Regional sneeze etiquette?

[snzer]

Sorry to post twice in a row haha but follow up to the last post I made in here. Have you noticed that different methods of covering sneezes are more common in places you travel to than what people do where you live? I noticed when I travel for work that a lot of places I go it seems like people are better at covering their sneezes (and coughs) than where I live. It seems like half the people where I am aren't concerned about covering but where I grew up a majority of people would cover, usually by sneezing into their hands or a tissue (even though they tried to teach us in school that the elbow was better). Sometimes I visit places where a lot of people seem to carry their own tissues or where public buildings have tissue boxes around, and sometimes I go to cities where I feel like I don't see anyone sneeze at all.

I see at least two people here every day sneeze if I'm out in public (in a store, bus, restaurant, on the street, not counting in my office). Where I live it seems like half of the time people cover their sneeze with a hand/hands/fist and the other half they either sneeze openly or cover really badly (like holding their arm 2 feet from their face). Even if they know they're sick a lot of people I know or have met don't really change their habits and they keep covering poorly or not at all if that's what they usually do. 

What do most people do to cover sneezes (or not cover) where you live? Do people bless each other (even strangers) or ignore the sneezer? Should I move somewhere else to avoid getting sneezed on/sneezed at haha because I didn't know it was really uncommon until I started telling some people from here about things that have happened to me.... I swear it happens at least 1 time a month but usually more. It's not like someone walking up and sneezing in my face on purpose or anything. Stuff like waiting in line for coffee and the person behind me or next to me sneezes openly, walking down the street and someone walking towards me sneezes straight out in front of them, cashiers sneezing while ringing my things up, people sneezing on me or others on the bus, coworkers forgetting to cover sneezes during meetings. Like even if I don't feel spray I can tell the sneeze was on me/at me/in my direction, you know what I mean? For example as I walked up to the sink in the break room to wash my hands today and someone was looking in the fridge, she turned her head in my direction to sneeze (even though I was only like 3 feet away). It was better than sneezing into the fridge I guess but she didn't say anything or even thank me for blessing her haha it was awkward.

Is "regional sneeze etiquette" a thing? What do people do where you are, and do you ever get accidentally sneezed on?

Edited February 13 by snzer
changed sentence because i forgot to add something

[NiceName]

Here in Italy most people simply turn their head away from people to sneeze.

If they have a cold they will bring tissues and attempt sneezing in them.

I am a lot curious about the sneeze culture in Belgium because I will travel there soon.

[Melody]

Here in Spain, like Italy, most people turn their head away from people to sneeze. I would say 60 - 70 % of the time they do not cover their mouths. People definitely cover much less here than in my home country. I also noticed that people blow their nose way more here, more frequently as well as like unbothered. They don't like go into a corner or a bathroom, they will be loud and unapologetic at any time of day. Tbh I like the contrast coming from where I'm from. I mean, I don't like the not covering but the contrast has been interesting to witness. The metro and closed spaces unfortunately, feel very gross to me because of this lol.

Edited February 13 by Melody

[rekztul]

Where I am, in the NE US, I'd generally say people are pretty good at covering, normally with an elbow, though open hands and fists aren't uncommon. I pretty rarely see people sneeze fully uncovered, which is good and bad ... I'm from out west, I'd say that covering with a hand or openly to the side is normal, but you'll always get a blessing. Maybe that's just small town life? 

Some of my best obs are from outside of the US or from friends who immigrated. I remember a coworker from east Africa who once came into a meeting joking that the office cold found them. Sniffling and dabbing her nose with a tissue throughout the meeting, at one point in the meeting, she wrinkled her nose, gripped the armrests and let go with two loud sneezes off to the side towards/behind the person sitting next to them. A nice, smart person, but I never saw her cover a sneeze. Probably that is the etiquette there? 

[solitaire-au]

Yeah, there are definite cultural variations.

I’ve noticed during the pandemic that compliance with public health directions (like covering) seemed to be related to cultural values, and the biggest one was probably social good vs personal freedom.

The countries/areas that value social good were more likely to comply with mask wearing, vaccination, social distancing etc.

Conversely, the countries that highly value individual freedoms, were much less likely to do these things.

Places like Singapore and Japan place a huge emphasis on social good and complying with public directions for the good of society as a whole. The US and Italy often don’t and many would deliberately flout such directions as they felt it unfairly impinged on their freedoms.

A great example was all the videos and TV recordings in 2020 of various Italian mayors angrily lambasting some of their citizens for sneaking out during lockdown to go get their hair done, socialise etc. My impression was people flouting lockdown orders happened so often, that the local leaders felt compelled to make those videos to try and shame people into complying, because asking them politely hadn’t worked.

 

Edited February 14 by solitaire-au
Typos

[Guest]

8 hours ago, solitaire-au said:

I’ve noticed during the pandemic that compliance with public health directions (like covering) seemed to be related to cultural values, and the biggest one was probably social good vs personal freedom.

