I started keeping a pair of nylon knit gloves in my car as a way to keep myself from picking at my fingernails when I drive. Now I keep 2 clean pair (a little over $1 per pair) there, replaced when I get in the car to head to the grocery store. I wear #1 into the store and when I'm finished shopping and headed home I don #2; can't pick my nose as easily.
I like pure coconut oil after washing my face in the morning with soap and water. Coconut oil soothes in a way cremes do not. Wear gloves to make you more aware when you touch your T zone. Wear make up that smudges. The risk of looking goofy in public is a good motivator. Don't touch your face and you may save your face aka life.
I have lost track of how many times I didn't touch my face since this admonition first appeared. I believe it was approximately the same number of times I didn't think of elephants.
Perfume Your Fingers to Avoid Touching Face for Coronavirus
The scent makes you aware just before you touch your nose/mouth/eyes. Put an old cheap perfume by sink to spray on finger tips after washing hands, especially if going out without a mask/gloves. TRY IT! #CoronaVictory
https://twitter.com/jimmackeyiv/status/1241772854607142918?s=21
Reminds me of going to mass with my grandmother. The well-groomed gentleman in front of us sneezed. A while later, he turned and extended his hand to my grandmother at the sign of peace. She looked back at him and said, No thank you. My sisters and I tittered.
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Executive summary: use a tissue.
I find it next to impossible to end unconscious face touching. Wearing a mask will not prevent me from catching COVD19 but it goes a long way to remind me not to touch my face. The mask serves as a physical barrier between my face and fingers.
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I've seen a couple of solutions like https://stopcorona.ai/ that can helps you to teach yourself not to touch your face. Obviously, it is a popular topic right now, but to be honest it is not possible to change the human beings.
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Why aren't articles about handwashing giving instructions about how to do it? My physician husband says to keep hands under running water during the 19 seconds, and to wash between your fingers and don't forget your thumbs.
Lots of conflicting expert advice. I’ve heard two different disease experts say that face touching isn’t at all how you’d get this virus. Michael Osterholm explained it best that hand washing and antibacterial gels are good for general hygiene but basically a non-factor in prevention of this virus which is air-borne transmission. You will not get COVID if you touch it then your face according to Osterholm.
I’m still using sunscreen however, which means touching my face. Why give up on other healthy behaviors because of Coronavirus?
I seems like another layer of defense might be to keep your non-dominant hand (usually a person's left hand) in your pockets, balled up in a fist or otherwise deliberately try not use it in any public place and don't use it for anything except things you know are clean and touching your face (clapping is out). Its awkward at first, but becomes habitual pretty quickly. Then when you unconsciously rub your eyes, its likely to be with the clean hand.
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Touching your face is a near-unconscious action. Telling someone "not to do it" is useless. It's a habit that can't be broken by simple "note to self" instructions. I wear latex gloves because it deters me from touching my face. I don't like the feel of latex against my face. I constantly find my self NOT touching my face because I have the gloves on.
So telling people not to wear gloves make NO sense whatsoever. Sure, if you touch your face once or twice over the course of a day that's bad. But it's a lot better than 100 times a day. There is no real downside to wearing gloves that I can see.
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A timely article. "Scratching the nose." "The next people who press the same buttons both outside an inside the elevator or touch a surface pick up the virus on their hands." "In general, a virus will survive the longest on nonporous surfaces made of metal and plastic."
The above annotated, and in reference to the latter, the manner in which most severs at just about any coffee establishment would hold a cup near the rim, rather than the base; with a hand, gloved or not, after having touched the face, touched the hair, or scratch the head to then pour the beverage in said cup is too close to comfort. It is apparent that servers are not taught how to hold a cup for the simple reason that lips are placed on the rim in order for anyone to drink.
Last summer, at a Starbucks' a coffee house -- I normally do not patronize, I observe the disgusting practice. I politely requested a new cup, the server obliged but with a nasty and disrespectful attitude; an email was sent to report that incident, but alas, a response was never received.
Some months ago, at Wholefood's coffee bar, I experienced the same nauseating practice; sent out an email as directed to report the rudeness that I was subjected to by an insolent server, yet I am still awaiting a response in this unpleasant and sickening regard. Not single out these two establishments, but the unsanitary practice of handling cups and unwrapped plastic utensils by too coffee spots is way too common in and around New York City.
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It’s good to know that touching your skin is deadly. On a daily bases, I touch it a lot, to clean my face, and many other reasons, but after reading this writing, my touch has become less and less. Thanks for telling us about the effects of touching our faces.
Small government will make America Great Again. Trump’s White House shut down the Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense established at the National Security Council in 2016 by President Barack Obama after the 2014 Ebola outbreak, who needs them.
@TS Can I assume you are being sarcastic? I certainly hope so. Usually I can pick up on sarcasm and I can't tell here. Trump publicly stated that he didn't think people died from the flu. His actions that you mention are shining examples of how clueless he is.
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This virus is the start of proving what all biological scientists know-a species that overpopulates its domain suffers heavy losses. There is no “cure” because, don’t hate me for saying this, there is no disease- it is a natural culling of an overabundant animal. Happens all the time. Can’t, and shouldn’t be “stopped” (what a joke athat is anyway).
So yes, I am saying, “let it spread, and let the weak die.” It is natural and best for the earth.
I am putting a plastic bag over my head so I do not touch my face. I am sorry; there is something wrong with my advice.
Air! Air!
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Why we have to stop touching our faces?
Because viruses are on surfaces we came in contact with.
Why are viruses in surfaces we touch?
Because people keep spreadding viruses through coughs and sneezes in a sad showing of lack of common sense and manners.
Bless you!
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Maybe it is a sub-conscious self-inoculation technique and who ever survives is stronger, not to unlike the chicken pox “parties” in the 1960’s so that all the kids in the neighborhood would get the disease together and thereby keeping the pack on the attack and Defense of their ‘hood.
Hey, if you do get sick, stay home, change your pillow case daily, wash your toothbrush at the end of the day, wash your hands when if you come home after you’ve hung up your coat, purse, gear, shoes and slippers, And before you put away the groceries. Tell three people you actually care about that you do care if they live or die.
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Am I the only one that has a 'back of the hand'? It's a great interim solution until you can get to a sink. The knuckles are perfect for sharp curves while just below that is a broad surface for sides of face and forehead. Try it, you'll like it.
The worst is a public restroom with no hand towels; just a jet engine hand dryer & only a heavy pull handle door to exit. Guessing that half the patrons exiting do not wash their hands before pulling on that germ infested door handle. If that type of setup is in a restaurant, I never return.
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This is scary. Don’t touch this and don’t touch that. The list is endless. At least in Hyderabad we are not at all bothered about all of this coronavirus business. I don’t even wear any face mask not that it will protect me from getting the virus. It will perhaps serve the purpose of not passing on the coronavirus to the other person in case I get affected by it.
My God this news is everywhere right from local news to national news to the international ones. Already it appears life has come to a standstill at a number of places in the world and impacted business globally rather badly.
Whenever we move outside, it’s quite obvious that we can’t but indulge in certain things unknowingly. How long can we remain cut off from outside world since no solution is found out so far other than don’t do this and don’t do that stuff.
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After touching my face for 83 years, I realize that I am addicted and that the only way I could stop is to handcuff myself behind my back, which would also help with my diet, with smoking and with driving too fast.
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Why call this a "quirk"? Perhaps we touch our faces as a way of letting ourselves know that we know we are there. Maybe it's necessary to maintain psychological balance. Maybe it reassures us and stabilizes us. Or maybe it's fun. I know we need to stop as much as possible right now, but it's probably much more important that we touch our faces than we think.
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Don’t read this at article at the airport, you will inevitably touch your face.
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We all want to be team players now and leave masks for the most urgent uses, while supply is scarce. That is a question of public policy though, not virology. James Robb, a leading virologist who has studied Coronaviruses since the 1970s, has written that wearing a mask is a good way to counter the danger of becoming infected from voluntary and especially involuntary touching of the face (especially the nose).
If things get significantly worse, I will make my own masks out of t-shirts or something else. There is simply no way I can stop myself from touching my face 100%, or probably even 50%, of the time. It's not realistic, and being unrealistic is arguably one of the greatest risks in coming to grips with controlling the spread of this virus.
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As I was reading this piece I realized I was touching my face... Useful advice to keep in mind!!
This article has a lot of useful information, but calling face touching a habit is to misrepresent what is actually happening. It's not a habit but facial maintenance. We are constantly taking care of facial problems, and to touch your face is not a habit. The human face is constantly in motion, and constantly in need of something that is remedied by touching. Medical people and journalists who write about medical issues can be so ignorant of the human condition that at times it's simply astounding. There are a multitude of good reasons to touch you face, so quit calling it a habit.
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Oh my God, the germaphobes in the comments section are enough to drive anyone crazy. They're all so sure their insane mania about germs is what has kept them healthy while failing to recognize that most of us do none of this and enjoy the same good health.
Wash your hands a lot and use common sense to minimize risk of contracting Covid 19. No need to Clorox your life to oblivion unless additional risk factors apply to you.
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Not scratching your nose is kind of hard. Just make sure you got clean paper tissues handy (and something to keep them in until you find a bin). Especially when you have seasonal allergies, it is very hard not to touch your face without going insane.
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A diehard face-toucher, I was concerned about infecting myself during this especially significant virus season. So I applied bright polish to the nails of my index fingers. So far, I’ve been able to stop myself—whenever I’ve caught a glimpse of that neon flash right before my mitts make contact any mucous membranes. And as 60 year old guy, the nail polish makes me feel kind of edgy.
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I think the core issue here is that we're on the precipice of a big economic downturn, though I've heard some interesting points that it may not be a long economic downturn. Here are some thoughts on how to buffer the economic issues we are about to face: https://youtu.be/8_H1Cg4V_yo
Stay inside until June and you should be clear.
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Instead of rubbing your eyes, nose, face if you have an itch - blink your eyes alot and wiggle your nose and lips alot - it mostly works.
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My wife is a great practitioner of all that is recommended here and in the comments ( including using a paper towel to pump gas) and our disagreements have always been about me not following the same.
The COVID-19 outbreak has put me on the back foot with my arguments that our immunity built over years makes her insistence of following her 'clean protocol' redundant.
So next time you meet my wife, and the conversation turns to COVID-19, please forgive her if you find her attitude of smug satisfaction a little out of place :-)
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While “don’t touch your face is great advice,” this is not just a bad habit that some people have. We all do it, and we share this behavior with other primates. It’s instinctive and often outside of our awareness. It would be interesting to know how this behavior is triggered (itches, skin sensations, etc.), but telling us to interrupt our instinctive reaction by reaching for a tissue is utter nonsense. Heightened awareness definitely helps to minimize the behavior, but it can’t stop it completely. The only thing that can provide almost total protection is a helmet that covers our entire head. Or a cone around our heads, like dogs are outfitted with after surgery. And I don’t see those items being adopted anytime soon. (But maybe . . . )
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If you want to learn not to touch your face all you need to do is wear gloves. Gloves have been used for centuries not because of fashion but as the first line of defense to disease. Because gloves impede thoughtless action simply by being worn people, especially the upper classes made sure that they had several pairs and that the were always clean gloves to wear. Gloves will stop picking and scratching at your skin, touching your face, primping your hair. According to protocol, you should be wearing gloves when you shake the hands of everyone except the President and the First Lady. You should not wear gloves when you eat, they should sit in you lap under the napkin. You should not wear gloves when using the bathroom. You should not wear gloves when slow dancing.
Before antibiotics, gloves & handkerchiefs were the best line of defense against diseases when in public places.
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How about just using your right hand while your out in public and if you have to scratch that itch, scratch with your left. Or vice-versa if you're left-handed.
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My favorite - watching people on subways taking out the little lip balms - dipping their fingers in and rubbing it in their lips - who in their right minds uses lip balm without washing their hands.....millions probably!
I’ll let my lips chap a little before I put millions of germs on my them!
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@Joseph. There is so much worse to observe on the trains. Chewing on cuticle skin, biting nails, removing food stuck between teeth with fingernail after touching the poles, applying make up, and yes, picking one’s nose.Even before the c-virus I have found quite disturbing to watch.
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Think about all the folks that felt that avocado...
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The more I hear "don't touch your face" the more my face itches.
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Maybe we should all wear cones, like dogs.
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I need a big plastic dog cone.
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Comedic and nonsensical advice comparable to the Cold War era's 'Government Information' films advising school kids to hide under their desks when the nukes were dropped.
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OK folks, after playing tennis this morning. I realize that a clean tennis wrist sweat band maybe a solution for itchy nose etc. It comes in contact with no other surfaces that I can determine.
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It is very unlikely that the virus will be contained. While someone may be able to avoid it for a while, most people will eventually get it. It will likely be around for a couple years.
Your government can literally do nothing about it. No government can, they never could. They really are not capable of protecting you from most things. They do not protect you now. They treat you like fodder for their economic machine and that is your only purpose. They are worried about the virus, but only how it will affect the piles of money that the wealthy have. If you die, your not very profitable for the wealth and the corporations.
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We should endeavor to repeat and reinforce the simple and effective habits recommend here beyond the run of this Covid-19 outbreak.
It is vital at the moment, but if this advice was followed at all times -- especially during annual flu seasons -- we could save many thousands of lives and prevent 10s of thousands of hospitalizations every year in the US alone, many times that worldwide.
Any similarity between Covid-19 and seasonal flu is reason to take the latter more seriously, not to take the former less seriously.
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Another tip I came up which I have not found anywhere so far:
after you wash your hands with soap once, you can prolong washing them again safely with the following method: carry out all activities that may contaminate hands like opening doors, touching switches, pumping gas, etc., with only one reserved hand, say the right hand, so that the other hand stays clean. You can use that clean hand, if necessary, to touch your face (use paper towel for extra safety). I have not seen this particular tip anywhere.
Also, I read that the coronavirus infects only lung cells and they cannot get to the lungs through the skin. If so, the Coronavirus should be getting into the lungs from the contaminated skin on the face through the air-draft of breathing in. So, the same thing is possible when a contaminated hand is taken close to the face for eating food or drinking coffee, etc. Therefore, holding the breath when a contaminated hand is close to the face should help reduce chances of the virus getting into the lungs.
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It is amazing how many people pick their noses while waiting at a stop light.
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Hey people, guess what? Touching your face is a naturally ingrained practice (yes, I said practice, not “habit”) that we developed as a species in order to keep our open entry points clear. Same reason we have eyebrows and eyelashes. To keep our eyes clear. The media needs to stop admonishing people as some sort of crack monkeys who can’t keep our fingers out of our noses and mouths. It’s a natural, healthy practice. Like everything associated with this virus, the media narrative is over the top and counterproductive.
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This afternoon a local coffee shop told me that they couldn't put my tea in my travel mug, because they're worried about the virus - but then I still had to use their pen/touchscreen to sign for my purchase...
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I am a terrible face toucher...This advice sounds like busy work to distract us--guess I can stop breathing so much too. I wear some makeup--am not wearing mittens... A lot of this self-care advice seems like emptying the ocean with a teaspoon...Thn "they" turn around and say go to the doctor's office with tons of coughing people (flu and maybe corona) to get a prescription to be tested...Puts a touch on the t-zone look like child's play.
Article should say, don't touch anything with your bare skin, don't let anything touch you. You can touch your face as many times as you want to, just do what I have been doing way before Covid-19. ALWAYS use a tissue to touch anything that's not yours. Disinfect your phone, ear buds, ID card, anything that comes in contact with you. Every time you touch something that you weren't supposed to touch, wash your hands or use hand sanitizer (I'm a big advocate for washing hands constantly and moisturizing after. Also, disinfect that moisturizer bottle!). Disinfect your metro card on a regular basis, never put that filthy thing near your face much less in your mouth. Do not shake someone's hands if you don't want to, don't kiss cheeks if you don't want to. Touch your food only after you've thoroughly washed your hands. Use a paper towel to close sink faucet after washing hands. Use gloves or paper towel when pushing grocery carts or carrying grocery baskets. Don't put your kids in grocery carts. Just be conscious and careful about what your finger tips touch. Carry extra tissues, napkins, paper towels on you. Use to open taxi doors, push elevator buttons, open doors. After using a communal serving spoon, wash your hands. After using a communal mug, wash your hands. What else can I suggest? Disinfect computers, work space regularly. Disinfect kids toys regularly. Don't let kids touch anything that doesn't belong to them. Use tissue to touch bathroom stall door and to flush.
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I enjoyed reading this article. It is sensible and instructive for the times in which we live, perhaps more so than the author originally conceived of or intended. But its message is old news that will be easily forgotten when COVID19 and face touching are subsumed into the impossibly long list of events and habits that comprise a day in the life of every human sharing the planet with every other being or thing currently being transported through the cosmos along with us at any moment of our existence.
