# Proper coughing ettiquette **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 25, 2001, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-coughing-ettiquette/78127 "2001-08-25T23:27:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gorewonfla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/da6949/32.png) [@gorewonfla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gorewonfla)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2001, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-coughing-ettiquette/78127/1 "2001-08-25T23:27:32Z")
At dinner Mrs. Gorewonfla started coughing, and I said, “God bless you.” She said that you’re not supposed to say that to someone who coughed. When I asked her what I should say she drew a blank. So what do you say? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-coughing-ettiquette/78127/2 "2001-08-26T01:29:10Z")
I guess it depends on the situation. “Better now?” could be right. “Do you need a drink of water?” might be appropriate. “Can you breath or shall I initiate the kiss of life?” has possibilities. “Active the emergency rescue system!” is one I hope you will be able to avoid. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-coughing-ettiquette/78127/3 "2001-08-26T01:30:12Z")
sorry, that’s “activate”. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-coughing-ettiquette/78127/4 "2001-08-26T01:45:28Z")
I tend to agree with QtM. I usually don’t feel the need to say anything when someone coughs, unless it’s a particularly awful bout. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-coughing-ettiquette/78127/5 "2001-08-26T01:47:01Z")
Gosh, what a wise person **mhendo** is! ---
**Author:** ![johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnson)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-coughing-ettiquette/78127/6 "2001-08-26T01:59:15Z")
Well, (s)he’s a newbie; give 'em time… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sultan\_Kinkari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-coughing-ettiquette/78127/7 "2001-08-26T02:13:43Z")
“God bless you” is perfectly acceptable. Anyone with half of a heart will instantly see it as a kind gesture. What the hell is the difference between a sneeze and a cough anyway if you were simply expressing your concern for her well being? Tell her to shut her pasta primavera hole until she can come up with something better. Ok, that’s a little rough. You can say something _really_ stupid like “Sounds like we have a bit of a cold, do we?” Forget _me_. I don’t have anything positive to offer right now. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-coughing-ettiquette/78127/8 "2001-08-26T03:30:38Z")
The tradition of saying “God bless you” to sneezing people dates to the plague years. There was a papal bull instructing folks who saw people sneezing to give them their blessings and back the f\*\*k away. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-coughing-ettiquette/78127/9 "2001-08-26T03:50:40Z")
I suppose that to be truly polite and show sympathy for their situation, you should cough right back at them. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-coughing-ettiquette/78127/10 "2001-08-26T05:07:31Z")
Has anyone thought about looking to see what Emily Post would have to say about this? ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-coughing-ettiquette/78127/11 "2001-08-26T12:07:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \* > \*\*I guess it depends on the situation. “Better now?” could be right. “Do you need a drink of water?” might be appropriate. “Can you breath or shall I initiate the kiss of life?” has possibilities. “Active the emergency rescue system!” is one I hope you will be able to avoid. \*\* What does a doctor say after someone coughs? “Turn your head the other way and cough again.” ---
**Author:** ![tavalla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tavalla/32/89_2.png) [@tavalla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavalla)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2001, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proper-coughing-ettiquette/78127/12 "2001-08-26T12:46:52Z")
I personally go with a friendly “Hell of a furball you got there” if it’s more than just a throat-clear.