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With the increasing number of COVID-19 patients in the world, various health organizations and medical professionals are encouraging everyone to stop holding their faces. This is important because COVID-19 enters the body from the eyes, nose and mouth. But why are we advised not to touch the face area?
Although invisible, our hands are exposed to a lot of germs. Did you know that our hands harbor more than two hundred thousand germs? Therefore, avoid touching your face.
A 2015 study from APIC (Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology) states that the average person touches their face 23 times per hour.
Check out these reasons why you shouldn’t touch your face often!
1. Hands are a breeding ground for germs
The surface of the skin, especially the palms of the hands, is a favored place for germs, because there are many proteins resulting from dead skin cells and also fatty acids which are their food source for survival and reproduction.
2. Hands are very easily exposed to germs
Germs and viruses, including the virus that causes COVID-19, can stick to items around us such as cell phones, money, door handles, wallets, and so on.
The germs and viruses on these items are then transferred to our hands when we touch or handle them.
Imagine if someone with a cold covers their sneeze with their hand and then opens the door to a room. The transfer of germs or viruses occurs from the person’s hand to the doorknob, then to the other person who opens the door.
This is one of the reasons many people contract COVID-19 quickly.
3. The COVID-19 virus can enter the body through the eyes, nose and mouth. t
The main transmission of COVID-19 is through droplets of saliva when we cough or sneeze. These droplets of saliva are accidentally found anywhere and can be touched by anyone.
When our hands are accidentally exposed to the saliva droplets of a COVID-19 positive person and touch our face, the virus can easily enter our body through our eyes, nose or mouth.
4. The size of the virus is very small and easy to move places
Most viruses, including the virus that causes COVID-19, are 50-200 nanometers in size.
This size cannot be seen with the naked eye, so without realizing it, the virus has moved from our hands to our face, even into our body.
Reduce the habit of holding your face!
Now that you understand how easily the virus enters the body, you should try to eliminate the habit of holding your face before washing your hands with soap.
To reduce this habit, try doing some simple things below!
- Keep your hands busy
Bring objects that can keep your hands busy. Some use fidget spinners, squishies, stress balls as a substitute for nail biting when the person is anxious.
- Understand the anxiety triggers or habits that make you grab your face.
There’s nothing wrong with asking your friends to remind you when you’re starting to grab your face.
For some people, breaking a habit is impossible.
One way to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 is to wash your hands using soap and running water for 20 seconds. This has been proven effective in reducing germs or viruses that are exposed to our hands.
If this is not possible, you can clean your hands with a minimum of 60% alcohol-basedhand sanitizer to reduce the germs or viruses exposed on your hands.
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