How Bad Is It to Reuse a Tissue?

How Bad Is It to Reuse a Tissue?

After mucking up that last tissue with snot and germs, and you feel another sneeze coming, you only have nanoseconds to decide: Reuse that tissue, or bust out the shirt sleeve?

You decide to use the tissue, and then spend the rest of the day wondering if you made yourself even more sick by recycling that germy tissue.

“Some viruses can last on counter tops and other surfaces for more than seven days and used tissues may hold the same risk, says Mia Finkelston, MD, a family physician with LiveHealth Online. “But their ability to cause an infection reduces rapidly and the germs don’t often survive longer than 24 hours.”

sneezing

In other words – the likelihood of contracting the virus from a previously used tissue would decline over time, therefore limiting the chances of it actually causing further complications.

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Plus, our powerful and adaptable immune systems usually protect us from being infected with the same virus a second time, as our bodies have created the necessary antibodies when fending off the infection the first time.

So, even if you succumb to reusing a grimy old tissue, take solace in the fact you won’t get any sicker, and it’s better than sliming up that sleeve.

Photo Credit: Studio Light and Shade/Shutterstock.com; Dragana Gordic/Shutterstock.com

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