The current reality of COVID19 shines light on one tiny set of human behaviors that have assisted this tiny & invisible co-passenger on mothership Earth to thrive now on its notoriously high rung of known existence. What has gone unstated by the author is the summary conclusion that we humans invariably effect our immediate and distant environments every day, in every way, knowingly or not. It would have been helpful for the author to have contextualized her main theme into this broader conceptual envelope in which face touching during the coronavirus pandemic sits.
Everything we humans do in an average day effects someone living around us whether we are aware of it or not. Becoming more mindful of even invisible ties we share with all fellow travelers, lasting far beyond this one infamous encounter with a novel lifeform, might be one inadvertent but unexpectedly positive effect of this burgeoning tragedy. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in any zone of life on Earth.
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I have been thinking of looking for my mothers 1950s hats with veils. Wearing one would be a wonderfully sentimental reminder to leave my face untouched.
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We should all stop touching our cell phones. And when I see doctors and nurses touching iPads and computers in their offices and at hospitals I cringe. I detest signing in on those germ ridden IPads. Kids' school Chromebooks are probably disgustingly full of germs too.
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That’s the purpose of the masks, to keep you from touching your face.
So now go back and take down all those articles telling people to stop buying masks.
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I wash my hands whenever I return from anywhere to my home, right after I leave my outdoor shoes at the door. But not touch my face? The moment you say that, my left ear and right eye itch, now it's my left cheek and right nostril--you get the idea. I'm probably fairly safe because I live alone and the germs on the surfaces in my home are primarily "my" germs. I may have to tie my hands to my sides.
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If you don't have a tissue handy another trick is use the inside of your shirt to scratch or rub a part of your face.
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The moment I began to read this article I fought the urge to scratch an itch on my nose.
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I have allergies every spring and summer. Already Ihave started with the runny nose. How do your blow your nose without touching your face?
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I must say I was very skeptical when all this begun. Now that this virus has spread this much I am very concerned. I always take precautions as much as I can washing my hands regularly and not touching my face. Hell, I even use silicone Foreo brush to do it as it removes 99% of bacteria but now I cannot even use subway without thinking about this virus. I suggest using gloves when in public. That is the least we can all do to stop this.
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Yeah, just stop touching your face. Decades of habit, ticks and learned behavior don't matter, just stop. It's really easy!
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"Only humans and a few primates". So we're not just trying to stop a habit we've had during our lifetime but one that predates our species' existence by millions of years.
Good luck but I'm just worrying about things I can control, like washing my hands. Expecting people to stop touching their faces is absurd.
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As a general pediatrician, I was asked frequently by parents how I managed not to get sick. Answer was exactly as this well done article explains. I never touched my face (eyes, nose, mouth) unless protected by a tissue. I considered my hands contaminated at all times unless I had just washed them. I handled all doors, elevator buttons etc with an edge of my clothes, tissue or paper towels- whatever was handy wherever I was- hospital, office, church, restaurant. That is what I preached and DEMONSTRATED to my patients. (It was only at home during the early years of my three young darlings - “face to face”/ “snuggle to snuggle” - where I was indeed truly exposed and infected.) 😉. A retired pediatrician
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UPDATE
In an earlier comment, I urged "perspective" on attitudes to washing one's hands, based on experiences with my dog.
Upon reflection, I think this medical crisis (is it too early to call it a crisis?) demands more seriousness.
Follow all directions issued by the CDC. We must do what we can to try to contain the effects of the coronavirus.
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This is why I believe wearing a face mask does indeed help you prevent getting infected. You cannot touch you nose & mouth with a face mask on. As a metalsmith, I wear one for long periods some days- along with gloves - and have the craving to wipe and scratch and touch my face but cannot!
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Part of the reason why we touch our face so much is that we develop reflexes from birth to bring our hand to our mouth. This is for survival purposes. That is, to eat. The palm surface of the hand and the perioral areas have the greatest sensation and mapping in the brain. We continue these as behaviors throughout life. Interestingly, with brain deterioration, ie dementia, reflexes like suck, root, grasp re-manifest.
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In fact Sanders can count on less votes because many Republicans are voting in Democratic primaries in those states where they can. Believe me they won’t vote for him in a general election.
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Keep a few habanero peppers in the fridge. Put a slice next to your bed at night, you don't need much. Rub all fingertips on the inside of the pepper as soon as you get up in the morning, and during the day. You will soon be deconditioned to touching your face, especially your nose or eyes.
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It is pointless to tell people to stop touching their faces, because it is impossible to do that. Masks are not the answer. Probably the best solution is to wear gloves.
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Can’t gloves also transmit this virus to the mucus membranes in our faces?
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This is one of the first things the military teaches new recruits, and the enforce it throughout recruit training.
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Won’t wearing a mask, any kind, help prevent you from touching your face?
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11 years ago I picked up a MRSA virus this way, got into my nose, infected my lungs. Very quick. Was already sick with the flu (January), and only by being rushed into the hospital within 24 hours, put on life support for 2 months with 8 transfusions, etc. did I survive. There was no massive outbreak, so the hospital could devote the resources to the one patient. So yes, the transmission is easy and stopping is absolutely necessary. And the lesson is, if widespread not even a world class system can provide enough service to keep everyone alive. And luckily I had great insurance.
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We don't need to stop touching our faces. We need to stop touching our mouths, eyes and nose. The latter seems much more doable than the former.
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and EARS
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Common sense and a little vigilance.
Let the scientist make factual statements, and we will all be safer.
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I found this very helpful. My kids touch their faces way too much and I’m worried for their health. I don’t want my children to get the corona virus, so I will make sure to not let them make contact with their face. Thank you!
@Andy for some reason as yet unknown, children are barely getting it--and it's probably not bec kids are so sanitary...
How can you get coronavirus if it isn’t were you live?? Also helpful for teens with pimples and a good point to think about.
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Is it fair to assume that people who wear eyeglasses touch their faces a lot less often?
No. I wear glasses and frequently feel the urge to rub my eyes.
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I want to wear the flimsy surgical mask to stop touching my face. Can they please stop telling people not to wear these masks. I know it doesn't help prevent transmission through the air.
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Nice article. Good thing to know.
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They omitted the last portal in your head that permits access into your body: EARS
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Wow. Okay boomer.
Please. Not a thing. Just stop.
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Wow. This is a pretty good article. Thanks for the heads up. People should know this already. I hope this does not become an epidemic.
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Keep in mind that in the current flu season in the USA, that 29 million people have been stricken with influenza. It was an atypically harsh year. 12 million is the typical annual average.
Of those 29 million, 16,000 are documented deaths so far.
www.contagionlive.com
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It is a interesting thing that know one really thinks about
Wearing a mask also helps you avoid touching your face. It makes you more aware when you do and blocks your hand.
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The adage that one couldn't find their head unless it was attached applies. Touching one's face is a way of checking in. It reminds us that it's still there and we're still who we were the last time we checked.
Our kinesthetic sense is limited, numb. We all care too much for how we look to the exclusion of how we feel. We don't have the strength to hold our heads up half the time. Our posture sitting at the computer has evolved to the point we look like T Rex Dinosaurs -- such unlikely little fingers.
Acting 101 day one: don't hold onto anything, including yourself, don't do anything with your hands unless you mean to for a reason. It requires self awareness and control. It's not taught in any other setting. See the student in class from K..12? One hand in the air, the other under their chin.
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Yes
Reading this article made me aware of my face being all itchy. I was desperate to scratch my nose and rub my eyes. I catch the flu and colds multiple times a year. I’m working on not touching my face like that anymore.
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What I have never understood is why all public bathroom doors don't push open outwards! That way your hands don't need to touch anything (especially something that is so likely to be filthy) literally right after you have cleaned them.
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@Jmay Yep! I always use a towel on those.
Well, since most people do wash their hands in this situation, the handle on the door going out of the restroom is likely to be way less contaminated than the handle going in. Or any other door handle for that matter. Yet this is the handle that concerns us!
Why do you think most people wash their hands in the bathroom? I’ve seen countless people give their hands a quick rinse, wipe them on their clothes and pull that door handle.
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Ok, so stop touching your face with your hands but what about...
the earbuds you take out and put in your ears on the subway after touching things, the coffee lid put on by the cashier at Starbucks or DD and then you raise it to your mouth, using your hands on your phone and then touching that to your face?? Just a few things everyone does without thinking. No one seems to be addressing these all too common ways that we touch our face without literally touching it with our hands.
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Do what I do, always use a tissue or paper towel to touch anything that's not yours. Disinfect your phone, ear buds, ID card, anything that comes in contact with you regularly and you'll be fine. Everything you touch something that you weren't supposed to touch, wash your hands or use hand sanitizer (I'm a big advocate for washing hands constantly and moisturizing after. Also, disinfect that moisturizer bottle!). Disinfect your metro card on a regular basis, never put that filthy thing near your face much less in your mouth. These are things I've been doing regularly, not just now. Don't shake someone's hands if you don't want to, don't kiss cheeks if you don't want to. Touch your food only after you've thoroughly washed your hands. Use a paper towel to close sink faucet after washing hands. Use gloves or paper towel when pushing grocery carts or carrying grocery baskets. Don't put your kids in grocery carts. Just be conscious and careful about what your finger tips touch. Carry extra tissues, napkins, paper towels on you. Use to open taxi doors, push elevator buttons, open doors. After using a communal serving spoon, wash your hands. After using a communal mug, wash your hands. What else can I suggest? Oh disinfect computers, work space on a regular basis.
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It is very bad that the virus is spreading
It is surprising to me that a virus with death counts over 3,000 and 92,000 cases discovered can be beat with not touching your face.
I just find it amazing that one man started a chain of the virus spreading to over 2,000 people. I also find it crazy how when I was reading I had started to feel my face getting itchy and me wanting to touch my face.
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I didn’t realize that touching your face was bad. But it makes sense that viruses can get in your body from doing it.
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Wearing a face mask is a great way to cut down on face-touching. Many American doctors pooh-pooh face masks for the general public yet give no more realistic advice to avoid a normally unconscious habit.
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Could I please offer another reason for not touching your face in such a way that you cover your mouth? In addition to it being gross and a prime opportunity for germ transmission, if you do that while you are speaking I can’t hear/understand you well, and I am a native English speaker who does not have significant hearing loss. People do this in work meetings all the time, and then touch the door handle, the light switch, etc. The whole thing drives me crazy for all the reasons.
Oh, and here’s another one I see often as a librarian. Please don’t eat something with your hands when you are using a public computer terminal in the library. I actually saw a patron lick food off her fingers and then type something on the keyboard the other day. Ugh.
We’re all in this together. Be considerate.
26
Retailers should train their cashiers to not lick their fingers when counting out bills or trying to untangle plastic bags, in addition to eye and nose rubbing.
5
If I cover my hands in purple paint before leaving to get on the subway I notice that I usually touch my face less. Then I get to work and give my hands a good wash. There is usually almost no purple on my face although I do regularly have to replace my work bag.
On a serious note, I have noticed I've touched my face about half a dozen times while reading this article. It is usually a little itch that I respond too. I've rubbed my forehead, the corner of my eye and the side of my nose within a very short period of time. This is going to be a difficult habit to break!
12
This is actually the main (health) reason I'm wearing a mask when I go out and about in Hong Kong. Only through wearing the mask have I realised how often I *want* to touch my face, but now cannot.
So yes, I don't believe masks 'work' for coronavirus but on a personal level they have to help reduce my risk (together with the reduction of touching surfaces when out and about and regular hand sanitiser when it's unavoidable).
(The other reason I wear a mask is social conformity! It's so cultural here I feel rude without one. Not the best reason but there you go. Humans are odd).
33
There is no mention of what precautions might be observed during religious services.
For instance in some Christian services people shake hands to offer peace and then proceed to communion with the wafer and wine. The majority of people seem to dip their wafer in the wine but there are also sippers.
I once asked a physician if he ever was concerned about transmission of germs during communion and he said his mind was on God and not bacteria or viruses.
I don’t think the alcohol in the wine is strong enough to kill contaminants.
There is also the issue of the persons handing out the bread. When staying in a monastery in Europe a couple of years ago I observed the father cough into his bare hand and then proceed to distribute communion.
Should churches be taking a stand on such issues? Am I the only one who thinks about this or are there others?
33
@Mary Margaret:
Excellent points and observations.
Ironic: attending a gathering seeking the love and protection of an omnipotent God, all the while potentially (and unwittingly) being the carriers of sicknes and death.
Takes a bit off of the sheen of a physical church as a "sanctuary".
10
Just to share, in Singapore, physical attendance at Mass has been postponed indefinitely, since 3 weeks ago. Mass is live streamed / posted in YouTube instead, and parishioners ‘attend’ spiritually.
6
In Brazil, the Catholic Church has already issued new rules for mass — no holding hands during prayer, no shaking hands, no touching in general. Communion is dispensed on a person’s hand, and NOT directly in their mouth. Here there is no sharing of wine. I suppose it’s because there is no way to prevent diseases from spreading when everyone shares the same cup. Last Saturday, I noticed that even the holy water basins were empty. I’m not sure whether it was on purpose or not.
2
May not work, but since it is often impossible to frequently wash hands or not touch surfaces that others touch such as railings (do you really need to touch that railing on stairs?), elevator buttons, door knobs. I will try to use my dominant hand for that and see if I can train myself to touch my face when necessary.
What about money. maybe my mother was correct about it being dirty. another excuse to use the credit card for miles.
7
@AJR : paper money can be washed in washing machine with soap! the paper it is made from (at least, US currency) is incredibly tough and definitely washable. Metal coins can be washed in the sink with hot soapy water. My husband is a coin collector, and he washes his money in an ultrasonic jewelry cleaner with a mild detergent. It comes out sparkly clean.
However, that is pretty impractical in the real world.
And hello! you think money is dirty but plastic credit cards you touch with your hands (the hands so dirty you can't touch your own FACE!) and put in machines used by thousands of people daily...are clean?
7
To train yourself NOT to touch your face, wear a rubber band on your wrist and snap it every time you catch yourself touching your face. You'll soon learn how often you are engaging in this habit, which increases your chances for transmission of colds, flu and, now, coronavirus.
8
Every morning, I wash my hands before going out in public.
Afterwards, I set them on fire.
60
One of the problems with American sterility is that it destroys the defense mechanisms; then when the real world comes around they get sick just like the poverty stricken Chinese.
4
Last weekend, I took a pastels class at our local arts center. I was horrified but enlightened when I arrived home and glanced in the mirror. Telltale signs of unconscious face touching! Beware of habits we are not only unaware of, but we ( at least I ....) most often deny.
16
If we shouldn't wear masks unless we are sick, what about disposable gloves? We could peel them off into the trashcan when we got home from shopping, or a subway trip (the belts you hold while you're on the escalator? yikes!), or anywhere our hands came in contact with public surfaces, then do the 20-second hand wash.
12
Or are you giving your body 11 opportunities an hour to build a stronger immune system against infection.
7
All the handwashing in the world doesn't help if you work in a primary school (K-2) and a kid sneezes or coughs in your face. This happens routinely. Consequently I've been sick with various respiratory things since mid-January. Which is one reason I'm retiring.
47
@Smith
Particularly galling in wealthy districts where parents each make many times a teacher's salary and deem their "lean-in" careers to be too important to disturb by caring for their own sick children.
Low income workers risk getting fired or losing income that's needed to avoid becoming homeless. This is a political and regulatory problem that has been better addressed by all other wealthy industrial countries.
6
We have a new student, new to attending school and also a recent immigrant. He did not look well. I asked him how he was feeling and he just nodded. I sent him to the nurse and she returned him; 10 minutes later he threw up.
2
This was a very helpful article. Thanks. People are saying don't use surgical face masks since they don't stop inhalation of airborne droplets but in fact they ARE good at keeping you from touching your nose and mouth with your hands. I may get some just for that. I think Dr. Sawyer should be put in charge -- his website is great - thanks for the link to HenrytheHand.com.
5
T Zone cotton gloves provide excellent protection. I carry a few clean pairs with me whenever I’m out in the city or on public transportation. Wearing the lightweight gloves reminds me not to touch my T Zones (face) and removing them for washing at home takes only seconds. It reminds me of my Dad who always used to carry a clean, cotton, pocket handkerchief.
3
An electrical engineer needs to develop a proximity sensor that can track a person's hands via two bracelets and a receiver to measure the distance that's attached to the collar. When the hands get too close to your collar, an audible reminder sounds to remind you to keep your hands away from your face. This would help healthcare workers, and consumers at amusement parks, airports and other high traffic areas. Even acne sufferers could use a training / reminder tool like this. I can't believe this is not on the market already.
15
There is! The one I found looks like a fitness bracelet and costs an absurd amount—in the neighborhood is $150 US.
1
@John Mc Naly URL?
I am a horrible face toucher. I'm considering wearing one of those cones they put on dogs to keep them from licking themselves.
111
Want to stop touching your face? Start cooking with chilies. You’ll learn quickly.
52
Like everything in life, all well-intended actions can be double-edged swords, or can backfire. Exert moderation - for, TOO much hand-washing can - beyond a certain extent - be counterproductive:
(1) washing dries your hands, and may produce micro-cracks in the skin - possible entry ports for viruses (use hand-cream!?)
