Germs are tiny living things or particles that can spread from person to person and sometimes make people sick. They can travel through the air, on hands, on shared objects, in food or water, and through close contact. Understanding how germs spread helps students make choices that protect themselves, classmates, families, and communities.
Simple habits like handwashing, covering coughs, and staying home when sick can greatly reduce the chance of infection.
Key Facts
- Germs can spread by droplets when a person coughs, sneezes, talks, or laughs.
- Hands can carry germs from surfaces to the eyes, nose, or mouth, where many infections enter the body.
- Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially before eating and after using the bathroom.
- Cover coughs and sneezes with your elbow or a tissue, then wash or sanitize your hands.
- Clean high-touch surfaces such as desks, doorknobs, phones, and keyboards to lower germ transfer.
- Infection risk increases with exposure time: more close contact usually means more chances for germs to spread.
Vocabulary
- Germ
- A germ is a tiny organism or particle, such as a bacterium, virus, fungus, or parasite, that can sometimes cause disease.
- Droplet
- A droplet is a small bit of moisture released from the mouth or nose when a person coughs, sneezes, talks, or breathes.
- Contamination
- Contamination happens when germs get onto a surface, object, food, water, or body part.
- Transmission
- Transmission is the spread of germs from one person, place, or object to another.
- Hygiene
- Hygiene means habits that help keep the body and surroundings clean to reduce the spread of germs.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Touching your face with unwashed hands is a mistake because germs on your fingers can enter through your eyes, nose, or mouth.
- Rinsing hands quickly without soap is a mistake because soap and scrubbing help remove germs more effectively than water alone.
- Coughing or sneezing into your hands is a mistake because it can spread germs to everything you touch afterward.
- Sharing drinks, utensils, or lip balm is a mistake because saliva can carry germs from one person to another.
Practice Questions
- 1 A student washes their hands for 8 seconds, but the recommended time is 20 seconds. How many more seconds should the student wash?
- 2 In one school day, a student touches a desk 12 times, a doorknob 6 times, and a shared tablet 4 times. How many high-touch surface contacts did the student have in all?
- 3 Explain why coughing into your elbow helps stop germs from spreading better than coughing into your hand.