With coronavirus cases in the UK now in the thousands, fears about the spread of the virus are now widespread.
Early symptoms include a cough and headache, making it tricky to know if you’ve been infected or if you simply have a common cold.
Now, scientists from Bauhaus University in Weimar have revealed exactly what happens when we cough, and why it’s wise to stay home even if you don’t think you have the virus.
The team filmed a man coughing using a method called the Schlieren Method, which reveals air flow in incredible detail.
In the video, the man can be seen coughing in six ways - normal breathing, coughing, coughing into hand, coughing into sleeve, coughing into a dust mask and coughing into a medical mask.
The footage reveals just how far your coughs can travel through the air - even if you’re wearing a mask.
Professor Conrad Volker, who worked on the study, explained: “Especially when coughing without protection from the mouth, it becomes clear how much the air we breathe spreads through the room.
“The best thing is with the crook of the arm, also to keep hands clean and not to carry any viruses or other pathogens through body contact or surfaces.”
The video comes amid several warnings from experts against wearing a face mask to protect yourself from the virus.
Speaking to Mirror Online, Dr Babak Ashrafi, a doctor with Zava explained: “There’s very little evidence that face masks on sale actually help. The virus can get in the top and bottom and maybe even thought the fibres.
“A tissue would work just as well!”
