Don't Stand So Close To Me

We all know that it's gross to be sprayed by another person's sneeze. But just how extensive is the spray? Let's take a look...





And each of those droplets can house any number of bacteria that can get into your mouth and become lodged into your upper respiratory tract to give you their cold. Some can even become dessicated into "droplet nuclei" that are so small that they can go straight into your alveoli (the functional units of your lungs) and cause pneumonia.

So uhm, keep your mouth shut when people open theirs.

[Photos from Dr. V's lecture]