Trying Not to Get Sick? Science Says You're
Probably Doing It Wrong
Cold and flu viruses transfer in very different ways than we
think
By Rachel
Kaufman
smithsonian.com
t’s that time of year again: coughing, wheezy, sticky people
all around you, and that dread in the pit of your stomach that
you’re about to get sick. What do you do? Conventional wisdom
says that to avoid spreading colds or the flu, you should wash
your hands frequently—ideally using antibacterial soap—and cover
your mouth when you cough.
But it turns out that sometimes, conventional wisdom is just
wrong (sorry about that, mom!). We pored through scientific
studies and talked to medical experts to find that some of these
oft-repeated tips don't tell the whole story—while others might
actually be harmful. Here's the truth about colds and the flu.
(Spoiler: You should still cover your mouth when you cough.)
1. Talking, yelling and even breathing
spread the flu.
It’s not just coughing: Merely breathing
releases tiny particles that can contain flu
viruses. Unfortunately, these particles are smaller
than a human blood cell, meaning they're pretty
difficult to avoid. A
2013 study found that these fine droplets
actually contain around 8.8 times more flu viruses
than the coarse droplets you can see when someone
sneezes (ew).
Yet another reason to avoid topics like sports
and politics at your next holiday gathering.
2. Surgical masks won’t protect you.
You may be surprised to learn that those people
wearing slightly-dystopian surgical masks on the subway
aren't protecting themselves: they’re protecting you.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, surgical
masks can
help stop you from spreading your flu to others, by
catching most of the fine particles you breathe out.
However, they can’t always stop a mask-wearer from
getting sick themselves, which is why the
CDC doesn't recommend them for the general
population. Because they're not airtight, they don't
catch all the particles in the air that might contain
viruses.
While public health experts know a fair amount about
how flu spreads from person to person, it isn’t as clear
how these diseases spread across cities or countries,
says Rumi
Chunara, an assistant professor in computer science
and engineering and global public health at New York
University. Chunara is pioneering research into this
complicated health phenomenon by turning to an unlikely
partner: snot samples. Her project, “Go Viral,” has been
collecting nasal samples from Americans since 2013 and
is still going strong. Study participants get a kit with
a special Q-tip, a "preservation tube" and a mailing
label. (Sign
up here!)
3. You probably won’t get sick from
shaking a sick person’s hand.
We know, we know. Your mother always told you to
wash your hands when you’re sick. And she wasn’t
wrong: It’s true that hand-washing or using an
alcohol-based disinfectant kills two classes of
virus that cause the common cold (rhinovirus and
rotovirus). But that advice won’t help you when it
comes to influenza. "All the good studies for how
influenza virus transmits suggests (that) you have
to inhale the virus through your nose or mouth,”
says John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus in
the school of public health at the University of
California at Berkeley. "There isn't much evidence
at all" that the influenza virus is commonly
transmitted by hand, he adds. (No, this is not a
free pass to stop hand-washing, Swartzberg says.)
That’s also means that simply coming into
physical contact with a sick person probably isn't
enough to spread the flu. So no, it isn’t
unreasonable to ask your partner to cuddle with you
on the couch even though you’re feeling flu-y. "The
only way you'd transmit [the flu would be] rubbing
your cheek against them, and then put your hand to
your cheek, and then touch your mouth or your eye,"
says Swartzberg. But as you’ll recall from Tip 1,
cuddling does put you within the 6-foot radius that
flu viruses can spread in breath. So Swartzberg
helpfully advises: "Cuddle with someone, as long as
they hold their breath."
4. You could get a cold from
touching something a sick person touched.
Not to freak you out, but viruses can live on
inanimate objects for
up to 72 hours. Moreover, cold and flu
viruses last longer on hard surfaces (like
stainless steel) than soft ones (like your
couch). "So if you wear gloves, it might not
last as long," Chunara points out. That said,
she and Swartzberg advocate common sense. "Yes,
we live in a sea of microorganisms. Yes, they
live on inanimate objects," Swartzberg says.
"The vast majority of these aren't going to
cause disease … that said, if I've been around
somebody who has an infectious disease, I
wouldn't want to share a pillowcase with them."
5. Forget the extra vitamin C.
If some is good, more is better, right?
Not always. People who aren't vitamin C
deficient don't need to overload their
bodies with more in an attempt to fight off
a cold. “The idea of boosting your immunity
is enticing,” reads the
online health publication of Harvard
Medical School. Yet while "taking a daily
multivitamin and mineral supplement brings
health benefits of many types … Taking
megadoses of a single vitamin does not. More
is not necessarily better."
Other remedies to toss? Most
herbal supplements and echinacea, says
Swartzberg. "There's nothing in the
literature that supports that it's any
better than placebo,” he says.
So how do you really avoid
getting sick this season? "Avoid people who
are sick," he says. "Especially kids … I
call them germbags. Don't be a
schoolteacher, don't be a pediatrician,
don't be a grandparent." Easy enough, right?
Oh, and get a flu shot. In a good season,
it's about 70 percent effective at
preventing flu; even if you're not the type
to get sick, it may prevent you from
carrying viruses and passing them on to
another person, Swartzberg says.
Read more:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/theres-more-to-fighting-flu-covering-your-mouth-180961404/#7FT32tE0mwEZLtsV.99
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