Not only washing your hands well is very important to prevent yourself from becoming infected by viruses, such as the coronavirus. It is also important not to touch your face. And that is quite difficult. So how do you do that?
Just notice how often you unwittingly touch your face. That happens more often than you think. And that is precisely what you should not do to unnecessarily increase the risk of becoming infected with a virus. While hand washing is a lot easier to teach yourself, it is a lot harder to unlearn touching your face.
Read also: ‘Washing hands as it should be‘
For example, a small-scale study in 2015 among 23 students looked at how often their faces were touched. On average, the face was touched 23 times per hour. 44 percent of those touches were at the mouth, nose or eyes.
Touching the face, especially close to the mucous membranes, can increase the risk of infection, because bacteria can easily enter your body through this route and infect you.
How can you avoid touching your face (unnecessarily)? We help you on your way with these tips:
First of all, it is useful to become aware of how often you touch your face. You may do this unconsciously, rubbing your eyes or touching your lips. Try to pay attention to what exactly you do when you touch your face, when you do it and ask yourself why you do it.
If you have your hands free, it is very easy to touch your face, unconsciously or not. This often happens when you watch television or read a book, for example. The way to keep your hands from going to your face is to hold something in your hands. Maybe a stress ball is an idea? Or a fidget spinner (remember that one?)
Another way to get rid of touching your face is to make it uncomfortable. For example, if you are used to leaning on your hands when you look at your laptop screen, you can wear fingerless gloves. That doesn't feel good and you quickly learn to stop touching your face at those moments (unconsciously). A study also shows that women are less likely to touch their faces when they are wearing makeup. If you often bite your nails, you can paint a bad-tasting polish on your nails to prevent you from biting again.
Remind yourself not to touch your face. For example, stick post-its on your computer screen with a text like 'Don't touch your face!' and ask your colleagues if they can point out that you are touching your face.
Touching your face may be a sign that you are nervous. To relax a bit, you can practice mindfulness, for example. Paying attention to your breathing or meditating regularly can help you relax better, so that you can better get rid of nervous traits.
Source:HuffingtonPost.com