(2) Those super-potent hand drying blowers in public restrooms can create aerosols and spread viruses! Dyson models with that narrow groove for hands are the worst since in addition, it is hard to avoid touching the device.
https://sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jam.13014
7
@S.E.H. : thanks, excellent points. A lot of things people do to "be clean" actually have the opposite result.
Overwashing hands as you correctly state leads to dry, cracked skin with MORE entry points for infection. Hand cream is a good idea, but again -- is it sanitary?
Hand sanitizers are very harsh, and made of gelled alcohol product....hence, over-dry skin EVEN MORE. If you get an obsessive person, who slops on hand sanitizer 20 times a day or after everything they touch ... even more.
I agree on the blowers. (Though the Dyson ones are pretty cool!) Paper towels actually work the best.
4
Do you know of any evidence that coronaviruses can be transmitted via cracks in the skin? I have never read anything saying this is possible.
I would rather wash too much than too little. Hand cream a few times a day can help stop cracking skin.
1
Wear gloves- white cotton.. You are much more conscious if you touch your face with a gloved hand. If you must wipe your nose , 7se your sleeve... not your hand... Never touch your eyes with dirty hands -- some people recommend protective goggles. I can't believe it has taken til now for the Times to publish this advice. It should have been out with wash your hands in week I.. What is wrong with you young people.
Also if you feel lousy stay home and go to bed.. Lots of fluids and chicken soup which is an anti-bacterial.. Running around trying to get a test is senseless-- there is no vaccine, no treatment besides bed rest, analgesics, hydration. (if you are really sick hospital intubation and prob. anti-biotics against pneumonia. ) Running around if you have the virus is a good way to spread it to your fellow citizens. I know we don't teach common sense in schools, BUT, please RESPECT for your fellow man.
If you are making travel plans right now be sure to purchase the trip insurance.
8
My summer job as a bank teller some 40 years ago has paid health dividends. Handling money all day is a great incentive to learn not to touch your face or eat anything before washing those disgusting hands!
15
Humans are disgusting creatures, I’ve witnessed many a coworker leave the toilet stall a completely bypass the sinks. Children are nothing but vessels of disease, constantly posing everyone around them. My neighbor’s kid was in my house a couple of days ago and his mom had to tell him to stop touching what was not his.
8
Here. I have an equally plausible headline for you: Stop Thinking of an Elephant!
7
So this is the best advice?
3
The slobs will all get sick. Every last one. And none of the clean people who use hand sanitizer, wash hands, wear gloves, clean their phone, never touch face, etc etc.
Alternatively, about half the population will get it and it will be pretty much at random.
9
Some metal surfaces kill pathogens. Copper (CU) surfaces kill both viruses and bacteria (brass & bronze are slower but work). Silver kills pathogens when it is wet. Veterans Admin did studies showing CU surfaces reduced hospital acquired infections (a type of community spread) by > 50% and EPA registered it as an antimicrobial in 2008. All the hospital upgrades since then that have not included it are further proof of the cringing mediocrity of the medical industry in the US. Maybe COVID-19 is the 2x4 that will get their attention?
5
I think germaphobia is a greater affliction than viral infection. By unrealistically asking primates to stop touching their faces, this article contributes to germaphobia.
Articles like this make me rub my eyes in dismay.
11
what I don't understand is why natural selection hasn't selected this habit out of our species...
6
Can a virus enter through your ears if you touch them? Just asking. I've turned into Niles Crane.
14
@Andrea Whitmore
Thank you for the first laugh I've had about this.
5
Like dogs wearing those plastic cones to prevent them from biting their bandages, perhaps we should all wear plastic shields over our faces so we stop touching ourselves.
5
Bring back the fashion of white gloves worn all-year round for women with an update of a multitude of colors, patterns and designs and make a fortune while adding a protective layer. Million dollar idea!
8
This is only the beginning. If this virus doesn’t take out millions the next one will, or the one after that, etc. There are too many people on this planet and the population of humans will grow exponentially as long as there’s humans.
Earth cares nothing for us, if it had sentience, there would be volcanos, earthquakes and every possible natural disaster with earth trying to rid itself of a malicious parasite..
13
@Paulie:
As dystopian as your grim comments are, I'm forced to admit that I've felt this way for quite some time.
The single biggest threat to the viability of planet Earth is the extremely over large presence of human beings. No other species comes anywhere close to imposing irreversible damages, including the exhaustion of critical resources, than does Homo Sapiens.
We're well past the tipping point wherein the planet's capacity for supporting our presence can be sustained.
It's blackly ironic that we'll ultimately be the architects of our own extinction. It's only a matter of time.
8
CDC, maybe that's why your recommendation against wearing face masks doesn't make sense. It's kind of hard to touch your nose our mouth while wearing a face mask.
2
On the contrary. It’s very easy. You just slip your finger under the mask and rub that itch away.
Human nature? Nothing that our earlier cousins don't do.
1
So let me see. Touching one's face is a "quirk of human nature" so we should stop doing it?
This rather odd and useless advice. Change human nature? Change the evolutionary results of millions of years?
This isn't advice -- it's ridiculous germ phobia!
2
Try telling an infant not to touch his or her face. They only barely recognize their own feet. Good luck with that one.
4
Two words: Wear Gloves!
4
1. Wipe down your cell phone!
2. What about all those restroom hot air dryers?
2
Perhaps we should change all the signs in restaurant bathrooms to "Employees must wash hands and then touch filthy door handle before returning to work."
4
NEVER touch a bathroom door handle. Use the paper towel you just dried your hands with. Or the sleeve of your shirt.
Or one pinkie, and remember which pinkie.
Or wait until someone opens the door, and slip out.
15
I’m all for it. And long ones while we’re about it. (Yes, this is from a gal’s perspective ;-). So elegant and can hide a multitude of, well, age-related conditions if I may be so honest. Arthritic hands could still be elegant hands and protect against the virus. Win win!
1
Ha! It’s probably the cleanest door handle you are likely to encounter all day. Besides, you look like an idiot trying to avoid touching it.
You may rub and scratch your face as much as you wish but only with a clean tissue (which of course it goes without saying, needs proper disposal of).
2
When I first saw this headline, I was leaning on my chin. And as I was pondering whether to write more, I touched my lips with my fingers!
This is going to be challenging.
12
Wow, what a great world. Don’t touch your face. What’s next? Don’t breathe too deeply?
5
If you wanna stop touching your face, don’t forget the phone!
5
Good grief, these seems useless advice. How can we refrain from touching our faces? I for example have removable braces I have to take in and out to eat. I try to wash my hands a lot but its not really possible not to scratch your face or rub your eyes a lot.
Wash your hands and then take out your braces. Don't snack if you can't wash your hands first.
Putting your fingers into your mouth after being up and about and touching things that others have touched is not good common sense even in good times.
4
@B. of course I wash may hands before I take out my braces. I'm just commenting on the fact that this advice to not touch your face at all is difficult to follow at best.
You'll be more susceptible to viruses if you're stress levels are up. Pick your nose if it makes you feel better.
10
It is extremely hard not to touch your face if it's become habitual for any reason, especially related to anxiety alleviation. Rather than advising to totally refrain from touching your face---just thinking about it can make your face itch or twitch as Parker-Pope notes---perhaps suggesting people get at that itch with the back of your hand/wrist or resting your chin on your knuckles (both less contaminated than palms or finger tips) would be easier guidance to follow when a tissue isn't handy.
Keeping fingernails short and clean is also a good hygiene habit, one I wish were mandatory for patient-facing healthcare workers.
7
I try very hard to not touch my face as long as I don't wash my hands. I'm a germaphobe (I was a professor in a Microbiology department which got me on this).
1
These constant exhortations to "wash your hands!" are all well and good, but most people, when they do it, don't do it properly. If you wash your hands in a public restroom, then touch the faucet or door handle afterwards, it's kind of all for naught.
Always, always -- not just during this COVID-19 scare -- grab a paper towel and use that to turn off the faucet, to open the door, etc. In those places with the awful hand-blowers, which just spread bacteria around, you're on your own. Hopefully you have some clean tissue with you.
7
As a point of humor, a friend of mine said, "My face doesn't understand why I am neglecting it." As I try to not scratch my face now, just under my eyebrow, I am aware that "trying not to scratch" creates more itching. I recommend some pocket tissues, to give your nose, your eyebrow or chin that satisfying scratch, and then disposing of the tissue.
On airplanes, I usually take a dose of vitamins or herbs, if it is sick season, I will put vasoline in my nose to keep it moist and resist germs, and wipe my tray down. If it is the summer and I am flying, I just wipe my tray, and have hand sanitizer readily available.
4
I've been saying this exact message for a decade. I'm the Queen Bee of OCD ( and maker of Cold Bee Gone) and now...finally NOW my super powers will be useful to others!!!
1
My imperfect method for partially mitigating this risk is to touch the world with the palm side of my hands, but then try as much as possible to touch my face (mostly to scratch the occasional itch) only with the backs of my hands unless I've just washed them.
One flaw in this practice is that clasping your hands, which I do from time to time, contaminates the backs of your hands.
2
A "cone of shame" that vets put on animals would work. Maybe we should try it.
1
I find this whole to be very touching.
6
Wear gloves, examination gloves if you can tolerate them. People rarely touch their faces with gloves on.
2
I was realizing that wearing any kind of mask or bandanna or scarf across your nose and mouth would keep you from touching your face. Might not be effective against spreading germs otherwise, but could remind you not to touch!
3
important to note the article says the virus doesn't live long on fabric long, so i'm using my sleeve to open doors, also hand sanitizer and washing my hands every opportunity and not standing too close to people if i can help it. keeping a light scarf handy if someone starts coughing near me to cover my nose and mouth and of course trying no to touch my face
1
People tend to touch areas of their body that have the most nerve endings.
Are we also going to say don’t touch your finger tips?
1
According to the CDC, the main means of transmitting COVID-19 is thought to be person-to-person "through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes" (I would add plosive consonants like p, k, t, etc.), which "can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs." While we can all be amazed at the chronic face-touchers that evolution has yet to eliminate from the population, we should be aghast at those who continue to breathe in proximity to other people.
Also, advice like “Your hands are only clean until the next surface you touch” oversimplifies the cleansing and contamination processes. It makes we wonder what the point of washing is if, whenever I used my hands, they automatically become dirty. Your hands are never clean (probably). Washing reduces the concentration of contaminants. Touching things increases the concentration up to a point. The lower the concentration, the less likely you are to transmit germs to someone else (or your face, say) by touching.
2
If only the coronavirus droplets burned our mucus membranes like hot peppers do after chopping jalapenos and touching one's eyes.
2
This basic message is not getting out.
I just picked up a few essentials at a local drugstore chain in town.
The clerk sniffled and then absently wiped her nose with her fingers.
I got off the line and walked to a different part of the store, mistaken that a drugstore would better understand the germ theory.
Coupled with muffled science and facts and Pence put in charge, we are surely doomed.
8
While we’re talking about drugstores, I’ve noticed they’re the worst offenders when it comes to requiring use of those electronic signature devices by every sick person coming to pick up a Rx! I always sign credit card charges with my own pen, which these devices make impossible.
1
Maybe wearing a mask makes sense when it comes to not touching your face. That would surely remind you and actually prevent you from touching your nose and mouth and would probably carry over the the eyes as well. Think I can find one here in Santa Clara County?
3
Yes! I learned that 40 years ago when I had my first job in a germy Harvard office while my husband was in school. I was careful not to touch my eyes or face, and did not get sick the entire year. I am not the best handwasher, but I do true and will try to keep my hands off my face. Best preventive.
2
Surprising not to see in these comments, anything like the following: A study found that the inside of our hands and fingers are much more full of bacteria/viruses (like millions of times more) than the back of our hands and fingers (because we touch and handle everything with the inside, not the back of our hands). The back of our hands are comparatively sterile.
So, interact with your environment normally, but if you must touch your face, use the back of your hand.
3
1. It’s impossible to keep from touching your face
2. It’s impossible to find hand sanitizer anywhere
Next suggestion?
4
First time I saw "As Good as it Gets", I never forgot his mania of washing his hands with a bar of soap and then throwing it away. I think we should all act like him, avoid touching someone, always with gloves, wait until someone opens the door to go inside or outside, go alone in a elevator. It does not look that crazy anymore, at least to me
1
Apple and Samsung (and TMobile, Verizon etc) could do the world a big favor by repeating instructions on how to sanitize ones cell phone and other devices. People worry about ruining them and yet those have to be as unconsciously touched as ones face ...and go everywhere.
3
Starting about ten years ago - after catching a nasty cold - I began carrying at least two or three small pocket-size packets of tissues --
I have taught myself to reflexively reach for a CLEAN tissue every time I have an itch in my eye, nose or mouth when I am out and about - and *especially* in places like the New York City public transit system --
I'm one of those people who's eyes get teary in the cold weather - and always have a packet of tissues at the ready for this purpose -
There are days on which I can go through three packets of tissues - wiping away a tear or scratching an itch - using a CLEAN tissue each time --
I've even become so accustomed to this behavior that I even avoid touching my eyes, nose or mouth barehanded when I'm at home -- and have boxes of tissues set around at arms length --
Is this system foolproof - ?
Of course not - however, it seems to me that it provides a better level of protection and "control" - if you will - against the possibility of introducing an infectious agent into your body - certainly more so than wearing a mask...
1
My pet peeve - people who don't properly cover their mouths when coughing or sneezing; and it's almost everybody. I notice it all the time and it just drives me bananas . . .
5
It's the best reason why wearing a mask can be effective during an epidemic.
1
I am balance challenged and must use railings. Yesterday I pulled the sleeve of my coat down on my hand and used the cloth as a barrier on the railing. This seemed to work well.
I am encouraged that this article states that the virus does not live well on fabric------
2
Finally! I could never understand the sole focus on hand-washing, since clean hands last only until you touch something. It's about time the focus started to include face-touching.
2
I appreciated this article--and also appreciate this is a tough habit to break. While I think it's probably impossible to achieve "never touch your face" status, it is possible--and surely beneficial--to consciously reduce this behavior when in higher risk situations. For instance, ever since enduring the misery of a nasty bout of norovirus some years ago, I've made a conscious effort to avoid touching my eyes, nose, and mouth at the gym, in crowded public spaces, and when interacting with kids. At home it's not a big deal.
1
Invest in a box of Nitrile Gloves. You can get them at any hardware store or order them off Amazon. A box of 100 costs about $16. Wear them whenever you leave the house. I was a biochem student during a major flu epidemic and myself and many others wore them to class everyday. We never got sick, but others did. Google them for the proper way to remove them.
Holding your phone seems a sure way to pass germs from hand to face. Mobile phones maybe be contributing to the spread as well.
4
One strain of SARS-Cov can persist on surfaces for up to nine days. This may be a clue to transmission times for SARS-Cov-2, and can also suggest that touching one's face after contact with what look like neutral inanimate surfaces is not safe.
I recommend the Journal of Hospital Infection article available on line 6 February 2020: "Persistence of coronaviruses on inanimate surfaces and their inactivation with biocidal agents"
by G Kampf, D Todt, S. Pfaender, E Steinmann.
2
Traveled this weekend. Interesting to see so many people wearing masks but not practicing hand hygiene or avoiding rubbing eyes and touching in and around their mask.
Common sense and a little vigilance can dramatically reduce the transmission rate.
1
On entering the United States a year back, and this happens every time, I have to put my finger or thumb, I can't remember which onto a screen for it to be scanned.
When I was requested to do this last time I made a comment to the stern faced customs official that the device/screen should really be cleaned after every scan. This comment was duly ignored and I was sent packing.
It felt like I was dipping my fingers into a petri-dish so I went straight to the wash-room (the loo in England) and washed my hands.
The US is the only country that I have travelled in that has this facility. Not the best in these times.
1
@Graham
I just recently saw on TV that the most germs are inside the trays (x Ray/airport) where everybody places their shoes (....) and all their belongings... Those are hardly ever cleaned.. uhhhhh
4
While sipping a coffee while in a nearby grocery store, i watched people and staff in the vegetable and fruit department picking up and discarding individual avocados, tomatoes etc and loading more out of boxes that came from who knows where. Also thinking more about it, i remember that i opened a door, picked up a starbucks mug and examined it, pushed a cart and gave my prescription card to a pharmacist behind the counter.
1
When I was very young, fashionable ladies still wore gloves. A century or more ago, men also wore gloves when out in public. Maybe it's time to revive an old tradition.
10
So gloves kill viruses? I’m learning so much from these comments!
Me too. white cotton.
I’m on the UC Berkeley campus and try as I might to avoid all door handles etc., it’s not entirely possible. I’m thinking of wearing surgical gloves. However, washing our hands is not enough if we’re using our phones so much that the germs while washed off hands, remain on phone. Students utilize phones a lot throughout the day.
