CAUTION: Stay away from 'hands as handkerchief' sneezers!

I’m pretty sure you must have noticed this yourself. If you have not, then look around; there, in the middle of the street, or at the office, or in the lecture halls or classrooms.

There is always that someone. Coughing. Sneezing. If not pathogenic, then likely an allergy. But they’re there.

I’m one of them.

This whole achoo-ing frenzy has brought my attention to the ways people sneeze, and it just makes me cringe at the unpleasant sight of the different ways humans have evolved the art of clearing their nasal airway.

I am hearing a few sneezes around me as I am writing this piece.

This is especially worrying news in the time of MERS-CoV and Ebola, not to mention other influenza-like illnesses looming in the air.

So you can call me paranoid, but nothing freaks me out more than those ‘hands as handkerchiefs’ sneezers! (Those who have the audacity to sneeze with their hands as the piece of cloth, judging them!)

God forbid, STAY away from me, I would never accept your handshake or even touch your belongings which you’ve contaminated with those germ-infested paws. At least not until you’ve washed your hands or applied sanitizer.

Have you, like, lost your mind or haven’t you heard that such actions could potentially be life-threatening?

Okay, did I make it sound so over the top? (Because it was meant to sound so)

Many people seem to have completely disregarded hygiene-101 basic practices.

Where are your handkerchiefs, people? (I don’t advocate the use of tissue papers but...looking at the way things are, by all means, carry a small pack with you and I should too)

Dr. Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, a board-certified doctor of internal medicine in Atlanta has this potentially life-saving advice; Turn your head away for about 10 seconds while the air clears, when you spot someone in your vicinity coughing or sneezing.

“Germ-filled droplets can fly through the air, and if you're in public, like in a cafe or on a bus or train, change seats as soon as you can,” said Dr. Fryhofer in a CBS news report.

Also, do your part to prevent the spread of germs. If you feel you’re about to sneeze without a hanky or tissue in reach, at the very least, sneeze into the inside of your sleeve (preferably when you’re not wearing a sleeveless shirt). Do NOT sneeze into your hand.