Respiratory Etiquette
Cover Your Cough
Serious respiratory illnesses like influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, whooping cough, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) are spread by:
- Coughing or sneezing
- Unclean hands
To help stop the spread of germs,
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
- If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve, not your hands.
- Put your used tissue in the waste basket.
Clean your hands after coughing or sneezing with:
- soap and water
or - an alcohol-based hand rub
You may be asked to put on a surgical mask to protect others while visiting friends or family in a health care setting such as a hospital or nursing home.
Adapted from the CDC Cover Your Cough
