About Us
THE SNEEZESAFE® STORY …
The Kleenex® SneezeSafe® lesson was created and first adopted in Kiwi classrooms in 2005 and has become an annual feature of respiratory hygiene education in New Zealand, and now among children in other countries too, with the back-up of high-level health educators.
Children learn how far and fast untrapped sneezes travel and why they are the biggest culprit in the transfer of cold and flu viruses from person to person. They learn how the brain sends messages to muscles in the body to execute a sneeze which has the potential to send thousands of infectious droplets into the air for others to breathe.
To help children learn why they need to trap their sneezes, teachers use water spray to show the class how far and fast an untrapped sneeze can spread flu virus particles through the air, and bubbles to show how long the invisible droplets can float in the air for others to breathe. When water spray lands on children’s faces or bubbles pop in their hair, teachers say the message gets through.
They learn three ways to TRAP IT!:
- with a tissue, and BIN IT! afterwards
- with cupped hands, and WASH IT! afterwards
- or with the inside of their elbow
Teachers then show how far unwashed hands can spread infectious droplets by involving the whole class in a glitter handshake.
The lesson plan and poster available to all schools FREE on-line help teachers deliver a short and engaging lesson. In the SneezeSafe® lesson children are taught to trap their sneezes, bin their tissues and wash their hands. The message to them is simple – trap it, bin it, wash it.
Designed to lift standards of cold and flu hygiene practised by children and to stop bad habits before they start, the SneezeSafe® classroom program responds to the ‘Personal Health and Physical Development’ and ‘Healthy Communities and Environments’ strands of the national health curriculum.