There’s a new way to cover coughs and sneezes that music therapists in special education have known about for years. It’s not cool to sneeze or cough into your hand anymore….. the elbow is where it’s at! The CDC recommends using a tissue, but if that’s not available, to cough into your upper sleeve.
We can help reinforce this concept with songs and visuals! Music therapist, Brooke Sawyer, wrote a song to use with her clients that can be used by anyone.
Brooke sings it a cappella, but if playing on the guitar, she alternates between C-G chords.
Lyrics:
Sometimes we don’t feel so good
Sometimes we don’t feel like we should
Whether we sit or if we’ve stood
If we have to cough, we cough *cough cough* into our arm
We cough *cough cough* into our arm
If we have a sniffly day
And the runny nose won’t go away
Before we say “bless you” I say
When you sneeze we sneeze *achoo* into our arm
We sneeze *achoo* into our arm
When you don’t feel great
You might have a tummy ache
Or you feel hot and start to shake
You have germs! So we *wash wash* our hands in the sink
We *wash wash” our hands in the sink
When the weather has you down
And the sniffles give you a frown
Let’s all do what we know now
We *wash wash* our hands in the sink
We sneeze *achoo* into our arm
We cough *cough cough* into our arm
Watch her video below and don’t forget to cover that cough (or sneeze)!
