeze moves. People next to and behind the sneezer are at the greatest risk.

"When you're sneezing out 40,000 particles, you're shedding a lot of virus everywhere," Dr. Schaberg said.

Dr. Schaberg says never sneeze uncovered into the open air and don't sneeze in to your hands. Instead, use the "Dracula move."

"You want to bury that sneeze in to the crook of your elbow," she said.

Thomas P. Farley, also known as Mr. Manners, says be sure turn away from people when you sneeze and keep it covered—and always have a little packet of pocket tissues with you.

"You're sneezing in to your own self and not spreading germs," he said.

He also says when someone near you sneezes, don't rush to respond. Many people are "repeat sneezers." Make sure they're done with the "AHH-CHOO" before the "bless you."

Despite the persistent urban legend that our heart stops ever so quickly when we sneeze, doctors say that is not true. However, it is true we can't help but close our eyes when we sneeze.

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