*COUGH*

December 31, 2008 7:21 AM

Is there any utility to this quasi-germophobic tic I've developed?

When I'm in a public space, especially in a tight space like an elevator, and somebody coughs or sneezes I've started doing this thing where I like exhale until I can't anymore and then I hold my breath for a second. Obviously you wouldn't want to directly inhale from somebody's freshly sprayed, noxious germ cloud, but does exhaling and then holding one's breath for said germ cloud to disperse actually result in any lesser risk of getting sick? Or I'm crazy and I should stop doing this because it's crazy and does nothing?

posted by The Straightener to health & fitness (16 comments total)

The benefit is probably negligible at best. So lon as it doesn't turn into some sort of compulsive behavior, there's certainly no harm.

Of course, if I over-analyze, I could posit that you're actually worse off doing this, because you will take a deeper-than-normal breath after exhaling completely and holding your breath. But this is Metafilter and we don't over-analyze here. ;)
posted by DWRoelands at 7:50 AM on December 31, 2008

Yeah, it's probably not helping all that much, but feel free to do it if it makes you feel better. Unfortunately sometimes you just can't avoid the germies, and I think in this case you may be better off just drinking a lot of OJ and washing your hands regularly.
posted by big open mouth at 7:53 AM on December 31, 2008

Vitamin C does not prevent the onset of colds and its ability to significantly lessen the duration or intensity of a cold is also disputed. I don't know the answer to your question but I do know that drinking a lot of OJ will not help you.
posted by proj at 8:01 AM on December 31, 2008

I'd say it doesn't help, but I do the same thing if I'm in an area where someone has just vomited. After seeing the graphical representation in a public health seminar of proximity to a person who vomited (with a norovirus) and the likelihood of becoming infected, I'll take my silly chance.
posted by shinynewnick at 8:09 AM on December 31, 2008

The only benefit I can see from your little game is that you've developed a good distaste for the nasty little buggers and maybe you'll wash your hands more and pay attention to those sorts of things, which will indeed have a positive effect on your health. I'd watch for it to turn into a compulsion but it sounds like you're already pretty aware of yourself.

If it makes you feel better to do it, by all means do it. If it starts making you crazy to NOT do it, you've probably gone too far and it's begun to cause more issues than it resolves.
posted by bobobox at 8:45 AM on December 31, 2008

um, i do the same thing. so, at least we're crazy together?
posted by misanthropicsarah at 9:33 AM on December 31, 2008

Yeah, you're not alone. I've never thought it helps, but it's almost automatic for me, so I just go with it. I figure maybe it increases my swimming endurance by a notch or something.
posted by batmonkey at 10:06 AM on December 31, 2008

Actually, I think knowing that other people do this is almost as good as finding out it has some measurable health benefit. I was starting to think I was getting a little wacky!
posted by The Straightener at 10:41 AM on December 31, 2008

I've done this since I was a child.
posted by pearlybob at 11:12 AM on December 31, 2008

I always did that, it never occurred to me that it was strange... I don't really believe it helps, though.
posted by you're a kitty! at 11:47 AM on December 31, 2008

I also do this..exactly as you described. Also if i can't get away from the area, i breathe for some time through my sleeve/gloves or other fabric. Not sure if it helps..
posted by kampken at 11:59 AM on December 31, 2008

I vote it makes it worse by causing you to take deep breaths immediately afterward, when the particulates have achieved maximum dispersion. But I'm probably just being contrary.
posted by nanojath at 12:11 PM on December 31, 2008

I think it could help and is a wise precaution anyway. Even if you develop no detectable illness from such exposure, you could conceivably end up getting your nasal passages colonized with something like MRSA.

Larger droplets settle out really fast, so it seems like a pretty effective strategy for avoiding those, and as for the smaller droplets which would hang around too long to be avoided by holding your breath unless you are able to move out of the vicinity simultaneously, on an elevator every second you are able to hold your breath is a second you give the air filters to filter them out-- and by air filters I mean the other passengers, of course.

But be careful; several years ago now, I came home after dark still breathing hard from the last steep hill of my long bike ride, and my first whiff as I fumbled my keys in one hand and my bike in the other, trying to get in the front door, was enough to tell me my neighbor was using a paint on his front porch which I knew from experience would give me a migraine with one full breath, so I followed your strategy; I breathed out as much as I could and held it.

Only I couldn't hold it; as I continued to hold my breath and feel for the keyhole, the urgency became too great. I lost control of my diaphragm and it contracted against my will.

But I didn't open my throat. The resulting vacuum in my chest cavity sucked part of my stomach up through the opening in the diaphragm. It was probably the worst pain I ever felt-- far beyond the severe broken leg that took hours of surgery to repair, for example-- and I couldn't get my breath, too boot. I flung my bike across the room and ran to the bedroom, where ten minutes of excruciating stretching and arching my back (to the accompaniment of loud popping and cracking sounds from my chest) eased my breathing and reduced the pain to a heavy throb. When I press on that area with my fingers, though, it still doesn't feel quite right.
posted by jamjam at 12:22 PM on December 31, 2008

I exhale forcefully (cough) if I am near someone who coughs or sneezes and then continue with a longer less intense exhalation as I walk away. The coughing response evolved to clear the airway, I don't see why I shouldn't take advantage of my conscious control over it.
posted by 517 at 1:11 PM on December 31, 2008

Colds are spread mainly by touching, not by sneezing, and they infect the lining of the nose, not the mouth. So the most effect routine would be to breathe in through your mouth in the elevator and wash your hands frequently with soap and water. Don't use those alcohol gels, because "Rhinoviruses like alcohol. They think it's tasty."
posted by footnote at 2:07 PM on December 31, 2008

That's a good idea! I better go wash my hands!
posted by The Straightener at 4:03 PM on December 31, 2008