Cough Hygiene

When you cough or sneeze, you tend to expel out respiratory waste, which can be droplets (larger than 5 microns) or airborne droplets less than 5 microns; both have different implications.
Droplets remain suspended in the air only for a limited period and exposure of less than 3 feet is usually required for human to human transmission of droplet–borne respiratory organisms. In flu, this can be upto 6 feet. The examples of droplet infections are patients with meningitis, influenza, rubella (German measles) etc.
No precautions need to be taken by a person, who is at a distance of 6–10 feet away from the patient. But, if a person is sitting or working even at a distance of 3–6 feet, the non–coughing person should wear simple mask.
In contrast, airborne droplet nuclei, which carry respiratory secretions smaller than 5 microns can remain suspended in the air for extended period and can cause infections to people who are standing even more than 10 feet away. The example of airborne droplet nuclei infections are TB, measles, chickenpox and SARS.
Patients with these diseases need to be placed in an isolation room. And, all those people who are looking after these patients must use a safe N95 mask.
In normal house with open windows, there is a constant exchange of air, which prevents spread of infections but in rooms with air conditioners (ACs) with no air exchange, infections can spread from one person to another.
When sitting in an air conditioned atmosphere, the setting of the AC should be such that the same air is not circulated and fresh air is allowed to exchange. Split ACs, therefore, are more dangerous than the window ACs.
In an office with split AC, if one employee is suffering from any of the droplet nuclei disease, he/she can transmit infection to others. Therefore, patients with confirmed TB, measles, chickenpox and SARS should not be allowed to work in offices with split ACs.