I didn't know that!

Not that I am a know-it-all in the first place.

But do you know that you aren’t supposed to sneeze into your hands? Or cough into them, for that matter.

Well, that’s exactly what the good doctor, Brent Ridge, who is also vice-president for healthy living for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, said.

I was watching this episode of the Martha Stewart Show and Dr Brent was giving tips on avoiding the flu. One of the tips he mentioned was that when you sneeze or cough, don’t do so into your hands but into your elbow instead. This way you don’t get the germs onto your hands which may then infect the things you touch.

All this while, I was under the impression that to prevent germs from being expelled into the air and infecting people around you, you are supposed to sneeze into your hands. It seems that the proper way to do so is into your elbow. Well, well!

Here is the list of Dr Brent’s tips on avoiding the flu:

1. Make your environment less hospitable for the virus.
2. Sneeze and cough into your elbow.
3. Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly. Also, keep your hands away from your face.
4. Don't smoke and reduce alcohol consumption.
5. Get vaccinated.

So the next time the flu season comes around, you know what to do. But then again, there may not even be a next time if everybody just practice good hygiene now.