How many mph can you sneeze

Smaller droplets can also stay in the air for longer periods, while large droplets fall more quickly to the ground after a sneeze. Lydia Bourouiba at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology used high-speed video to study the distance travelled by sneeze particles. She found that the hot, moist gas cloud produced by a sneeze helps the expelled respiratory particles avoid evaporation longer, and that airflow or ventilation systems in any given room can contribute to sneezes travelling further.

Coughs are a repetitive reflex that helps clear large breathing passages your lungs and bronchial tubes of irritants, foreign particles and nasty bugs. When you cough, there are three stages —inhalation, forceful exhalation against closed up vocal cords and a violent release of air following the opening of the vocal chords, which explains your Uncle Joe's distinctive sounding cough.

Some coughs are to clear your airways quickly, but a chronic cough could be a sign of something more serious. Both a sneeze and a cough have one goal in mind: getting rid of whatever is bugging your body. Unfortunately, getting rid of germs in such a violent method means spreading germs in a rather large spray of saliva, mucus, irritants and caught viruses which can live on surfaces for hours at a time.

Sprays can be a little difficult to track, but some enterprising scientists have managed to make a rough estimate. A cough can travel as fast as 50 mph and expel almost 3, droplets in just one go.

Sneezes win though—they can travel up to mph and create upwards of , droplets. Let this be a lesson to all our friends with colds or allergies—you have a high speed cannon on your face capable of expelling all sorts of foreign bugs and germs, so cover your cough or sneeze with your sleeve in the bend of your arm, not your hands and carry tissues. Just in case. This November your donation goes even further to improve lung health and defeat lung cancer. It is pretty gross to think about sneezes, Megan, but we're glad you stuck around to explore the Wonder with us!

We hope you'll visit again soon! We're really glad to hear you cover your sneezes, Liz! Thanks for helping keep others from getting sick! We hope you'll visit Wonderopolis again soon! Thanks for sharing your grammar tips, Wonder Friend. It's nice that you are helping others to improve their writing. Thanks for sharing your comment with us, Natalie! We think it's a great thing that you cover your sneezes most of the time! Good job! Hey there, brosif! People often will say "Bless you!

We think that's what Karter was referring to! We love a good joke, Millenial! We also found it surprising that sneezes travel so far, Austin! Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. It's great to hear from you, Kalyn.

We're sorry your mom got sick! That's no fun. We hope she's doing better now! Welcome back, carlie! We don't like getting sick either! We hope you get to spend some time with your friends and family soon! Somebody's got a case of the giggles, koekenbak!

Here are some Wonders to keep that laughter going! We're glad you agree, Zan! You can learn more about sneezes and colds by clicking here! It's great to hear from you, Liberty! Thanks for commenting. We are undergoing some spring clearing site maintenance and need to temporarily disable the commenting feature. Thanks for your patience. Drag a word to its definition. You have answered 0 of 3 questions correctly and your score is:. Want to add a little wonder to your website? Help spread the wonder of families learning together.

We sent you SMS, for complete subscription please reply. Follow Twitter Instagram Facebook. How far can a sneeze travel? How fast can a sneeze travel? Can germs be spread by ventilation systems? Wonder What's Next? Try It Out Are you ready to get healthy? Find a friend or family member to help you check out the following activities: Think you're far enough away from a sneezing person not to get sick?

Think again! Grab a measuring tape and use it to mark out a radius of feet in every direction from the center of your house. How far away would you have to get to be safe from the germs in a sneeze?

Everyone has to sneeze from time to time. It's just a part of life, right? That doesn't mean you have to be a danger to others within feet of you, though. Jump online to read through Sneezing Etiquette to learn more about the dos and don'ts of sneezing. If you want to watch something kind of gross but fascinating in its own scientific way, check out this slow-motion sneeze video.

You'll quickly see how it's so easy for germs in sneezes to travel so far. You'll also be motivated to protect yourself from others' sneezes after seeing one in slow motion! Did you get it? Test your knowledge. Wonder Words scare crook elbow cold germ expel microbes entirely discover particle buoyant Gesundheit explosive unsuspecting violently velocity previously ventilation Take the Wonder Word Challenge.

Join the Discussion. Mar 12, Dec 6, Waylon Purkiss Dec 6, Dec 7, Hey there, Waylon! Maggie C Dec 5, This helped me so much! I wash my hands so frequently that I haven't been sick in about 2 years!!!!!!!!!!! Dec 5, Luke Dec 4, Dec 4, Isabelle Dec 2, We thought so too, Isabelle! It made us giggle! Isabelle Dec 12, Dec 13, We love sharing Wonders of the Day with everyone!

You're welcome, stevek! Spooder man Dec 2, I would of never excepted that the germs in a sneeze could travel that far. It was surprising to us too, susan! Lil' John Dec 2, Thanks for sharing, Lil' John! Sometimes a sneeze can help get rid of a tickle in your nose! Isaac Dec 2, I wonder if you can sneeze in space? Wonderopolis you keep me wondering!

MicahH Dec 2, Thank you for letting us know, Micah! We're glad you liked it. David Dec 2, Ya I was a bit scared cause soemone sneezed in my face today. Dec 2, Yikes, David!

We bet that was pretty gross! I love this topic!