"Cover yourself when you sneeze" It is one of those typical phrases that parents repeat insistently and do not lose their validity, especially in the winter months when the flu epidemic triggers. We also teach them to cover themselves preferably with the forearm rather than with the hands, to prevent the spread from spreading when children touch toys or other surfaces.
But that little gesture we teach our children to do every time they sneeze or cough it might not be enough, as demonstrated by new research that has just been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Covering your nose and mouth when you sneeze does not prevent the spread of the flu to other people; the simple act of breathing would be able to spread it.
Until now we believed that the virus was transmitted by expelling small particles by coughing and sneezing by mouth and nose, and it is not that it is not true, but it is even worse than we thought. Just breathing is enough to spread it, since The virus is capable of traveling in small particles or "aerosols" (droplet nuclei) generated by breathing.
"We show that sneezing is uncommon and not important for the aerosolization of influenza virus, as well as coughing is not required to achieve this effect."
In Babies and more The flu epidemic arrives in Spain and the virus that circulates the most is A: how to prevent infectionTo verify this, researchers from the University of Maryland evaluated 355 volunteers, of which 142 were diagnosed with confirmed influenza or influenza virus infection. They performed tests in which the participants coughed, sneezed, talked and breathed in a machine for 30 minutes.
When analyzing the breath samples, the researchers discovered that almost half of the aerosol particles collected in the absence of cough also contained viruses, suggesting that just inhaling germ-filled air would be enough to catch.
However, they point out that the transmission was not traced to find out if these drops had actually infected someone, but the presence of viruses in the aerosols suggests, according to the words of one of the authors of the study, that "if that person next to you really seems Sick, even if they are not coughing, I can probably infect you. "
Avoid contagion in children
If we add to the results of the study that children have a high rate of infection, it is virtually impossible to prevent virus transmission Among the little ones. By sharing closed sites with a large concentration of children, as in nurseries or schools, they are a group very susceptible to the spread of viruses and bacteria.
In Babies and more How to prevent your children from getting sick when it's coldHowever, vaccination in children within risk groups is still recommended as an effective way of prevent contagionIn addition to the usual prevention measures such as frequent hand washing, ventilate the house, use disposable tissues and avoid direct contact with sick people.
