"Don't shake hands, Touch elbows"

The next time you meet someone,"Don't shake hands, Touch elbows" - so that infectious diseases like the flu do not spread.

Nathan Wolfe, a virus expert at Stanford University, suggests people should follow safety while greeting by either touching elbows or take a bow like the Japanese in order to prevent the spread of infections.

He further says that stomach bugs, flu and colds readily spread through skin contact. In his book, "The Viral Storm", he says that viruses stay alive even on door handles, kettles, remote controls etc and can be spread through our hands which touch them. If one cleans his hands with water frequently, there is no need to be afraid of shaking hands. But this is impossible especially when you are in your work place where you need to meet many contacts and clients.


This news made me appreciate the Indian way of greeting by folding our own palms together and saying namasthe, Namaskaram, Namoshkar or Vanakkam. Beautiful, isn't it?