EDITOR – Everyone knows it is polite to cover your mouth and nose with your hand when you sneeze or cough. The question is, what do you do next with your hand?
Do you wash it as you should do or do you shake hands with someone? Or push a trolley around a supermarket? Or push a mouse around a pad? In East Asian countries it is socially acceptable to wear a face mask as a barrier to airborne germs, viruses, pollens, dust and pollutants. This is both as a courtesy to others, for example, should someone sneeze in a squashed taxi or an elevator (fellow travellers don’t have to hold their breath until the next stop) or for health reasons particular to the mask wearer, such as allergies to pollen or dust or pollutions.
If we could overcome the public embarrassment we suffer, we have a lot to gain in adopting this very practical and useful health fashion.
Healthy Hacks
Gillitts