7
We've just recorded our first cases of community transmission in Australia. Apart from advice about washing hands often and not touching our faces, our infectious diseases experts are telling us to avoid handshakes to try to slow the epidemic.
4
Living green means reusing stuff--a dilemma for environmentalists considering, for example, carrying around paper towels for use in opening doors.
I'm not clear about anti-bacterials. I avoid anti-bacterial anything, including hand sanitizers, because bacteria are becoming resistant. Antibiotic meds don't work against viruses. What about hand sanitizers? Do they kill viruses?
3
No they don’t.
The value of hand washing is not that it kills the virus, but that it physically removes it.
1
This discussion seems creepy but may well help us avoid corona, the flu and others. this awareness can let people then read about the tendency of particular virons to transmit largely air borne (measles) or largely hands to face borne. I have noticed that many public spaces are being redesigned to minimize flu transmission, eliminating door handles when possible. Also, faucets are often sensor activated making it unnecessary to touch the handle. Someone else here asked about air blowing dryers versus paper towels delivered in response to a sensor that sees your hand. I can imagine that air drying might be hazardous, but someone probably knows.
2
@ WHM I have recently read of research that demonstrates that those double-sided "blade" dryers you insert your hands into spray your and everyone else's germs all over your hands as you dry them. I never use them now. If need be, I push the door to the outside open with an elbow and let my hands air dry. Paper towels were shown as the best for guarding against spreading germs.
5
@WHM I read somewhere that blowing dryers fling germs all over the place versus using a paper towel and throwing it right away
2
One of the biggest problems I have seen is the inconsistency of information given out by folks who are supposedly experts.
One article quoted the C.D.C. stating this virus can be carried by humans and animals. And another article stated that dogs and cats could not contract this virus, although there was a photo of a dog in China, wearing a face mask, four booties and a hooded sweatshirt.
I realize this is a very, very hot topic right now and a lot of folks are nervous if not scared and frightened.
But for crying out loud, could the information being given out be at least consistent? It's getting to the point where I don't fully trust nor believe any of the medical experts and that should not be the case.
The only thing worse than no information is incorrect information.
We already have enough of that coming out of the current administration.
13
Hopefully, the next week or so will see more data on transmission, sanitizing methods such as heating, washing, and alcohol. The bottom line so far is that this virus stays active for a long time and is correspondingly more dangerous than others. It’s very likely that all of us will be exposed within a few months, but we do not know much about lethality or whether our (US) undersupply of beds is going to worsen the toll. Many of the people who could answer these questions have been fired in the last three years.
6
C.D.C. gutted and Pandemic Response Team, put together by Obama PRECISELY for this purpose, dismantled by ‘no need for government’ Trump, just so big money could get their ill-needed ‘beautiful’ tax give away.
Now the U.S. is waaaaay behind the 8-Ball, we’re all at risk and absolutely not prepared. AND all public medical briefings are filtered through ‘no science’ Pence?!? AND the economy will freak out without facts and strong leadership to stabilize it.
Great job Electoral College!!!!!
11
Which is more likely to spread the virus--air hand dryers or paper towels?
2
@Susan
Not sure about the air hand dryer at your location, but the ones in my area always have a small pool of water at the base, so every time someone uses the hand dryer, that water is not only heating up, but is being blown in the air, around the area of the user.
I've stop using those dryers for awhile now. I always have paper towels with me whenever I use any rest room.
8
@Susan Your hands should be washed with soap before using the dryer or towels - so already clean hands should make no difference.
1
Great article. I did not realize what a widespread and unconscious habit face touching is for people. I did an internship in a hospital lab several years back and I very quickly realized how often I touched my face based on the many gentle reprimands I got from the older and wiser lab scientists. I became a little more self aware, but I am certain that my old bad habits are firmly in place again.
2
All good, but, big but, this doesn't mention that the elderly are 10 times more likely to have chronically dry eyes and secretions from the nose and sinus cavity. These don't go away with "moisteners."
Therefore, the most vulnerable population is least able to avoid touching the Danger Zones.
6
Great advice for adults, thanks. Not going to work with babies, toddlers and young children. How about advising the US government to commit the funding to prepare for this?
9
@EJD Fortunately children under 10 appear to contract either mild cases or be asymptomatic.
Although healthy people are advised that wearing a mask is not necessary, the practice may actually be helpful by acting as a reminder or barrier against touching.
12
It's impossible to not touch your face - or other parts of your body. Everyone needs to rub their eyes now and then. And for men facial hair can itch. If you're really concerned about germs wear nitrile gloves. Being too clean is also a bad thing.
2
Further to that, why oh why do most shared /public doors require you to pull a handle to exit – why can't they be push doors that need just a shoulder push, rather than hand, to open?
28
Shopping for food today was an uneasy experience. We needed to resupply in case the outbreak gets worse. Everyone was looking around for sick people, keeping their distance. My wife and I just got over 5 days of something flu-like (coughing all night, low fevers, achy joints). I was terrified I'd get a coughing spell.
Two big stores were out of hand sanitizer, but a guy was holding the raw ingredients to make it from scratch. Our checkout clerk used alcohol wipes to clean his hands between customers.
As he loaded our bags I realized that a long chain of people had handled our food. From the brocoli harvesters to the shelf stockers, it seem inevitable that someone had used their bare , probably dirty hands. There is no way I was going to dip all my food in an alcohol bath before eating it.
This article has some great info, and we can all make an effort, but I think this disease is going to get through to most of us. On the plus side, it seems to be worse for old people, so our kids should be fine.
This could be a big win for the National Debt. The more boomers who succumb to this disease, the less money the government has to pay out. Bit of natural selection going on.
I am writing with some irony, and hopefully this will blow over as most things do.
10
@Mark H Webster Wishing death on older people is not funny and far from "ironic".
10
Cooking your food will kill germs on it. That’s why we cook.
4
@Andy It's a contemporary reason, not *the reason. Cooking with fire predates germ theory by millennia.
3
Question: It is my understanding that hand sanitizers kill bacteria, not viruses, and that the sanitizers tend to kill the weakest bacteria and leave the stronger to multiply. If this is true, what good are hand sanitizers against corona viruses? I also have heard that viruses will encapsulate to avoid substances that are toxic to them; as a result they can survive things like alcohol.
8
Alcohol kills many viruses including the flu virus.
3
I'm 60 yrs old and have rosacea, therefore am constantly itching..my eyelids, my eyebrows, my cheeks, my nose (inside and out), even my scalp. On occasions, I also have breakouts (acne) which can become small open wounds. As much as I try to control the urge not to touch, I find it extremely difficult and will slip.
I am seriously considering returning to the dress style of the 50's/60's - ladies cotton gloves. I really don't care if I look like Mickey Mouse, but it gives me a peace of mind, even if it won't deter getting ill.
Beats throwaway latex!
17
@reminder A better solution is to find a dermatologist who specializes in rosacea.
8
Find another dermatologist. You don’t have to suffer like this. This condition can be managed with appropriate medications.
4
Tried it years ago when I had insurance... I'm unemployed, uninsured and can't afford ACA, thanks to Republican Texas Governor et al in State Congress..."itching" for November 2020!!!
5
I sat down to read this and fell immediately into my reading posture - leaning towards the screen, palm on my chin with fingers close to mouth - even as I was reading that particular sentence.
Muscle memory is going to be a problem. It's not a matter of will power, face-touching is like walking. Your brain knows how to do it so well that the action circumvents conscious thought.
I guess it's time to start wearing light gloves. At least the change in texture from skin to fabric might be a prompt that makes me more conscious of the habit.
13
This reminds me of the first day when I had my first dog. After I took him out for his morning walk, I fed him and made my breakfast. I washed my hands b/c I had touched my dog earlier, and began eating. At 2:00, I took him out for his afternoon walk, fed him, and began making a sandwich for lunch--I washed my hands again, and I was abut to start eating when I realized that I had touched him again a minute earlier. I began to wash my hands again, until I stopped, hesitated, and realized that I'd be washing my hands 15 to 20 x daily for the next TEN YEARS. I just cancelled all the washings having to do with my dog.
That was 15 years ago.
Put everything in perspective, please.
8
You can always tell who’s owned dogs for a long time - we pet the dog, then pick up a cookie and eat it anyway.
9
I wish I could remember where I read that humans subconsciously touch their faces because it's a leftover from our time earlier in our evolution. Without being aware, we constantly smell our hands for scent messages. One part of the aeticle I read described how a hidden camera recorded how people touched their faces within 30 seconds after having touch contact with another person.
4
@mary shepard Perhaps this article from The Smithsonian? https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/might-be-why-handshaking-evolved-180954472/
Even before the coronavirus, and considering all the germs one can pick up on the subway, from a taxi door handle, handling currency/coins, etc., I developed a few new habits to live by:
I never hold stair rails with my palm, and instead press the outside edge of my palm down on the top of the rail, as I go up/down stairs. This way, my hand is at the ready to flip over and grab the rail, should I lose my balance, but otherwise my open palm and fingers never touch the rail.
If I need to itch my face, or cover my mouth as I yawn, I never do so with my open palm. I do so with the backside of my hand.
When I arrive home, the first thing I do is wash my hands. I periodically wipe down all doorknobs, cabinet handles, etc. Before my food has arrived at a restaurant (and that includes the bread basket!), I wash my hands.
12
@Lisa So do I. I leave my street shoes inside the front door, put on indoor slippers that do not leave my house, and then wash my hands, and shortly afterward, my face. I have done this for decades.
Who knew that straight jackets were the ideal disease prevention devices?
32
@Dan!
Thank you! This made me laugh for quite some time! What an irony..
2
This article and the comments illustrate how strong magical thinking and the illusion of control are. No amount of not touching your face will stop you from getting an airborne virus - just the fact that your surfaces are contaminated would indicate a highly infectious individual is in your area.
It would be great advice if it could be followed, but after a lifetime of face touching, itching, etc. even if it is something that can be learned, no one will learn it in time for this pandemic, coupled with the airborne transmission makes this less advice, and more infection blaming.
Additionally, I don't think touching our face is psychological. I have random wiggles and itches all day long in my nose, ears, eyes, skin, etc that require a response. I notice this consciously only when I'm cooking, meats in particular and am unable to scratch the itches. Also, The reason most mammals don't touch their face is because they stand on their hands.
8
A number of people I know who for a variety of reasons developed compromised immune systems taught themselves to stop touching their faces. They all report that they get colds and other illnesses far less frequently than they used to.
10
@Megan Health official report that the size of the droplets that carry this virus are not really "airborne" unless someone coughs or sneezes directly in your face. Infection is coming from droplets landing on things and then someone touching those things or touch to touch transmission.
3
There was no mention of children and babies anywhere underneath : "Stop Touching Your Face !"
Babies put all sorts of things into their mouths, and touch all sorts of things, as do small children.
Babies and toddlers are too young to be taught to stop rubbing their eyes, putting their hands and other objects into their mouths, and into their noses and even ears.
Parents and other caregivers can attempt to sanitize as many objects as possible (or could, if sanitizing products hadn't been wiped off the market ! ) , while most babies can not be isolated in their homes, given the rarity of stay- at -home parents in 2020, due to economic and other reasons, so how can parents attempt to protect babies who are in daycare or otherwise outside their homes be protected ?
If adults have so much trouble refraining from touching their faces, what are the odds that children can be taught to avoid touching their faces (and those of other children. ) ?
The immune systems of infants are extremely vulnerable. The same infants with particularly vulnerable immune systems are the ones who can not be taught not to touch their faces, and are in the habit of putting their fingers into their mouths, noses, to put all sorts of object into their mouths ( and even noses and ears)
to rub their eyes when they are sleepy, of crawling on the floor, dragging security blankets, stuffed animals and whatever else.
What can be done to protect babies, toddlers and small children ?
5
Babies need to be exposed to germs. Putting things in their mouths is exactly how their immune systems learn what is OK and if they get a little cold, they get sick for a few days and then build immunity. Over-sanitizing a child’s environment is one of the major reasons allergies keep getting more severe in children. Children who grow up on farms with exposure to dirt have far fewer allergies and immune system problems than kids who grow up in suburbs where every surface is coated with bleach every day. In 2020 we still do not understand the microbiomes that are central to our environment!
2
@DJS I share your concern as I have a 3 year old and a 6 month old, so let me share some reassuring data. Some of the widest studies of COVID-19 (can be found for free on the New England Journal of Medicine's website) mention that children under 10 appear to be protected from severe forms of illness (very few cases reported to begin with, no hospitalizations, and no deaths). They believe this might be thanks to all the bugs (many of which would be coronavirus cousins of COVID 19) that young children pick up, meaning their little immune systems are primed to fight this one.
2
@DJS I understand that young children are less susceptible to the Covid-19 organism than older people. I have also read that the average baby eats a pound of dirt by the time they are a year old due to putting stuff in their mouths. Some contamination is actually good for immune system development.
1
This article reminds me of the Kate Winslet character in the movie "Contagion", a CDC doctor who lectured a group of Minneapolis city officials about face touching (she said people touch their faces 3000 times a day) and snapped at her public health official host about the way he kept touching his face.
And don't touch other people's hands, as in shaking them.
Put public service announcements on TV, radio, and internet discouraging the practice. Suggest waving, bowing, a nod of the head, or faux fistbumps (not quite touching) instead. Make the handshake as socially unacceptable as smoking.
Each of us also could start wearing an elastic band on the wrist to remind ourselves to avoid touching our face and others' hands. It's a start, easy to do, costs nothing, and is probably more effective than a facemask at reducing transmission.
17
When I was younger and wearing a mustache more than I wasn't, I noticed that I caught more colds. Today I wear an older, almost entirely grey, mustache. While I don't play with my facial hair like I used to, I am still giving serious thought to shaving the old caterpillar beneath my nose. Maybe when it grows back it will grow back in the brown of my young days? (Wink). With luck and a bit of caution, I just might have the time to grow it back.
6
The experts are telling us face masks don’t help, but seems like it would be better to touch the mask than the nose or mouth. I, for one, am never going to break myself of the habit, no matter how hard I try. It’s unconscious. Which is another reason a mask would help. As a reminder.
8
If the goal of the mask is to reduce face touching then it can be something more stylish like a bandanna, this leaves the medical masks supply intact for health care workers. It may be the best way to reduce the effects of an unconscious habit .... (Wash it when you get home.)
5
@Richard Sure, a bandana as a face mask, but only if you want to look like a bandit from the old West.
This is essentially impossible advice and the virus is airborne anyway. I mean for an individual it makes sense. But most people will keep touching their faces, especially kids. So hopefully there other actual effective ways to stop this virus from spreading.
4
Thank you for this common sense approach article Ms. Parker-Pope.
For as long as I can remember, my mother always told me to never touch my face, especially during cold and flu season. Our eyes, nose and mouth are perfect individualized petri dishes for all kinds of germs out there.
I have an oversize sweater which I wear at working during this time of year. I extend the arms so that when I need to open a door or push an elevator button, I am using the material from the sweater rather than my fingers.
I also use gloves when I board and exist the daily commuter train I ride. Even though the rail cars are always clean, people still touch stuff including the hand railings on the platforms.
Sometimes little measures like keeping one's hands covered and/or stop touching one's face can go a long way in preventing germs from getting a head start.
9
Oof, this one’s going to be tough for me. I find myself frequently touching my face in gestures of exasperation these days. I’ll endeavor to stop, in the interest of public health.
3
A visiting professor once referred to the point where harmful bacteria entered an organism as the "court of infection." This seemed like an elegant way to identify a cut or a scratch, or any open doorway into your body that could allow potentially bad bacteria and viruses to enter your personal ecosystem and make you sick.
Eyes, noses, mouths (even zits!) can be seen as unprotected courts of infection, and when you consider all the surfaces you touch in the course of a day—doorknobs, handrails, money, the electronic pen for signing receipts at the grocery store—myriad surfaces that have been touched by the hands of other people who have also touched myriad surfaces, it's not hard to see why you should keep your hands away from your face until you have washed them carefully and are certain they are clean!
3
A note to those who wear eyeglasses: remember to wash your glasses with dish detergent a couple times a day. Lens cleaning g solution is good, but detergent is more through. We all adjust our eyeglasses (and sunglasses), throughout the day. They are exposed to oils from our hands and moisture from our breath. I know they can harbor plenty of bacteria, so they most be a landing place for viruses as well.
22
And when paranoia strikes, would it not make sense to wear gloves of a fabric that is not friendly to viruses? Instead of wearing masks, for which there is little scientific basis.
2
If someone sneezes or coughs near me, I hold my breath for at least 30 seconds to move away from wherever they were. If I see them coming from the left, I go right.
8
What we need is a government that holds the wellbeing of its citizens as primary objective, and not run like a business to the near-sole benefit of the ultra-rich. Holding our noses isn’t going to save us from a pandemic. Good government could though.
13
@Lilly tricky... China tapes the doors in Chengdu. If you open the door and break the tape, you will be moved to a quarantine camp. Be careful to be clear what good government means in desperate times. Individual's wishes necessarily go by the wayside in a pandemic, I would think. I don't know, as I've never been through it. About to find out though...
