Gesundheit:
Kids Ask

Aired on Lifetime Television
Sunday, September 30 and November 18, 2007
Show 420

Michaela Powell:

Achoo! Dr. Lisa, we want to know: what makes us sneeze?

Dr. Lisa Thornton:

Sometimes you say gesundheit after people sneeze, but a lot of people might not know why. It's actually a German word that means good health. And the reason you say it is because when someone sneezes, you think they're catching a cold. But we sneeze for a lot of other reasons besides colds. Dust, pepper, allergies... Those things often make us sneeze, and it's because our body's just trying to get that out of our nose. It's a little irritating so we sneeze. You want to be sure that you cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze. That's you should sneeze into your arm instead of into your hand, because if you sneeze in your hand, you pass that right on to the next person you touch.