The countries/areas that value social good were more likely to comply with mask wearing, vaccination, social distancing etc.

Conversely, the countries that highly value individual freedoms, were much less likely to do these things.

As someone with a lot of interest in how different cultures interact with certain social situations, and how their values shape those interactions, I find this information very interesting. Makes one realize that countries vary a lot in how they view sometimes very simple things such as sneezing into one's arms.

[kampa]

On 2/13/2024 at 8:52 AM, snzer said:

Sorry to post twice in a row haha but follow up to the last post I made in here. Have you noticed that different methods of covering sneezes are more common in places you travel to than what people do where you live? I noticed when I travel for work that a lot of places I go it seems like people are better at covering their sneezes (and coughs) than where I live. It seems like half the people where I am aren't concerned about covering but where I grew up a majority of people would cover, usually by sneezing into their hands or a tissue (even though they tried to teach us in school that the elbow was better). Sometimes I visit places where a lot of people seem to carry their own tissues or where public buildings have tissue boxes around, and sometimes I go to cities where I feel like I don't see anyone sneeze at all.

I see at least two people here every day sneeze if I'm out in public (in a store, bus, restaurant, on the street, not counting in my office). Where I live it seems like half of the time people cover their sneeze with a hand/hands/fist and the other half they either sneeze openly or cover really badly (like holding their arm 2 feet from their face). Even if they know they're sick a lot of people I know or have met don't really change their habits and they keep covering poorly or not at all if that's what they usually do. 

What do most people do to cover sneezes (or not cover) where you live? Do people bless each other (even strangers) or ignore the sneezer? Should I move somewhere else to avoid getting sneezed on/sneezed at haha because I didn't know it was really uncommon until I started telling some people from here about things that have happened to me.... I swear it happens at least 1 time a month but usually more. It's not like someone walking up and sneezing in my face on purpose or anything. Stuff like waiting in line for coffee and the person behind me or next to me sneezes openly, walking down the street and someone walking towards me sneezes straight out in front of them, cashiers sneezing while ringing my things up, people sneezing on me or others on the bus, coworkers forgetting to cover sneezes during meetings. Like even if I don't feel spray I can tell the sneeze was on me/at me/in my direction, you know what I mean? For example as I walked up to the sink in the break room to wash my hands today and someone was looking in the fridge, she turned her head in my direction to sneeze (even though I was only like 3 feet away). It was better than sneezing into the fridge I guess but she didn't say anything or even thank me for blessing her haha it was awkward.

Is "regional sneeze etiquette" a thing? What do people do where you are, and do you ever get accidentally sneezed on?

and where are you from? I mean, where have you noticed that people are more likely to sneeze uncovered

[kathleenh4656]

I've sneezed uncovered but only if I'm alone. If I'm in public I'll sneezed into my elbow. Sometimes at home, they come so quickly there's no time to cover or stop them.

[colorado198219]

I am in the Southwestern US, Younger guys tend to just sneeze wherever. I have had co-workers where I can feel the sneeze breeze and they could care less, which is more than okay with me.

Men who are senior-citizens sometimes sneeze into a handkerchief, it seems.

I was in the Midwest US last summer and I notice the men tended to sneeze to the side and wouldn't sneeze much quieter and sometimes nearly barely audible sneezes.

Edited February 16 by colorado198219

[snzer]

@kampa I'm in a northwest state but in a college town area so the people who live here come from all over. I'm not sure if that  changes things compared to other areas around me.

@colorado198219 Yeah I notice the much older people and the young people here are the ones who sneeze uncovered most often, but I see a lot of older people with handkerchiefs too.

@Melody I agree with the not covering being uncomfortable sometimes but that sounds like a dream haha. Very interesting to see how things are different!

[oOMariusOo]

@NiceName
Here in Belgium it is extremely variable and depends from one person to another.
- I have seen many who sneezed with both hands cupped, pressed against the sinuses or slightly forward to release one or more sneezes.
- I also saw some who sneezed into their closed fists.
- Recently I saw a woman at a bar simply turning her head to sneeze to the side without really caring where her sneeze will be projected.
- But the most I have seen around here, mainly for the most cold among us, is completely uncovered, without using their hands, with propulsion of the body forward for the most difficult sneezes . A bit as if they were trying to sneeze at ground level or trying to sneeze as hard as possible and projecting as far away as possible.

Personally, I never or almost never sneeze in front of people. When it happens to me outside, I try to stifle it as best I can with one hand, but when I'm alone at home, I tend to sneeze openly towards the ground without covering it. During bad colds, when my sinuses burn and I sneeze in packs of ten, I sometimes sneeze into my fist but it's very rare.

[NiceName]

Thank you very much for the information