is something that people say to you when you sneeze, but NOT when you cough. Why is that? From what I hear people say "bless you" when you sneeze because it's supposed to have God protect you from getting sick. (Please inform me if that's not the case, as it is from what I have heard, not what i know.) Sneezing is the body's way of expelling foreign objects from the nasal cavity, right? thats not a sign of getting sick.

Now coughing on the other hand IS a sign of getting sick, but when was the last time you heard someone say "bless you" after you cough? I certainly can't think of a time when thats happened to me. Usually it's "excuse you" or "pardon you" and pat you on the back, which by the way does nothing to help your coughing.

For it to be correct, one should say "bless you" after a cough, and "excuse you" after a sneeze.

Actually, using the term "bless you" whenever someone sneezed was based on superstition. According to the belief, a sneeze was your soul trying to escape from your body. By saying "bless you", the soul was forced back into the body and all was well again...

i always heard that "bless you" was meant as protection against evil, due to the folk superstition that the devil or other malevolent spirits could enter your mouth during the act of sneezing. the entire phrase may have actually been "god bless you and may the devil miss you."

"gesundheit," while a handy substitute, actually means "health" in german, and the proper response is "gesundheit ist besser wie krankheit (health is better than sickness)." said so. blame them if i'm wrong.

Log in or registerto write something here or to contact authors.