A generation of elbow sneezers

We’re breeding a generation of elbow sneezers. It’s the fashion and latest medical advice in order that hands are kept free of the gunk that sprays from the mouth and nasal cavities. A whole new etiquette around public (and hopefully private) behaviour.

When we buried my father nearly 15 years ago, my brothers and I chose his suit, his shirt and a handkerchief that would sit folded neatly in his pocket. Not the fancy three corner, never to be used, on display at his chest one, but a well-worn, slightly stained worker’s cloth that Dad always had on hand in his hip pocket. Just a big cotton square. I recall my first ironing experience was removing the creases from Dad’s hankies (and some of my own little floral ones upon which Mum had dutifully written my name). Their use went far beyond the maker’s expectations. Dad’s handkerchiefs rubbed grease from his hands, gave the windscreen a swipe, wiped the sweat from his brow, and blew our noses as well as his own. No elbow sneezing here.

At some point during my growing up, I switched from hankies to tissues. A disposable generation. Mum would call “hands over your mouth!” a milli-second after a sneeze had escaped. And hands it was. Most of the time. I still recall a mouthful of cornflakes being sprayed across the breakfast table, one chaotic morning before school, as one of my brothers uncontrollably sneezed. No hankies here.

And now it’s elbows. Everywhere, health advice states that sneezing into your elbows is hygienically approved. And so, a new generation unconsciously behaves in a different way. I watched a boy this morning, riding his bicycle, sneeze into his elbow whilst continuing to ride.

No hands here.