"Common knowledge" has been proven wrong many times in the past - for example, we don't try to cure diseases by blood letting any more. It takes carefully designed experiments to determine the truth of these things.
Note that there are zillions of viruses in a cough, and it doesn't take too many to cause a disease. Obviously, covering your mouth while coughing only stops a fraction of these viruses from becoming airborne.
Does anyone know of a study considering the efficacy of covering your mouth to prevent coughs from becoming a disease transmission vector?
Thanks to those of you who remembered that the point of the question was to determine whether there have been any studies performed, even if you couldn't cite one.
For those of you who urged me to continue to cover my mouth, thanks, I think. But I don't think you understand the nature of scientific inquiry, which involves thinking beyond the answers which society has provided you, and which you have apparently accepted without question.
It continues to puzzle me that so many people don't think critically about the beliefs they have been handed.
If you can't quantify it, then you don't understand it.
If you claim to understand how effective covering your mouth is, then you will be able to answer me with either a percentage, or else an equation.
SotiCoto
Think logically about this...
Sure, it might only stop a small amount from becoming airborne... but it stops a lot more from being projected with sufficient force to send them across a room. That is to say when you cover your mouth.... you're significantly halting the dissipation of said airborne pathogens... meaning that they're only likely to be spread if someone is particularly close to you at the time... or there happens to be a breeze for other reasons.
Then again... a cough is nothing compared to a sneeze...
disco legend zeke
It may not prevent spread of viruses, but it WILL prevent a big fleck of phlegm from landing on someone's face.
Shaking hands is the major mode of a cold being transmitted. The reason we shake hands is so that we can be sure of getting the latest cold virus.
Colds exercise our immune system so we are prepared for the bad viruses.
arbiter007
An excellent question. It''s been recently demonstrated that rhinoviruses can be left on touched hotel surfaces and remain active for days or weeks.
So if you just cough, the spray winds up on the floor and the viruses are difficult to access, but if you cover your mouth and use that hand to touch a doornkob or shake someone's hand, yuo've become more efficient at transmitting those germs.
Slartibartfast
Yes, most people cover their mouths when they cough to prevent germs spreading - and then shake hands with someone!
Another disgusting ritual is blowing out the candles on a cake and then serving the cake to all and sundry which is now covered in spittle and germs.
And here's another . . . . some of us wash our hands after using a public lavatory but then we have to open the door using a handle that everyone uses regardless if they have washed their hands or not.
Mucky old world we live in - isn't it?
The Queen
It is extremely difficult to isolate a virus in our environment unless we take all the infected ppl and shove them into a closed room.
Bacteria and viruses are everywhere and even if covering our mouths when we cough or sneeze...like everyone else here was saying...these germs are still spreading becuz that is just what they live to do!....think about the amount of people who touch the money you are touching, or the elevator buttons, or the grocery cart handles..did they just cough into their hands?...
Orignal From: Exactly how effective is covering your mouth, when coughing, at preventing disease transmission?
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