1
As a microbiologist who is well aware of how viruses spread, I never, ever, touch my face, yet I have had two relatively severe colds or at least one mild flu (I also always get the flu vaccine) plus a severe cold this winter.
You can avoid touching your face all you want, but the viruses are also airborne, and so far I have not figured out a way to stop breathing. So, along with not touching your face you must absolutely cover your mouth when you cough and sneeze, and even that won’t stop all droplets from escaping.
I have no real answer for how to address this, except to say washing hands and not touching your face is only a good start and will not give you the protection that you hope it will. I personally think we need to make sure people take sick leave if they have it, and find a way to give people sick leave who don’t have it. We also need to get over the corporate hatred of remote working (my organization is one of the worst), so that we can stop the spread.
119
@Desire Trails, don’t place all the blame on people who go to work sick. Plenty of parents send their kids to school or daycare with “just a little sniffle” because it’s easier than finding alternative care.
I feel for those with severe respiratory allergies. My allergies have abated with age, but I used to be that red eyed person who was constantly sneezing and sniffling and getting “Why don’t you go home to bed?” glares from random people.
3
Those card reader machines where you have to punch in your PIN are a hazard. Going to avoid using the debit card where I need to enter a PIN. Wear gloves. Carry some qtips or a pencil with an eraser tip if I do need to touch those nasty PIN machine keys. Always use a scarf, gloves or carry a paper towel for the elevator buttons. What worries me are the shared laptops and computer keyboards at work (a hospital!!).
6
@MB California Not to forget voting machines.
OK. So all the experts are saying don't buy masks but wouldn't a mask be an excellent way to stop hand to nose/mouth transmission route (though maybe not eyes, but glasses would do that)? Of course, you only need to do that once the virus has reached some critical mass and you're in crowded areas or work but it seems like a reasonable use of masks.
It would be great if some health expert could weigh in here. I'm not seeing an confirmation of this, only that masks don't help airborne transmission to the uninfected user.
Home experiment: eat a bag of cheetos using both hands, don't wash your hands, after an hour check you nose and mouth... .
And, while we're having fun talking masks, discouraging people from buying them means they won't have them if they do become sick where masks ARE recommended and there's none at all in stores.
4
This is such crucial advice. And hard to follow! As I was reading the article and consciously thinking, "yes, absolutely need to do this," I unthinkingly scratched my ear lobe to ease a momentary itch. Gosh, this is going to be hard and require real concentration -- but the stakes are worth it.
1
I remember reading somewhere that even when people thought they were being conscious and not touching their faces, they actually were. Stop lecturing about face touching. We all do it all day long. Breathing also is a route of transmission should we try really really hard to stop that too?
3
Keep in mind that if you have the virus on your hands, when you turn on the faucets to wash your hands, you may contaminate the faucet handles, and then re-contaminate your hands when you turn the water off.
1
@Professor A good point, which is why the guidelines for hand washing often include using a paper towel to turn the faucet off.
4
It has been reported ad nauseum that masks are ineffective for preventing inhalation of particles. Why is no one pointing out that they cover 2 of 3 parts of this “T-zone” and are surely of some help in preventing transmission by touch??
7
My mother was educated in a religious school, the convent as they called it. She was always yelling at me, "If you had gone to the convent then you would have learned never to touch your face!" She attended the convent in the 30"s. Ah. The wisdom of the elders.
1
It's not a "quirk" or "habit", it's a perfectly normal response to an itch or other discomfort.
What next, stop sneezing or coughing?
7
Why, at this point, don't scientists know how long this virus lives on surfaces?
3
If someone is clever, they will remarket those little wooden tongue depressor things as personal face touchers. Open one in the morning, put it in your shirt pocket, and whenever you need to touch your face, use your personal stick! You're welcome.
8
And then throw the tongue depressor out after you use it each time, I guess. What a pain! But better than the alternative...
Well, the thing is, we do it hundreds of times a day without noticing, because it is a natural thing to do. Your nose itches? You rub or scratch. It's a reflex. You don't think about it and you can't help it. What you CAN consciously do is to wash and disinfect your hands thoroughly and whenever you have been in public places, avoid shaking hands (bit more tricky with business habits, but I am sure that in times of a looming pandemic, nobody will be offended if you point to Covid-19 and say "let's not"). We can all do our part in trying to mitigate the threat, but "stop touching your face" is silly advice, because even if you THINK you have avoided doing it, you will have done it dozens of times unconsciously. Clean your hands as often as possible.
3
Thank you for this. I had to stop teaching in a brick-and-mortar environment because I have a weak immune system due to MS and the germs just about killed me. Literally I had flu for two weeks and decided nope, I cannot do this for my career. Kids are the worst germ carriers on the planet because they are so active. Getting them to wash their hands and stop touching their faces is an act of Congress. It’s a good thing that Coronavirus doesn’t seem to affect kids as much as the elderly, but I do worry about grandparents who care for grandkids and great-grandkids.
In the South, we have a lot of women who expect their moms and grandmoms to babysit children, which is a soapbox of mine but I digress... We also have so many elementary kids whose parents are either in jail or cannot care for them due to drug addiction. This means many of them live with grandparents and great-grandparents.
So because of the way so many of our communities are structured now, with elderly people doing a whole lot of caregiving for kids, I hope schools are amping up hygiene lessons about hand washing. Do our schools have money for hand sanitizer, clorox wipes etc? When I was teaching, we always ran out of these supplies during the second semester and with funding so low, teachers had to provide them out-of-pocket. Donations of these supplies would be helpful because if (when) Coronavirus gets into an elementary school, kids will spread it to older relatives faster than you call tell Jack Sprat!
8
I can't find any hand sanitizer and found an article on line to make my own with alcohol and aloe. In the meantime, I have individual packets of Sanitizing wipes that are not that old, but that have dried out. Would they still be effective if I wet them?
@Franz No, they will not. Get new ones. Your health is more important than saving a few cents.
1
This advice makes sense yet I dread hearing it again. I'm an allergy sufferer and my eyes, nose, and skin itch all the time. I'm going to try to follow this advice, and maybe wear gloves in public places.
Of course, when pollen allergies kick in during spring and fall there will be lots of sneezing for the many hay fever sufferers. At the start, you can't always tell if it's hay fever or a virus like a cold, though. This could coincide with peak coronavirus. What a mess!
4
@Kathleen I can relate, but I would recommend seeing a specialist in allergies if for no other reason than to make your life more comfortable.
I've been saying this for a long time. Look around and see how many people constantly wipe their nose with their fingers. At the gym all the time I see people smearing their nose with hand then grab weights. Awareness level zero.
2
How about stop farming animals for food? How about eating simple, fresh healthy food? How about absorbing the morning sun? .....and the list goes on....
1
"Wearing makeup may reduce face touching, since it may make you more mindful of not smudging it. One study found that women touched their faces far less when they wore makeup. "
But you have to touch your face to apply the makeup.
1
@Debbie yes but the makeup you use, and probably applying it in the privacy of your own bathroom, is probably yours that other people are not sneezing on (that is, if you aren't taking your stash out in public).
But you’re doing so consciously so you can make sure your hands are washed well before you start. The point of the article is to be more mindful of all of the times we mindlessly touch our face, not to literally never touch our faces.
People touch their face and eyes because of a reason. During the day there is the occasional itch. The itch does not go away unless it is scratched. Occasionally something gets in the eye, a stray hair etc. The advice that people might be able to follow is wash hands or use sanitizer on the hands first and to be doubly sure use a clean tissue to take care of that itch that often seems to occur for no particular reason.
2
Where are we supposed to get hand sanitizer ?
1
Equally important: sneeze / cough in your elbow! Am I mistaken in thinking that any virus causing a respiratory infection will be stopped dead in its tracks if we'd just start doing this?
2
It’s better to do that for sure but you could still spread it by maybe mindlessly scratching your arm where 15 mins before you sneezed into. It’s not that the germs die the second they reach your arm but live on your hand, it’s that coughing into your hand means it’s almost inevitable to spread it elsewhere immediately.
No, sneezing or coughing into your elbow (or shoulder) may help diminish transmission, but will not “stop it in its tracks”. COVID-19 will remain present and active for several hours on clothing. If only accurate, comprehensive guidelines were promulgated by the CDC.
Paper masks may not be effective at stopping airborne droplets, but they sure are effective at keeping you from touching your nose and mouth. But wash your hands before handling the mask.
1
Some of us who are allergic have cloth masks for pollen season, which are hand washed each night. Those also excellent to stop the touching of face!
2
I don't know about the rest of you, but my head touches my face regardless of anything I can possibly do. The head bone is connected to the face bone...~Silly songs 101
3
The article emphasizes washing your hands, but I wonder why it doesn't recommend washing your face at every opportunity. Wouldn't that help?
1
Yes, and please stop telling us not to wear masks. Apart from blocking some particles when used correctly, they’re a great way to keep from touching your face.
2
Thank you for the article. I hope it will make people more aware.
I have always pushed the elevator buttons with my knuckle instead of my finger tip. I always open doors with whatever I am wearing, a sweater, jacket of the sleeve my shirt. And I always carry my own pen to sign any credit card slips or forms.
And I know it sounds terrible , but I never shake hands. I rather give a little hug then shake a hand.
6
Great. And you sneeze in your elbow? Thank in advance ;-)
Coughing into your elbow is something my x husband literally rolls his eyes about.
I’ve seen him cough into his hands and then wipe the same hand on the side of his pants.
Four days ago he sent a page long text to my sons that the Coronavirus is akin to the apocalypse and the end of civilization.
Yesterday, another text.
“No worries, its not as bad if you’re healthy and young”.
I guess he’s back to coughing into his hands.
5
God this article made me feel like touching my face even more. What's wrong with me???!!!
3
Do not touch your face? That is it? Really? If I have a scratch or itch, I must touch my face, period. The advice should go beyond avoiding touch if possible to how to touch your face if you must. A tissue, yes, but also touching with the back or your hand or your forearm. If we pick up viruses, more than likely wit would be with our palms not other parts.
- and more than likely because people sneeze in their and and touch stuff afterwards
This seems to me what a mask would help with -- it's a reminder not to touch your face. Then again a bandana would do the same thing. Is there a reason public health officials aren't encouraging face coverings for this puropse? It seems like people are being actively discouraged from wearing masks.
2
I read this article and my nose started to itch, then my cheek, then my eyes. I bet reading this comment will make at least one person need to touch their face.
4
It’s not just our face. We are constantly shaking hands hugging kissing everyone! It’s time we stand at arm’s length and greet namaste like they do in South and South East Asia. No obligation to touch anyone.
5
It's hard to do if you get hair in your face, a sensitive nose that easily runs, dust gets in your eyes, or sensitive skin that itches. The mouth is probably easiest to avoid.
And can all those who handle coffee drinks please stop touching the lids where the drink spout is located!!! Especially if you are also handling cash at the counter...
6
Sitting today at a JFK airport gate I am presented with a horrifying display of people biting their nails, picking their noses, putting whole fingers in their mouths, etc.
And I'm always amazed to find myself the only person on the plane armed with alcohol wipes to wipe down the arms of my chair, the tray table tab, the tv buttons, anything I might touch. If I could get away with wiping down the person next to me I'd do it.
520
@mary
Watching someone bite their nails on the subway always tortured me. Why would you do that? I want to give the world a nail clipper.
7
@mary
wiping down the person nest to you....that made me smile. Thanks!
22
@mary Why not just wear nitrile gloves instead? How is that any crazier than wearing a mask?
9
The main thing that stood out to me from this article was the observation of the medical students: on average, they touched their faces 23 times an hour. So a little less than once every two minutes. That's it? How did they manage such restraint? When I think about it, I would say I probably touch my own face at least 2 to 3 times a MINUTE. Sometimes it's not in the T-zone, but most of the time it is. I honestly don't know how I would be able to go any significant length of time without touching my face, coronavirus or no coronavirus. Maybe I need one of those plastic dog cones around my neck...
3
Maybe your average family or internal medicine physician & other practitioners will finally start to advise patients of this as well as create literature on basic prevention to any & all common respiratory illnesses.
1
I've always been fussy about hand washing. And if I've commuted, or walked around my office touching door handles, then I consider my hands hazardous until I can next give them a good scrub with soap and water.
But the moment I see colleagues and commuters biting nails, scratching (and picking) their nose, and then handling desks, handles, taps and hand rails, then I can't help feel my sanitisation efforts – while strict – will never quite offer enough protection against the endless gross habits around me.
12
Ask your bank/airline how often they clean the touch screens. My bank "thought" about once a week...
6
Huh, I was always told that doorknobs and the like were often made of brass or other copper containing alloys to help kill microorganisms that could spread to others.
Is that just a wild misconception? Or is it that they simply aren't effective at a rate/scale that would matter?
I was surprised to read that the virus would survive on those surfaces longer than clothing/leather/skin.
4
Wild misconception, probably dating from the copper bracelet fad days. Nearly every residential doorknob, regardless of material, is lacquer or enamel dipped to keep from tarnishing. Ones in high traffic areas may be bare metal, but also covered in people’s organics. Brass is used as it is easily formed and shined up - to be brass-colored! It’s also a bit easier to chrome plate for the silver colors.
1
Not much true, since nearly all modern hardware, even if brass, is coated with lacquer or enamel to stay shiny.
Reading some of the responses here makes me cringe. Just a little reading will help you understand the entry points for viruses and how to avoid getting sick. I’m one of those vulnerable people with lung disease that should hypothetically never leave my house. But I work as a checker in a grocery store and have a normal life because I diligently wash my hands and never, EVER touch my face. It’s like how to stay healthy 101.
16
I had severe acne as a teen and my mother constantly told me to stop picking my face. It’s really a tough habit to break.
4
This is from Wikipedia in the coronavirous article.
"Human to human transmission of coronaviruses is primarily thought to occur among close contacts via respiratory droplets generated by sneezing and coughing."
2
Seconded by the British NHS: airborne transmission primary. However, the long time this virus can survive on surfaces is impressive, so absence of other people is no security. And, of course, heating and ventilation systems are effective distributors as well.
3
@Allan Thats true ... but virus spread in droplets is not easily aerosolized and sinks out of the air rapidly. Typically about a 6 foot radius. Then the virus in those droplets settles on hard surfaces and remains active for 72 hours or longer. At this point they think the primary spread is through the virus that has settled in a 6 foot radius of an infected person ... or the hard surfaces an infected person touches like door handles, railings, touch screens, keyboards ets.
Years ago I read that for hand washing to be really effective, to first use only the soap on your hands for thirty seconds, before adding (hot) water. Also, be sure to get plenty underneath your fingernails - long or short - they're like caves for bacteria.
8
Is this why women and men in earlier times wore dress gloves and carried handkerchiefs when out? Not touching your face is important as is cleaning your phone. Covering your fingers or hands before grabbing bannisters, door knobs or punching elevator buttons makes sense in these times. I use a scarf or the edge of my jacket. Oh and this isn't hype; this is educational information. People have been notoriously casual about hand washing if everyone has multiple stories about watching people walk past the sinks in bathrooms. You might also want to avoid the peanuts or snack bowls in bars; studies have found them contaminated with nasty levels of bacteria etc. and that alcohol in your drink doesn't cancel your exposure.
6
In the movie "The Graduate" the Dustin Hoffman character is given the magic password to success by a family associate: "Plastics". In 2020 the magic word for understanding Coronavirus transmission is "Fomites". [A fomite is defined as any inanimate object capable of transmitting an infectious microorganism from one person to another.] Consider anything you touch that originated from outside your immediate home environment to have been touched by someone carrying the virus. If that person coughed or sneezed into his hands and then touched that fomite the virus may still be viable and residing on the object you just touched. Money, coins or paper, food and other objects from a convenience store just stocked on the shelf by someone incubating the virus, the pole you grabbed while riding the subway, door handles, elevator buttons, etc etc.. Anything you touch outside of your home may be contaminated. Fomites are probably the source of most infectious disease transmissions. Some unmasked stranger sneezing in your face could do you in, but it is more likely to be the person you never saw.. Those face masks the world is panicking over may help prevent some transmissions, but probably not most infections. FOMITES are the prime culprits.
15
I'm not so sure that face touching is simply a "habit" that we somehow 'picked up' or a matter of evolutionary biology that prompts us to wipe away foreign materials around the eyes, nose and ears the way, say, an elephant or cow continues swatting itself with its tail. Having said that, I should like to thank the NYT for making me think more about this 'habit' and now, not being able to not do it!
5
I went to an event yesterday. I stood outside the entrance talking with someone, and in the background I could see a man handing out programs. He licked his finger between *every* person so he could grab the paper better.
I have a co-worker who does the same thing, and he gets every cold that comes through. I've learned from watching him that I really don't want to do that.
Seeing it in other people can be a good first step to learning to catch yourself. Not just for this novel virus, but for every rhinovirus every winter.
(yes, Socrates, I learned to stop trimming my nails and cuticles with my teeth.)
