Forget what you thought you knew about the right way
to sneeze, turns out the elbow sneeze releases
many more germs than you may have thought.
Les Trent says the smarter move is to sneeze
into a tissue.
We all know sneezes and coughs spread germs,
but did you ever wonder how far those tiny droplets can go?
Scientists at MIT have studied the distances.
So we set up a similar demonstration.
Instead of a natural sneeze, we used a spray bottle
filled with a special florescent paint.
Our producers suited up and wore protective face masks.
Now no one here is sick, but out of an abundance
of caution, we are going to simulate, along with producer
Katie here, a sneeze, and how far germs can travel
when someone sneezes.
Let's bring in our subject at the four foot mark,
right there, ready?
In three, two, one.
Ah-choo.
Watch as those tiny neon droplets fly out in slow motion.
Our producer under a black light, is splattered.
Look at this, potential germ splatter, from that sneeze
all over his body.
So this is why it's so important to cover up
when you sneeze.
Would the spray reach him from twice as far away?
I'm gonna simulate this sneeze now from eight feet.
Ah-choo.
Back under the black light.
Look at the splatter we see from our simulation,
especially up here around the face.
Less splatter, but still lots of direct hits.
An unrestricted sneeze can come out at over 100
miles an hour, and actually it's been clocked
at 200 miles an hour.
Dr. Jack Karavanas, Professor on Environmental
Public Health Sciences at NYU, says in an office setting,
some sneezes and coughs can reach eight desks away.
Am I safe this distance from you?
Absolutely not.
How about here?
Nope, keep going, keep going.
Wow.
Around there.
In a quiet environment, a sneeze coming out
can actually dry up and travel that distance.
We should point out according to medical experts,
sneezing is not a symptom of coronavirus.
But it is one way the virus could be transmitted.
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