Make sure to dispose of your used tissues right away to help prevent them from spreading your germs.

This works best if you are wearing long sleeves. The goal is to contain the sneeze with your clothing so it doesn’t spread into the air. [3] X Trustworthy Source Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Main public health institute for the US, run by the Dept. of Health and Human Services Go to source

While sneezing into your hands is not desirable, it is definitely preferable to not containing your sneeze at all. If you have nothing else to sneeze into and sneeze into your hands, make sure you wash your hands immediately. You can also use hand sanitizer for this purpose as well.

In order to ensure that you wash your hands thoroughly, the CDC recommends wetting your hands with clean water, applying and lathering soap all over your hands, scrubbing for 20 seconds, rinsing with clean water, and then drying your hands with a clean towel or letting them air dry. [6] X Trustworthy Source Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Main public health institute for the US, run by the Dept. of Health and Human Services Go to source

This includes staying home from work or school when sick if at all possible. You may worry that this will negatively affect your work or school performance, but staying home when you are sick helps prevent other people from getting sick, too.

In rare instances people have even been injured by holding a sneeze in. Some of the most common injuries include ruptured blood vessels and broken ribs. [9] X Research source

Try rubbing your nose Try breathing heavily through your nose Try rubbing the area between your upper lip and the bottom of your nose

No matter how much distance you create, it’s still important to contain your germs by sneezing into a tissue or into your sleeve.

Sneezes do not necessarily need to be noisy. It has been found that that “achoo” sound that many English-speaking people make while sneezing is entirely cultural, not physiological. Deaf people do not make any such noise when sneezing. It might be possible to suppress the reflex to make a sound if you become more conscious of it. [11] X Research source To practice sneezing more quietly, try clenching your teeth, but still allowing your lips to open, as you sneeze. [12] X Research source Coughing at the same time as you sneeze might also help you suppress the reflex to make a loud noise. [13] X Research source