13
This is advice my aunt gave me many, many years ago.
It'll be a relief if people take this advice and stop picking their noses on the subway.
Next issue: spitting.
Walking in Manhattan last week, spouse was almost zinged by a woman standing at the curb but who chose to turn her head and spit onto the middle of the sidewalk, missing spouse's shoe by an inch. Really foul.
13
@B. I live in Chicago. I have never seen so much spitting. I am out on foot a lot, so I can't get away from people who do this.
Since I touch my face all the time but hardly ever get a cold I wonder how strong the correlation is between touching your face and getting sick.
4
@Peter Silverman
Anecdotal evidence is virtually meaningless.
4
That works both ways. “Ever since I’ve stopped touching my face I find that I get far fewer colds!”
Is it ok to touch one’s beard?
Beards are wonderful breeding grounds! It is recommended to shave them, especially if you are a health care professional.
3
@Misplaced Modifier I believe the primary issue with facial hair and healthcare staff is that masks cannot make a good seal with your face. Beards aren't great, but virus can't crawl up the hair to get to mucous membrane to enter your body. Now touching/stroking your beard and then touching your T zone will give an entry to your body.
Stop telling us to stop touching our face. This is totally useless.
13
Not really.
Wearing a mask could also prevent you from directly touching your mouth and nose.
2
@Andreas
And trap microorganisms in a warm moist environment.
3
@Andreas
Right now I’m wearing a Darth Vader mask... it’s sweaty, but I can’t touch my face, so that’s a good point.
I’d say a quality full face mask like Ironman, Boba Fett, Spider-Man or a Stormtrooper... nothing cheap with eye holes...
None of those cheap old school, thin vacuum formed hard plastic face masks with the elastic stapled to the sides that you’d get from the drug store when you were a kid.
You’ll definitely cut your face and be even more susceptible to infection.
2
Wear a Donald Trump mask. It will keep people at a safe distance, at least here in New York.
8
These are difficult times. Thoughtful people are wont to put their elbows on the table and hold their head in their hands. The President's son accuses democrats of Wanting millions to die in order to discredit his father, and the squirrel put in charge of our country's response to the corona virus takes a time out to defend the son's remarks. And our President's friend, Kim Jong Un, fired two unknown projectiles into the sea, probably two critics of his corona virus response.
15
@kirk
Don’t go around insulting squirrels like that.
They have far more honor and credibility than anyone in this administration.
16
@ThatGuyFromEarth The Squirrel Shop.com is an interesting place.
Next visit to your doc, see if he/she shakes your hand...
2
My dentist wears a glove and always tries to shake each patient’s hand—without changing the glove. U Michigan trained.
@J They do ... but they should also be sterilizing their hands before entering your exam room. Since they will soon be touching various mucous areas on your body with those hands the handshake is the least of your worries.
Want to break the face touching habit? Cut up a jalapeno and allow your fingers to touch the diced pepper. You might forget about touching your face, but the jalapeno will remind you, painfully.
12
“Stop touching your face!”
Up next...
Stop kissing! (that’s way too close to the face!)
Stop touching the handrail going down or up the stairs! (Sorry, grandma, that has face written all over it!)
Don’t shake hands with men! (Nine out of 10 men occasionally don’t wash their hands after visiting the men’s room.)
Don’t shake hands with women either! (They text all day, as men do,...and where does the phone go when a call comes in?)
Don’t wear or even buy a mask, because you don’t need it! Trust in your government to stock-pile them for you! (BTW, China is the world’s second largest economic power and they don’t have enough masks!)
That’s just a partial look into the mind of a germ-o-phile
Basically you can just barricade yourself into your house and contemplate why you have a forced Air heating and cooling system that will spread the incoming fine-misty mucus-droplets evenly into all rooms.
Seriously though. Since viruses like this affect the very young and the very old, get prepared to keep your kids out of school if things get worse.
6
@William Perrigo (U.S. Citizen) One reason there aren't enough masks is that people are buying them up in the mistaken belief that wearing one will protect them.
2
I don't worry because I have trained the "good" germs on my hands to actively combat those that they come into contact with. The middle finger of my right hand is my Germ Czar (left hand middle finger is deputy). Through repetitive verbal reminders and actively engaging my middle fingers throughout the day I have developed a successful germ free environment on hands, face and rest of my body.
7
So far, the main consequence of this article is that I am repeatedly becoming conscious of having touched my face a few seconds after doing so.
14
If you live in NYC and ride the subways, you are exposed to many pathogens, a number much more deadly than coronavirus, everyday if you touch any surface. That at the end of the day the subways aren't filled with corpses gives you a sense of how effective most of our immune systems are.
8
@Steve Yep our immune system is amazing at dealing with bacteria/virus it recognizes from prior exposure. However, a totally new contagion ... like this Corona virus, the immune system does not recognize as a danger. Look at history, this is how indigenous populations around the world were decimated when contacted by Western explorers.
4
It seems that gloves would be helpful, after hand-washing, but they are never mentioned
2
"-Any mask is better than none"
Said the doc here. Indeed, it creates a barrier between your face and your hands . . . and is a constant "do not touch" reminder. This aspect of wearing a mask is almost never discussed in the "masks don't help" rhetoric.
21
@James Cameron A bandanna would serve the same reminder purpose , and save the masks for those who need them. The bandit look!
7
While at a hotel in Florida I used my elbow to push the buttons in the elevator. A woman laughed and rolled her eyes. I noticed she didn’t push any buttons herself.
10
I just rubbed my nose just a minute after opening this article. It's like breathing, you can control it if you think about it, but no one can think about it all the time.
My estimation of the Surgeon General dropped like the stock market after his imperative - nevermind that an imperative from is ludicrous - to stop buying masks. What the experts have been telling us, based on current knowledge, is that COVID-19 spreads largely in the same ways as flu or cold. That includes being coughed on, but mostly relates to hand contact with contaminated surfaces/hands, which then gets transmitted to oneself by touching one's face, especially the nose.
If you have a mask on, then that involuntary hand-to-nose contact is protected, as well as everyone downstream from you, if you get it.
The Surgeon General's words were carefully parsed to avoid saying an out-and-out falsehood, but they convey the nonsensical impression that masks do not protect you or serve to inhibit the potential for spread. It's shameful that he did not say the truth: We do not have enough masks, so if you're not at high risk, let someone else get that needed mask. And yes, you will be at higher risk, but hopefully not that much.
7
@Eric S It's been said over and over again, but masks aren't all that effective in protecting people from the virus. They're good to stop people who have it from spreading it, but there's little point in wearing one if you're not sick. You may not touch your nose if you're wearing a mask, but you will touch the mask, to readjust it, you may touch your eyes, and unless the mask is the right kind and is fitted and worn correctly, it's not going to do much good anyway. If all you want is something to stop you touching your nose, wear a bandanna or something, don't buy up surgical masks that hospitals need.
3
Great article. Think I'll wear gloves seeing as viruses can't live as long on fabric as on hard surfaces and hand;. and the article has reminded me to wipe down my car steering wheel with hospital grade disinfectant.
3
I eat fairly often in restaurants. After I've handled the menu and ordered, I visit the restroom to wash my hands before I eat. But I notice very few other customers doing this, even those eating food they pick up in their hands, like sandwiches, tacos, chips.
15
I use disinfectant wipes after handling menu.
So the Titanic is sinking and we re-arrange the deck chairs... even the most disciplined touches his or her face, it is human nature....
8
A month or two ago, there was an article in the Times suggesting that picking your nose actually strengthens your immune system. it argued that by exposing you to low levels of pathogens, you built up an immune response. Various evidence was presented.
This article reports studies of how many times people touch their face. Do those studies also look at whether people who touch their faces actually have lower rates of infection? Or is this all just speculation, because it “just makes sense?” I mean, the nose-picking thing just makes sense too...
In other words, is this real science? Or just something to feed the panic?
9
A habit I’ve cultivated in my years of doing volunteer work in prison, where germs are plentiful and the guys always want to shake your hand: I use my right hand for shaking and touching surfaces, my left for touching my face. Avoid letting my two hands touch each other, and go straight to the men’s room to wash up on my way out.
3
Summary actions from this article and other reputable information sources:
1) Hand-washing: use soap, but if none is available, wash anyway. 20 seconds is minimum with 30 seconds being best. PRACTICE IT looking at a watch - 30 seconds is a lot longer than you think and humans do not easily mark the passage of time well - minimum time is the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice through. Keep nails trimmed as short as possible. When washing, get every surface from wrist to finger tips including between fingers. If done correctly, you will have dislodged most virus and bacteria. NOTE: The instant you touch a surface after washing - you are recontaminated with whatever is on that surface.
2) Keyboards, cell phones, door knobs - clean with alcohol wipes (Ethyl alcohol >70%). Must let it dry fully. Ethyl alcohol is also available in a bottle - NOTE=> it is very flammable and fumes aren't great to breath.
3) The article is accurate - virus enters the body through mucous membranes (eyes, nose, mouth). Do not touch your face at all. If you must (contact install, etc) do the hand wash procedure from above.
4) Studies show higher humidity levels decrease the transmission of influenza and virus. This is one of the reasons that flu spread slows down in summer. You cannot control the outdoor humidity level, but you can raise it at home to reduce risk of spread from person to person at home.
4
The humidity level theory has been debunked.
Also, when will we stop the ridiculous, medieval cultural habit of shaking hands? I have detested for years but now stopping seems even more prudent. Still, people often force their hand to you and create a very awkward situation until you grab their hand, not taking a discreet hint that you prefer not to shake.
12
Wash your hands in the bathroom and use your paper towel to open the door. Don't touch stair or escalator rails or elevator buttons.
8
@Stev
Many "green" buildings no longer have paper towels in restrooms. Washing hands properly does little good when people who have coughed or sneezed into their hands or wiped without their hands open the door before you.
1
Readers of Hemingway may recall that Nick Adams offered the same advice (to his sister), but for an entirely different reason!
I stopped for a drive-thru coffee this morning. The worker placed the lid on my cup with his bare hand pressing down over the entire lid. I took the coffee, carefully peeled of the lid and then wiped my hands with hand gel and the out side of the cup and it’s rim.
Plastic gloves are necessary for food workers and servers. It should be required nationwide.
68
@Nycgal you want to really stay safe, don’t let anyone else prepare your food or drink. Good luck with that.
12
@Nycgal Or they handle money and then handle food. Germ city!
10
@Nycgal
If you wear the same gloves for every customer you are still carrying microorganisms to the cup.
19
Too many people letting the perfect get in the way of the good. Not touching ones mouth or nose will reduce the chances of contracting a disease.but not eliminate it- still better than increasing your chances of getting the disease. Not touching your eyes further reduces the odds-. Just reducing the number of times one touches their mouth, nose or eyes helps. Etc Etc Etc
7
Viruses don't live for long on surfaces, only for a few moments (depending on the virus, and the surface)-- hepatitis lives longer than most (minutes), HIV only a few seconds.
Hand washing and sanitizing, and not touching one's face, at least makes one feel safer, but it's seems a bit paranoid.
I'm taking an 80 min flight to San Francisco, and will wear a surgical mask to make others feel safer (it doesn't protect me). Airborne droplets from sneezing or coughing, or direct human contact, are the issue in close quarter.
1
@Jorge
Did you read the article? Flu virus remains infectious in surfaces for 24 hours. Covid-19 for nine days.
30
@Jorge Did you read the article? The viruses can stay on surfaces for days, not moments.
5
all that is said about face touching is only important if the virus is spread by touching. Other diseases like measles are spread by a airborn route about which very little is known.
My understanding is we do not know if the coronavirus is spread by the airborn route or not. We really need to know.
9
Everyone is different. Some people have a stronger constitution than others. This noted, my former business partner used to put a pencil in his mouth while designing. I on the other hand, never do this. We co-founded a landscape design and installation company in Manhattan for 25 years (now 30). He would get the flu, colds, sore throats, etc. at least 4 or 5 times a year. I am 65 now. I havent had so much as a cold in over 3 years. So I absolutely believe in washing my hands. Not Howard Hughes type washing, but always before I eat. I never chew my nails, and I use a shirt sleeve to open doors. As a rule, I have been doing this for decades.
27
Tomorrow I will vote here in Texas. I am concerned about using a community pen to sign paperwork, the germs that will be on the hand held stylus we use to vote, the actual machine, etc.
I plan to use my own pen. It would be nice to think that voting machines will be wiped down between each voter. I doubt that will happen so I will take my own sanitizing wipes with me to use before and after I vote.
We have at least 11 people affected with Covid-19 being treated in San Antonio---I will take no chances.
35
@Plm
Good thinking. I always have a pen on hand to use to sign any document, anywhere.
13
@Plm I voted yesterday. I wore a disposable glove to use the pen then threw the glove away after.
7
@Plm, I always cringe when I have to use the (warm, usually) stylus to sign for a UPS package. But I just go and wash my hands after. No big deal.
Back before retail checkout became fully electronic, I remember having guys (usually in hardware stores) take a pen that was tucked behind an ear, and try to hand it to me to sign a receipt. Even remembering that made me wince.
eat at home whenever you can, avoid eating at your desk at work. This seems to keep me from getting a cold every winter, while my co-workers, who daily eat at their desks, are often catching a cold or the flu. Stay well.
6
Bleach. Even a couple of drops in the cleaning water helps.
3
The passing of paper money can spread germs. Passing your credit or debit card to a restaurant server, a bartender, or anyone else you hand over your credit or debit card to can spread germs. Shopping carts and those red supermarket baskets can spread germs. Door handles at stores, restaurants, and businesses can spread germs. Hand rails in stairways at stores, offices and other businesses can spread germs.
Do the best you can but it's not going to be easy to stop the spread of coronavirus.
11
@Gaston Corteau Good ideas all. Plus in the grocer we don’t really need to use (touch) dividers between orders on the conveyor. Polite distance and care.
1
I have been taking sheets of paper towel folding them into squares before I leave the house in the morning and use them throughout the day so I am not touching anything -railings, subway hangers, handles, etc. with my bare hands - and wearing my winter gloves -when I remember them - the folded paper towels are thicker than tissues so I feel more protected. Also, when I am in a restroom, I take new paper towels and open the door so my just washed hands are not touching the handle. This sounds neurotic but at least have have a sense that I am trying to protect myself while having peace of mind.
101
@kkm
We are the same in our 'neurosis' and tactics to handle them :-)
7
@kkm Why waste a new towel on the bathroom door handle? Just use the one you dried with. It is clean, so you're not adding more germs. And you'd be killing fewer trees.
5
@Ginger : I don't want someone after me to have to grab a damp/wet door handle if they are using their bare hands - it is considerate under the circumstances and while overall, I am conscious of killing fewer trees - one dry and fresh paper towel is the way I am going. And, of course, you can do whatever works for you - and we will both stay healthy without making significant dent in forestry conservation.
1
Years ago I worked in a tb lab. My initial 2 weeks were spent reading slides while I acquired the habit of not touching my face.
Only then was I allowed to enter the inner two zones. It was difficult. Very. As I am now re-learning.
67
Certainly surfaces can hold the coronavirus, and reducing face touching, promoting g handwashing etc. help some. But it has long been understood that such viruses are spread primarily by air droplets -- cough, sneeze, close air circulation in small quarters, limited air circulation, and the like. So limiting surface contacts counts for less prevention than covering coughs, and "social distancing." Let's keep priorities straight.
12
@Ted Carey This is not correct. The CDC and WHO say this is not an airborne virus. This means you get infected in two ways 1. if someone sneezes or coughs directly on you and the droplets find their way into the mucous membranes or 2. if you touch a surface with a droplet and then touch a mucous membrane
70
@Tara Parker-Pope Actually, Johns Hopkins website says that Covid 19 *is* transmissible through airborne droplets. More so than the flu.
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-disease-2019-vs-the-flu
8
@Tara Parker-Pope
The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person.
Ms. Parker Pope :
Regarding your statement "That is not correct. CDC and WHO say this is not an airborne virus."
It is you who are incorrect. If you check the CDC website, you will find the following :
"How is Coronavirus Spread ?"
"Between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet).
Through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs."
Accordingly, your statement "The CDC and WHO say this is not an airborne virus is incorrect, and is in direct contradiction with the CDC's' own website.
2
I've long been an advocate of no-face-touching. I do well but my spouse struggles with it. One little trick I use when my nose is itching is to scratch it with the inside of the shirt I'm wearing.
21
Viruses avoid shirts? Good to know.
Keep a Kleenex in your pocket for that.
If you were in a New York City bus or subway car, you wouldn't want to pull out your shirt tail and rub your nose with it.
I can't imagine you can do that in Louisville either.
Good luck with the I Phone that is touched 2330 times per day by the typical user. The rubber casings are excellent at holding viral particles. And of course we put them down everywhere to pick up germs and them apply to our face. Funny you don't mention them here. Not good for business I presume. Maybe the transmission is a result of this behavior? An unintended consequence of the global data and behavior manipulators. Natures effort to correct.
