Coronavirus prevention tips: How to stop touching your face

Open in app

Get started

Anyone can publish on Medium per our Policies, but we don’t fact-check every story. For more info about the coronavirus, see cdc.gov.

Coronavirus prevention tips: How to stop touching your face

Julia Markov Follow Mar 11 · 3 min read

Don’t touch your face!

As the novel coronavirus continues to spread in the U.S., with cases surpassing 1,000 as of Tuesday evening, doctors and health care professionals are reminding ever yone to keep their hands away from their faces. More specifically, avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth could be a key to staying healthy, as “touching the mucous membranes on your face with your dirty hands allows germs that cause

respirator y infections to enter the body,” says the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

CORONAVIRUS: W HAT YOU NEED TO KNOW But keeping your hands off your face is easier said than done: One study found that people touch their face some 23 times an hour on average. And last week, one California health official briefing on coronavirus told Santa Clara County residents to avoid touching their faces to prevent contracting the novel coronavirus — but licked her finger moments later to turn the page in her notes. The moment quickly went viral.

“Make it a habit to stop touching your face. Although it is not a substitute for good hand hygiene, it can help protect you against coronavirus and other respirator y infections. Most people find it ver y challenging to stop touching their faces,” Dr. William Schaffner, the medical director for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), told Fox News.

While it may seem impossible, Schaffner offered a few tips to help, which you can read below.

WATCH THE VIDEO TO KNOW MORE

Use alarms and sticky notes Do you use reminders to help complete tasks on your to-do list? Tr y the same concept to remind yourself to not touch your face, said Schaffner.

“Tr y using reminders, such as an alarm on your cell phone or sticky notes on your desk or refrigerator,” he said.

Tie a ribbon to your finger In addition to alarms and sticky notes, Schaffner also suggested putting a ribbon or piece of tape on your finger as a way to stop yourself.

“Put a ribbon or tape on your finger to make yourself more aware when you do touch your face,” he said.

Scented lotion could also be of use, as the smell “could make you more aware of your actions,” Zach Sikora, a clinical psychologist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago,

told the New York Times.

Keep your hands busy “Tr y sitting on your hands or folding them in your lap when you are in a meeting or watching T V,” he suggested.

Using a stress ball or a fidget toy could keep your hands busy and ultimately off your face — but don’t forget to clean the object frequently, experts also suggested to the outlet.

Don’t forget to wash your hands CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE “Most importantly, wash your hands frequently and thoroughly,” Schaffner reminded. “Cough or sneeze into your sleeve or elbow — or better yet, into a tissue that you throw away. Stay home when you are sick, and avoid others who are sick to minimize the chance of spreading germs.”

But are you washing your hands properly? Read here for a look at the proper handwashing protocol and other ways to protect yourself from there virus here.

. . .

Originally published at https://www.foxnews.com on March 11, 2020.

Coronavirus

Corona

Covid 19

WRIT T EN BY

Julia Markov Follow

Coronavirus Update

Pandemic

About

Help

Legal