Swap Out Handshakes and Fives for Elbow Strikes This Flu Season
When you meet with a colleague or friend, greeting usually involves physical contact. Whether it’s a handshake, a five or a good old hug, they can all be pretty dangerous during flu season, especially this season.
This does not mean that you need to avoid touching everyone together. Instead, NPR offers the Liberian Elbow Exchange , an elbow strike that gets its name from Liberians who avoid shaking hands during the Ebola outbreak.
Pretty solid advice. The station spoke with one doctor, who claims that 80% of all colds, flu, respiratory infections, and diarrheal diseases are transmitted to others through their hands.
Yes, this could mean that you touched something ( such as an airport check-in terminal ) that a sick person has, but it can also be transmitted during a normal meal. Instead of taking risks, trade the greeting for an elbow strike.
Clearly this will not work for every situation. You are not going to elbow a high-profile client in a meeting or your mom when you come to dinner. In such situations, NPR suggests that you try not to touch your face after you make this hand-to-hand contact and wash your hands as soon as possible.
When you are going to wash your hands, make sure you are doing it right. To kill all germs on your hands, you need to wash your hands with soap and water for 15-20 seconds, much less than most of us.
In addition, bacteria tend to accumulate in the palm of your hand, so the less contact between the palms, the better. I see punching returning to my personal life over the next few months.