81
True. I have begun sanitizing mine at least once a day and between I am conscious never to lay it on a public or non-sanitized surface.
9
On a recent trip this week I became aware of putting my phone down in the scanner at the gate that allows us to board a flight. I describe it this way: face face face - scanner - face face...NEXT PERSON!
8
@rich williams People "apply them to our face"? How? Why? I don't get it.
This is so true. I’ve been a crusader for no-face-touching for decades. As a Buddhist it’s been my mindfulness practice, and on retreats in closed quarters for a week or so watching a cold spread through a small community, I have never gotten sick once I ended face touching. It can be done. It takes work and time to become a habit. It takes catching yourself dozens - hundreds - of times and gently noting: “Oh, I’ve touched my face again.” It can’t just be something done in the winter months; it must be 24-7. And it is so, so, SO worth it.
101
I am a constant face toucher, from applying makeup to massaging my temples when I have a headache, yet even though I worked in a crowded office, I very seldom got a cold. I understand being careful when you’re around others, but never touching your face? Impossible.
1
1. On NYC mass transportation I wear simple black cloth gloves. Take them off and then wash hands. Wash the gloves. Not perfect, but far better than holding onto the subway pole ungloved.
2. Our cell phones are definitely covered in germs and we handle them all day. Not sure the article mentioned that common vector.
37
@K Henderson Hotel key cards are one of the most overlooked items for spreading germs. Do you think hotels actually disinfects those things between use? Also, airlines should now begin taking a much more active role in preventing spread of germs by actually cleaning and disinfecting aircraft between flights. At the very least, provide passengers with a small packet of disinfecting wipes and advise to clean their seat area upon boarding.
44
@ Funk Munk. Even if airlines begin cleaning or wiping down planes between flights, the cabin air is recirculated so passengers are still exposed to bacteria. Airlines keep cramming more seats into planes but don’t do anything to protect passengers, especially at times like this. Feel bad that their revenue is down? Yeah, me too.
Research shows that between 50 and 70% of people do not wash their hands when using public restrooms,many in restaurants.Many ,reasonably,are not clean and investigators have found dangerous bacteria on every surface especially door handles.Air dryers are spreading bacteria.doctors recommend using a paper towel to touch anything and especially when exiting the door,yet many do not have paper towels.Carry your own disinfectant wipes from now on.
34
Anyone paying by debit card must punch in their PIN, turning those readers into vectors. Believe it or not, the medical mill I go to, run by NYU Langone, asks its patients to "sign in" by placing their hand on a metal reader, something which struck me as insane and which I refuse to do
49
This is true!!! I am an immunocompromised patient who goes to NYU Langone. I was SHOCKED when they attempted to force me to place my hand on a communal screen!!! I had to beg to get the regular clipboard sign in. Reckless and dangerous for those on chemotherapy! Ashamed that a hospital would even have this device in place..
5
Get some of those plastic 'food-handling' gloves. Dead cheap, can be put on when you might encounter the V, stripped off & dumped after you leave the area/shop/room!
15
@Iain Sanders
But if multitudes did this, millions or billions of these single-use plastic gloves would end up in landfills or, worse, would litter the environment on a daily basis. It seems to me that vigorous hand washing is a more environmentally friendly solution.
6
And learn how to remove them without touching the outside-- or use sanitizer after removing them.
Everyone in my office has been sick this flu season except me, thank goodness. While I recognize part of this is luck, it’s also due to just good personal hygiene in general.
I use hand sanitizer after every time I touch a high traffic surface like a gas pump handle/trigger, the touchscreen/pin pad at a store checkout, or an entry door handle to a business.
I’ve also adopted a policy of purchasing pre-packaged produce. A little while ago, I saw a man lick his fingers to open the little plastic produce bag, then without thinking he used his hand that he had just licked to sort through bell peppers until he found one he wanted. Then it dawned on me, how many OTHER people are doing that same thing? Horrific. No wonder these viruses are so hard to contain.
129
@Austin Ouellette Another policy that could benefit the environment as well - bring a stash of reusable, washable mesh/fabric produce bags with you to the grocery store.
22
@Austin Ouellette That's why I always wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly. Studies show that e. coli is present on a lot of them.
13
@SueB Same. I use a cold water swish & rinse twice, and then tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar in water to soak most edible-soft-skinned produce like berries for a couple of minutes – no rinsing – before drying it. I use dish soap and/or baking soda to scrub things like avocados, apples, oranges, peppers, radishes, potatoes, even bananas. Worth it.
8
My mom always had a kleenex handy for touching her face. You face itches, so the first thing you do as a kid is touch it on blanky, shirt, or hands. Saying don't touch your face is easy to do, Not touching your face is the harder part. But if you have to, be sure your hands hand been cleaned, always hard to wipe your eyes if your hands have axle grease on them. Helping my dad fix the car, which my mom did as well, she helped her dad fix their truck, so she had the kleenex handy for a reason.
I learned early, be sure your hands are clean before you touch your face, or it will hurt a lot. Cooking is the same way, almost every cooking oil hurts your eyes if you get it in them, so Cooks and mechanics learn these lessons sooner than most, it seems. Just have to have handy the tools for cleaning up, or that clean kleenex.
5
It's logical that face touching spreads contamination. But is it true? And to what extent? Does anyone know of controlled studies of a large enough cohort to reach statistical significance comparing face-touchers and non-face-touchers and relative infection rates? I doubt it.
That's the gold standard for drawing such conclusions as we are here. Otherwise it's logical but guesswork - and biology often doesn't work in ways that human logic knows. So far most people who touch their faces aren't getting sick, at least in this epi/pandemic. And there is the problematic distinction between getting infected and getting sick, still a big unknown here.
I'm not suggesting that avoiding face-touching isn't a good idea, maybe it is. I'll give it a try. But I do wonder what the unintended consequences are of obsession and worry.
Also, there has been little attention that I've seen to date paid to fortifying healthy immune responses (other than critiques of Chinese males for smoking), an apparently significant factor in the COVID-19 equation.
11
The article already provides many examples of how face-touching (mouth eyes and nose) spreads disease.
4
@ThinkingMatters
Well interesting point. Maybe if we weren’t so self centered looking in mirrors we wouldn’t mind not touching our faces.
It’s not a big stretch to listen to thoughtful advice. Maybe it works maybe it doesn’t it’s your choice
1
A century ago, many people wore gloves every season of the year. At a minimum, no matter what they’re made of, gloves protect hands from dirt. They also usually make one much more aware about keeping one’s hands from one’s face. I’m thinking it might be time to revive that fashion choice.
93
I grew up when gloves were a must for church, now just cold weather. I liked gloves, they can be really cute, and someone said carry germs for a shorter time, but not sure if that was the rubbery ones that are ugly or the cute fabric ones.
2
Agreed. Was just thinking about the wonderful cotton and lace and kid gloves I have that belonged to my mother. Back in style.
The statement "It also may help to wear glasses to create a barrier to touching your eyes" misses the mark. You need to wear a mask AND eye protection to block infection from droplets from a nearby sneeze or cough. Add to that the benefit of their reminder to not touch.
4
@Federalist You don't need a mask unless you know someone is sick.
1
Next article: Love in the Time of the Coronavirus.
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@Peter Silverman
Well done! I needed a laugh on this Monday morning.
14
A friend is living this in Thailand, working on remote until he can return to Shanghai.
Nature always wins against man. It is about keeping immune systems strong , always changing, adapting. Yes, people, ( and animals ) die. Rest live on stronger.
5
@Randall Brown
Boy, that just really makes me feel much more relieved about my elderly parents and my wife with asthma! How comforting to know you think it's fine if they die to make the "rest live on stronger".
2
You mean, “people and other animals.”
Oy veh. I’m doomed!
12
Money must be the filthiest thing we touch Phones also are filthy. Think of the inside of your wallet-also filthy. Wash your money. Clean your phone every day.
18
@Richard Just for the convenience, I use Apple Pay whenever it’s available. It’s on my Apple Watch. I just turn my wrist towards the scanner and it pays for the transaction. No wallet, no money (and the encryption is better than a credit card because the merchant doesn’t see your credit card).
@Richard
And the problem with the alternative to money, the credit or debit card, is that it usually requires you to use a touchscreen, keyboard or common-use stylus to perform your transaction. Bring your own stylus and/or disposable gloves when shopping.
2
We need UNIVERSAL HEALTH coverage for testing of the virus and paid sick leave for those who contract it!!! NOW
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@Ann Which has noting to do with this article.
1
@lion2019 A man in Florida who had flu symptoms upon returning from a trip to Italy took himself to the hospital to get checked for coronavirus...simply to be a good citizen. He was promptly told they would have to keep him there until results came back.... Even though he was ultimately cleared of coronavirus, he later received a bill for over $3000, with additional charges to follow.
His insurance refused to cover any of it until he could prove that his symptoms were unrelated to any condition he'd had in the previous THREE YEARS. This citizen had purchased a "junk insurance" plan, newly permitted under the Trump administration, that does not cover pre-existing conditions. He did that to save money, as his income is modest. He felt punished for proactively trying to protect others from possible contamination--had he indeed tested positive for coronavirus.
"$3000+ for a nasal swab!" he complained. "This will only discourage other people from taking precautions such as I did."
THAT is the relevance of universal health care to this pandemic.
58
What are we going to do when the Supreme Court sends us back to the health insurance darks ages?
5
I have allergies and have to blow my nose. I take eyedrops 3 times a day. I brush my teeth and floss morning and evening. I eat 3 meals a day. What was that about not touching my face?
19
IMO, after reading all the articles in the Times and Guardian --Everyone in the US is going to be exposed sooner or later.
All of this imaginary hope of avoiding being contaminated it just a wishful delusion. All you are doing is putting off your eventual exposure.
We need a vaccine, and good care for those who are sick.
83
@fred
It will probably take at least a year before a vaccine is developed and tested. By that time, unless coronavirus turns out to be a yearly occurrence like the common flu virus, it will probably have run its course by then.
And considering how many people don't get the yearly flu vaccine, once the immediate crisis with coronavirus passes, probably most wouldn't get a vaccine for it.
2
@fred Trying to put off your exposure is worth while, though, as the main thing we want to avoid is overwhelming the hospitals. If we can slow down the spread, we'll be better off.
17
inaccurate. in the 1918 influenza pandemic rates varied greatly. they were highest where public gatherings continued and lowest where people were advised to shelter-in-home
1
I wear stretchy long-sleeves that I can pull down over my hand when I grab a doorknob.
32
And please don’t use cloth handkerchiefs and keep reusing them during the day. It seems to be a generational thing , at least based on my observation as well as conversations I had with friends of various ages. Men ( and sometimes women) born in the 50s and 60s told me they were Instructed to “always carry a handkerchief”. It was considered basic etiquette and hygiene.
You can still buy hankerchiefs online, not just on EBay but also general shopping sites.
Younger guys carry tissues and hopefully dispose of each one right after use.
But I see people use cloth hankerchiefs and then tuck them back in their pockets ( although not so much now, thank goodness) . How unhygienic is that?!
16
@Jace I think hankies are quaint, easier on the nose and far less wasteful than tissues. That said, people reuse tissues, too.
5
@Jace If you are only using them for yourself and you’re not sick, then it’s not dangerous or bad. It’s better then using your bare hand to rub your nose or eye. You can use common sense here.
6
Why no mention of tax cuts as a way to fight the virus?
Republicans have ideas, too, you know.
330
@Richard Republicans may have ideas, but this article is about GOOD ideas.
41
Let’s increase taxes on the middle class and give it ALL to the ultra-wealthy billionaires so they can buy remote islands and flee the virus until this pandemic is over. We should also provide the wealthy with free supplies they can hoard in case the pandemic lasts longer than expected.
56
@Richard
Oh yeah. You can put the tax cut paperwork over your face and that will provide protection.
17
Also, your cell phone! Disinfect your cell phone daily! Especially now that they make you use it to pay for the bus or subway or even just your coffee. Keep alcohol wipes in your pocket or purse!
11
@agmnw
But cell phones are 99.99% used only by their owner, not by others. Yes, cell phones are dirty - from germs etc you already have!
9
Dude- you touch surfaces, then your phone, and you put your phone to your face!
4
What about hand dryers in bathrooms? We know that paper towels are much more effective- can you use a air dryer after washing your hands and scratch your face if need be?
2
@Kristen
No. Hot air dryers have been shown time and again to spread airborne microbes and are much less safe or sanitary than paper towels. If you don't know if you'll find them where you're going, be sure to bring your own.
10
Hand driers in public toilets have been proven to be filthy havens for microbes.
Interesting, but unlikely too practical advice. Oddly, as a mostly ambidextrous person, I’ve always used one hand for doing things like opening doors, picking up heavy items, and the other pretty well exclusively for writing, and face touching. In other cultures, the left hand is reserved for ‘dirty’ things. Now I have to remember to not have hands touch. And divide my keyboard right down the middle. All hopeless.
4
I don't wish to be an alarmist, though as a retired physician, please hear this. The virus is not here in full strength, so we have time to adjust our habits, consider:
-Avoid shaking hands with people.
-Carry and use hand sanitizer.
-Shop very early in the day when less folks are around.
-Use disposable tissues.
-Gloves will be necessary if things get worse.
-Any mask is better than none.
-I carry an extra washcloth in my bag along with with Sani-wipes and gloves.
-Open doors with something disposable.
-The Gas Pump is filthy regardless.
-I've been wiping down canned foods and bottles that I bring into the house, I shall be more vigilant about this in the future.
-Yes, though one's face is nearly impossible, but we have time to practice and get used to this.
-Don't feel embarrassed asking if a person is sick or unwell.
-You need not be a prepper, though consider laying in a things you need on a daily basis so you can avoid a needless trip to the store.
-Smokers will be affected more heavily, so no harm in avoiding them.
Don't stop enjoying your life, living in fear is the worst, but being aware and mildly prepared is a good thing.
262
@tourmakeady los lunas, nm
Thank you for the good advice. It might also be helpful if hand sanitizer dispensers are installed inside (or outside) all elevators and other places where people touch things commonly.
53
@tourmakeady los lunas, nm I would add protect your eyes. I was struck by the photo of the staff at Life Care Center in Kirkland that showed all of them wearing masks but none of them had eye protection. That indicates all the staff are getting infected when a patient coughs or sneezes near them.
37
@tourmakeady los lunas, nm
Thank you! Very sensible. I’m printing this and giving copies to the kids.
17
Great advice. Here are some issues that need to be addressed. I am a public school teacher in NYC. The bathrooms are chronically out of soap and out of paper towels. The sinks have those push button faucets that you must press to get water and there are two spigots, one for extremely hot and one for extremely cold. No mixing. This is not only the case in my high school in NY but in most.....perhaps this will be a wake up call to renovate schools at some point to provide adequate washing facilities as we are training our young people to avoid washing their hands.
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@Hexagon Infrastructure money is never easy to get a hold of, in the climate we live in. Sooner or later it will be a make or break kind of problem, When all the bridges fail someone will look about to blame a single person, yet it is all of us letting the leaders of our cities and states and nation off the hook for it.
WalMart installed hand swipe light beam tech to their sinks ages ago, Recently having been in the Local Hospital's ER their rooms that have sinks have the same tech, longer you hold the hand there the warmer the water gets. Money to save water, and safety too, pushed them in that direction, This crisis might push Us all to force the issue locally.
42
We got a lot of renovations in France with the swine flu. Since my daughter had just started kindergarten (we start at three in France), we were very happy with the teaching of proper hand washing, supply of paper towels and soap, and less viruses for everyone in the family! The Swiss have sinks in all classrooms, and they do use them, I greatly appreciated the possibility of washing my hands when teaching there. The first French person to die in France was a teacher, and I was not entirely surprised: there's a reason why teachers love disenfecting wipes.
46
@Hexagon Not just in the high schools, the employee restrooms of the circa 1988 VA hospital also has older faucets that require users to manually turn on hot and cold valves. We get used to taking a few steps to grab a paper towel to use as a barrier for this, and the door handle, and we make use of shoulders and elbows to hit the door button or panel, but there are so many opportunities for the virus to stow away on people.
Your comment put me in mind of the bathrooms at the parish elementary school I attended in the 60s, not far from this modern hospital facility: the sinks were large round troughs with central pillar from which the water flowed at the touch of a foot pedal. Probably not the most water-wise, as the water flowed 360 degrees even for one person, but certainly more sanitary.
25
It's a little hard not to touch your face when, like me, you have a chronic sinus infection that has you blowing your nose three or four times an hour or chasing the run down your face instead, plus severely dry eyes that itch like crazy all the time. It's not an in grained habit for a lot of us. We're stuck with problems - some of them environmental - that force the habit. The best I can do is wash my hands a lot - which of course leaves me with very dry hands that itch all the time. Real life is different for everyone. You deal with what you have to deal with and try not to get too nuts with your own situation. Pardon me - my nose is running, I have to go.
304
@Brookhawk - yes. Allergy season is kicking up in Seattle, as all of the trees are beginning to bloom. My eyes itch and my nose is drippy. Sigh.
27
@Brookhawk Yes, I'm going nuts trying not to rub my eyes because I have maddeningly itchy eczema around them, triggered by...wait...the eyedrops I need to avoid going blind. Keeping the area clean and moisturized helps some. All the handwashing has left my fingers feeling like sandpaper, which I suppose could be a plus as the eczema enjoys a light sanding.
30
@Brookhawk: I have to wash my hands often because of frequent urination. My solution is to use a high-quality German hand cream with glycerine. The cream keeps my skin moist and comfortable. You might want to try it.
13
Ugh. For the past few weeks, as I leave my apartment in the morning, I designate my right hand as the hand I use to touch things outside (only of necessary): the railing on the stairs in my building (I avoid the elevator now), the two handles of my building's exterior doors, the railing on the subway stairs, the subway pole (only if necessary!), the door handles to enter my building. I wash with soap and water when I get to the office, using a paper towel to open the door handle, and repeat throughout the day. I have been disinfecting my keys, my phone, my mirror, my pocket book and tote bag...Even with all this, I know I am exposed.
229
@Clarice wear gloves.. then wash them.
13
@Clarice
You’re doing great. I would also add you could wear gloves to do things like open doors or hold the subway pole and just be sure to wash them regularly. Also, for the subway pole, you can crook your wrist around it.
12
@MLS
But don't gloves pose the same issue as masks, that is, when you take them off, you contaminate your hands? And then you have to keep doing laundry. Isn't it better to keep things simple and just not touch your face and wash your hands with soap and water?
18
Read a newspaper while commuting on public transportation. Back before I retired, that is what I did. My fingers were inky enough that I did not touch my face until I got into the office, or home, and washed my hands.
451
@Don Wiss
Unfortunately your proposal wouldn't work that well now as it used to do due to modern printing processes and the change in paper on which newspapers that remain are printed upon.
I am old enough to remember when your hands would be covered with ink after reading The Times. Although people often complained about it, an acquaintance in worked in newspapers told me that it actually reflected a better quality of paper.
24
Yay, Print journalism!! (The old ways are sometimes best!)
Seriously though, when i get a paper edition of anything, i scan or read slowly Everything. It makes me not miss things on Page A24, etc.
17
@Steve As a professional programmer, I can translate what your acquaintance told you into programmer-speak: It’s not a bug, it’s a feature! Our software is just higher quality than our competitors’.
9
Curiously, why no mention of masks to remind (and prevent) the wearer from touching their face? While medical experts have correctly stated that masks are vital for reducing transmission of respiratory viruses from infected people, I believe that even a simple mask can help reduce the incidence of face touching.
13
Wearing a mask reduces face touching, but it seems that they want us to stop purchasing masks, so people do not mention that masks reduce face touching.
Wearing a mask, even for a while, makes you realize just how frequently we all touch our faces. You can still touch your eyes of course, but it is good to break the habit of face touching.
4
@Phil The skin will get rashes if you wear a mask a lot, happens whenever skin is forced to touch things to much, even clothes. The care givers in China have complained about this fact, masks causing rashes, happens when you have O2 hoses in your nose too. They are called Pressure Sores, aka bed sores, It's going to be bad for you if you have to wear a mask long term, Just be aware of that, if you think you must wear one to prevent getting infected while you are healthy, you will have to do a lot more than just wearing a mask.
3
I don’t think the lack of mention of masks is surprising at all—with masks in short supply across the United States (& elsewhere), authorities have quite sensibly been begging the public to leave the remaining masks for health care providers & others who actually really need them (like those who have COVID-19 & are trying to prevent others from getting it). So it would be totally counterproductive for the NYT or any media outlet to urge mask usage. Besides, lots of articles I’ve read suggest that people can get a false sense of security from wearing a mask, & that mask-users frequently unconsciously lift the mask to touch their mouth & nose...
6
Sometimes logic and science, which I believe in, just don't match up against practical human reality, which I'm stuck with, as I rub my eyes closed against the bitter truth.
11
Wearing a mask makes you more likely to touch your face.
7
@Val
If you wash your hands before and after you put the mask on and also before and after you remove the mask, that would not be a problem.
2
How? You cannot touch your nose or mouth if you are wearing a mask, although you can touch your eyes.
Perhaps you mean touching your face to adjust the mask?
3
Using a tissue or hanky won't necessarily help. If your hands have the virus on them so will the hanky or tissue when you touch it to touch your face. You're better off using your sleeve, or, breaking the habit.
1
One’s sleeve might well be contaminated with COVID-19 as well, depending on how one put the garment on, and what it touched.
2
Why doesn't any one ever mention the benefits of wearing gloves?!? An old fashioned practice that should come back.
61
If you touch your face with gloves on, same effect. Also, your phone and other inside surfaces are dirtier than many things you might touch with gloves on.
6
@NS You're still going to touch your face, perhaps less often but the gloves are going to be much dirtier than your hands (assuming you wash regularly and use hand sanitizer).
2
@CA John -- gloves are a constant reminder not to touch one's face. Additionally, the virus doesn't live as long on fabric as it does on metal or other hard surfaces.
Don't you take a glove off if you want to scratch your face? I do.
6
You might as well tell people to stop having emotions. Good luck with that.
39
Of course when you are told not to touch your face, you do it anyway. It’s the same when you talk about lice, and what do you do? You start scratching the back of your head. As has been highly suggested, stop touching your face, constantly wash your hands,( I use paper towels to dry), wash clothing in hot water if you can, wipe all items in your house including cell phone, toys, doorknobs, etc., and your car if you have one, especially the steering wheel. I am treating this like I had treated lice, keep everything super clean until this passes.
6
Our government needs to step up and 1) limit functions with over 2500 people in attendance 2) close schools in impacted states for the next 90 days 3) screen all passengers both domestically and internationally 4) recommend people do not shake hands 5) Revise labor laws to give 80 hours of sick leave and 120 of quarantine leave to ALL workers in ALL industries effectively immediately. 6) Work with the DOL so that if a manager forces a worker to come in sick they can be reported, just like when reporting other violations. 7) decontaminate planes both before and after travel 8) instruct businesses to allow people to telecommute for up to 14 days after who have traveled or will be traveling. 9) Advise colleges to cancel all study abroad programs for spring semester 10) give 30 billion for drug/vaccine tests 11) enact wartime rules allowing mass mask production 12) limit public transportation and require cities decontaminate it 2x a day.
60
And food service and health care workers must stay home when ill! I hate seeing customers *and* workers coughing at the salad bar or deli counter. I will now buy only packaged produce and clean the surfaces when possible. Also: clean your hands AFTER handling the menu, eat nothing that touches the table, don't put your utensils on the tabletop. I won't be eating out for a while anyway...too fraught.
5
Hello! It's allergy season and eyes are itching and noses are producing lots of mucus and we sneeze a lot. So, this article does not mention the practicality of using face masks. It works to prevent pollen from entering our noses and mouths. It helps to not spread our germs around which is critical in times like this. The CDC is making a big mistake for not encouraging the use of masks for those who are sick with the flu, corona virus, measles, etc. Shaking hands? Kiss, kiss on the cheeks? No, no, no. Fist bumps and bowing, hands-together Asian greeting should be accepted.
4
They ARE recommending masks for those who are sick-just not as prevention against getting sick.
5
What about the fact that face masks are already sold out, or if not, extortionately priced, across almost all of the US by this point? That makes the suggestion pretty impractical...
5
Not just pollen, but dust.
I never touch my face. But those fingerprints on my glasses much mean that someone else is doing it since it can't be me.
243
So viruses have no “brain” yet survive after, apparently, billions of years. They do not think: “I’d like to become a fire fighter when I grow up!”
Nope, no one home, by our standards, yet they persist, for the only purpose of replicating themselves at the expense of their hosts.
Kinda like the Trumps, who’ve manage to replicate despite the damage they continue to do.
68
I stopped touching my face, unless I just washed my hands, about 5 years ago and noticed a decrease in the number of colds I get.
15
So, if we're not supposed to touch our faces, why does everyone say we should stop buy masks? Aren't the masks good at helping us with that?
6
@loracle Perhaps that logic works for you. But do you know how to put them on and take them off without self-contaminating? There are specific procedures for doing both of these actions.
5
@loracle The other reason is that masks are now in incredibly short supply across the US, after lots of panic buying & stockpiling by individuals, which means that health care workers are getting really worried about whether there will be enough for people like them, who are the ones who need face masks the most of all...
9
As someone with multiple allergies who always has a slightly runny nose and itching face, there's just no chance I won't touch my 'T-zone' all the time.
18
It's a quirk of human nature that we tell people to stop doing what is habitual, knowing this is pointless. Lose weight! Exercise more! Wash your hands! Take off your shoes! Habits die hard, as does the habit of telling people to stop doing their habits.
18
What suggestions do you have when a public bathroom has hand dryers and no towels are available to close the faucet or open the bathroom door?
26
@MDH
Carry your own pack of disposable paper tissues. If you carry a backpack or shoulder bag or purse, carry a few folded paper towels from home.
18
@MDH i dunno i use an upper part of my sweater which I plan on washing with hot water later.
6
@MDH
Yes, carry your own. You can buy bulk packages and carry an adequate supply during the day. Along with hand sanitizer or wipes.
3
Then there is the issue of our phones now being extensions of our bodies. A surface that we all touch constantly yet infrequently clean.
103
@Lynne Walters Yes, but others are not touching them.
9
@TonyD
Yes, but we touch other things like doorknobs and the handles of shopping carts and THEN touch our phones...
25
@TonyD Others touch them to show a photo, etc.
1
I've been more conscious of hand washing for a few weeks now. I am also using hand sanitizer when I go out in the community. As I had a lot of sneezing and a runny nose this week due to seasonal allergies it was particularly important to me. Just being focused keeping my hands clean resulted in me doing much less touching of my face and nose, although I had not thought about my eyes. So noted on my list of habits to break.
9
@Karen I sat across from someone with what I hope was a big allergy sneeze. Tissues from small packs are too small. Please everyone use at least three tissues if small.
1
Hard not to touch one's face when you wear contacts and shave daily.
10
@John But you can wash your hands before each inserting and removing contact lenses, at least I usually do. When I wear mine, I also carry eye drops to keep them lubricated.
11
The tendency to touch your face is the REASON, I will be wearing the N-95 surgical masks I purchased months ago when things were clearly headed toward a epidemic in China. I know the CDC keeps telling us they don't work (and now they are focusing on there are not enough of them), but a surgical mask over your mouth and nose keeps the virus away from those entries even if you continue to unconsciously place hands to your face.
19
@DoctorRPP You might instead save your N95s and fashion a reusable face barrier, if that's all you're using it for.
6
@DoctorRPP Masks actually can make things worse for people who don't know how to don and doff them. And the R95s need to be fitted accurately, and, frankly, should only be used by those who are ill and coughing or their caregivers. I have seen people removing the mask by pulling down at the front. Completely useless and resulting in self-contamination. And the plain surgical masks will not filter out virus. The caliber of particle they permit to pass through is simply too large for any virus. I am an infectious diseases physician.
96
@BA, with all due respect, this is the type of medical advice that is creating public distrust. First, we have all heard that the virus is too small for mask filters to work (though I just went through an ER where those working coronavirus investigations were wearing the same 3M mask as we are discussing). Moreover, it is hypocritical to state that the mask will stop you from spreading your virus to others but will not work in the opposite direction. While true that masks don't stop something the size of a virus, they do stop particles (dust, droplet, sputum) that carry the virus. Moreover, as I stated they stop you from inadvertently going from doorknob to your nose in subconscious movements of your hands. Yes, you should avoid touching the outside of the mask but this is certainly something the commoners can learn. So until I hear more on why the medical community needs masks on but not the public...I will continue to wear mine (like much of the world's educated population across Eurasia today)
6
If I must touch my mouth, eyes, or nose, I use the inner side of my wrist and my forearm, not my fingers. I had to train myself to do this.
45
If it's really something all humans and primates do as normal, unconscious behavior, then it's going to be realy hard for anyone to eradicate it. It's probably part of non-verbal communication as well as the hypothesized self soothing.
I'm afraid we're going to see a major increase in fear of touching one's face as OCD symptom! What this article is really making clear is that it's weird NOT to touch your face.
37
Some great wisdom gives us itches, now to be defied by not scratching.
6
Touching my face is going to be an incredibly difficult habit to break... but for Coronavirus, I'll do anything.
1
"Virus uniquely evolved to take advantage of the quirks of human host."
More at 11.
26
As a retired microbiologist I know touching the face (mucous membranes of eyes, nose etc.) is a vector of spread. For many of us, however, thought that we can't do it makes ones eyes and nose itch immediately in need of a scratch.
144
As a child, my mother drummed that into my head. While I'm not perfect, I'm better than most.
And here's some more.
1. Wash your hands before preparing a meal (I know -- it seems obvious, but most people don't.)
2. Remember June Cleaver, "Boys, wash up, please. Supper is ready." Wash your hands before having a meal. Always. Even if that meal is at your desk wrapped in white deli paper and foil. It matters.
3. Wash your hands before you put away the groceries.
4. Wash your hands after you toss your load into the washing machine.
5. Not obvious -- but common sense: Wash your underwear separately from all other laundry
6. Wash kitchen linens (napkins, tablecloths, hand towels, dish towels) also, separately from all other laundry.
And need this be repeated: Wash your hands after using the bathroom -- ALWAYS, regardless of anatomy. Just do it.
142
Why wash underwear separately? Does something survive being washed?
137
@Euphemia Thompson hand washing BEFORE putting away groceries? The cans, packages are all exposed - I would definitely wash AFTER, and definitely wash off cans with hot water before opening.
42
@PWD Do both. And wipe down the groceries after you wash you hands but before you store them in the refrigerator or cabinet.
The first things to do upon returning home, whether from shopping or anything else, are to remove your shoes, then wash your hands.
48
If you have allergies, you're doomed. Although one question that is not asked in the article is how surfaces got contaminated? I mean, if everyone covers their cough and sneeze (agreed, if you are allergic, you may sneeze before you know it), and wash their hands frequently, surfaces will be less likely to be contaminated? Also, what about using a towel to close and wipe the faucet in public restrooms as we were taught during the swine flu? Hope schools and companies will reinforce the message.
8
It is estimated that 20%-30% of the general population engages in obsessive, chronic nail biting (onychophagia).
Others suffer from obsessive picking of their skin (dermatillomania) and hair (trichotillomania).
Then there's the rest of us who occasionally rub our eyes, touch our lips, nose and ears.
There is zero chance that we will control the spread of the coronavirus with self-control.
Get ready for widespread contagion.
287
@Socrates agreed in my observation, the first thing people do when they see another person is unconsciously raise their hand to their face. it is a wired neurosis, and will be very hard to stop
19
@Socrates The contagion is already here. This current one, and all the others that we've been living with for a while.
I stopped biting my nails when I had to have one lanced open to fight the infection I got in that finger. I stopped the nervous habit of touching the rough skin on my arms, that one took a bit longer. Habits can be broken.
Yet the germs in the world don't just arrive because we humans touch ourselves, They arrive on what we eat, drink, breath, and just by being alive. Learning to live with them, fighting them if they get to clingy and want to harm us a lot. Welcome to Earth Fair traveler.
15
@Socrates
So people with obsessive-compulsive disorder who are constantly washing their hands are best off.
I guess it goes to show that there is an evolutionary explanation for every behavior.
13
yes, but this is also the way we -- starting off as babies on all four -- immunize ourselves to the dangers of the always-existing microbes, viruses and bacteria of nature...
106
You have offered some good suggestions, but even more ideas about breaking the habit would be useful. Maybe wearing nitrile gloves? Developing other strategies for scratching itches on your face when they happen?
Getting in the habit of not touching your face with some concrete techniques would be good not just for COV-19 but for all viruses. Thank you for this article.
26
@LJ The hands of children who were nail biters were sometimes sprayed or dipped into a noxious-tasting liquid .... maybe something like that - something bitter? I'm eternally touching my face. I'm the worst.
2
@LJ nitrile gloves must be changed often as every time you touch a surface wearing them, they are contaminated. I use the arm of my glasses to brush a stray hair or touch an itchy spot on my face.
9
There was a time when everyone carried a clean handkerchief.
46
@Guy Walker - I still do, and if my eye, etc. itches, I pull out the hanky to rub it with. It's become automatic.
9
Wouldn't a single-use tissue be better? After you've used that handkerchief a single time, it's contaminated by whatever was on your hands when you pulled it out of your purse/pocket.
54
@mm As noted, the virus lives for a much shorter time on a porous surface such as a fabric. A single use tissue would be better, but a handkerchief isn't a bad alternative. I carry one as well.
7
Great advice which I am trying to follow. I rub or touch my eyes several times daily. Can this be a vector of infection?
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@AH Yes. Anything that's a mucous membrane is a potential vector.
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@LJ
Your hand is the vector. The mucous membrane is the entry point.
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