I’m in the same camp. Perhaps we should touch each other’s face?

I have heard that the cheap face masks don’t work to keep you from getting the Coronavirus, but is a great reminder to not touch your face.

@chyna Yeah, but aren’t those also ones they don’t want us to buy?

Yes.

@janbb Coast to coast face touching.

Someone should invent nail polish that smells bad and tastes gross. Haha

@tinyfaery Hands across America?

This is such a good question. I don’t work in that type of health, but I do social media for the mental health division where I work, and I’ve been directed by the Department Director to share certain posts about COVID-19. It’s all very good stuff. I shared it on this thread, too.

Until this outbreak, I had never been conscious of how much I touch my face. A friend mentioned he’d read we touch our faces on average 15 times/hour. I’ve been more conscious of it when I’m on the bus. I try not to touch my face while I know I’ve got unwashed hands. Once I reach work and can wash my hands, I stop worrying about it.

But it’s funny what I think about now. I touch the most minuscule things like elevator buttons. Yesterday, I went up an elevator and then touched my eye with the same finger I used to select a button.

It’s crazy making!

I’ve decided to do the best I can, and to not worry about it too much.

And include me for the face-touching exchange.

Same. I notice it more now with the Coronavirus.

I’ve been wearing a long scarf all the time now, not because I’m cold, but to use to open doors, flick light switches, push elevator buttons, etc.

I too am a regular face toucher. It’s surprisingly hard not to.

I was in China during the SARS epidemic and, luckily, did not get infected — so I’m hoping for similar luck here.

What a clever idea!
An alternative would be to wear dress gloves. The tight fit makes them less bothersome than winter or gardening gloves, and they are more attractive than rubber gloves.

I’m thinking of getting a bracelet. Not used to wearing one so maybe it could work in getting my attention enough to pause before touching my nose, mouth and eyes which is a habit.

@Patty_Melt I’ve actually considered putting gloves on my kids. Way harder to pick your boogers with them on. Haha

If you don’t wear make-up, wearing some might help. We don’t want to smudge our mascara.

When you are at home, if you have washed your hands well, I wouldn’t worry about touching your face. Out in the world you can try not to use your hands to touch doorknobs and other objects so when you use your fingers to touch your face you are less likely to infect yourself. You can try to use your non dominant hand to touch things out in the world, so when you touch your face with your dominant had it won’t be as risky.

I don’t understand how people never thought about this sort of thing before. This past week people seem more extreme than me about germs and getting sick, it’s funny in a way.

The last ten years on fluther I must have written to the collective 50 times don’t touch your face on Q’s about flu season and trying to avoid illness.

Gloves don’t work if you touch a germy doorknob and then touch your face. It is the same as having a bare hand. Of course, you can always take of your gloves if they are germy, but when you peel them off, or put them on for that matter, if your hands are germy you just got those germs on the gloves.

With all safety precautions everyone is aware of to keep safe, a couple things you can do besides washing your hands often is have plenty of hand sanitizer to use in between washes, have a box of Clorox wipes near by, latex gloves help a lot as well but keep in mind those can pick up lots of germs you don’t want on your face either.

Just a thought. Singing or humming MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This” might help. A bit.

@mazinger Haha!

^^Someone should really fund and produce a video of him endorsing it. WHO or the CDC. Also Baby Shark?

Apparently, we’re not supposed to sing “Sweet Caroline”. :-)

@raum Thank you for that image.~

@janbb you might be onto something. If someone else touched my face every time I wanted to touch my face I’d break that habit real damn quick.

A rubberband on each hand or nail polish on your fingertips could work. In CBT, people also use trigger points to remind themselves of a new habit they want to implement. For instance, a patient who is working on replacing negative thoughts with positive affirmations might go around their house for ten minutes every morning, reminding themselves of the new goal everytime they touch a doorknob. Because there are doorknobs in most places, the goal is recalled in different situations during the day. You could do something like that.

^^ Except…we’re not supposed to be touching doorknobs!!

Touché. I mean…no. Don’t!

I’m pretty sure we can touch our own doorknobs! (Kind of glad I live alone these days.)

Following @longgone ‘s profession, I was going to suggest giving yourself a treat every time you don’t touch your face but I don’t think that works!

I don’t think I can stop touching my face. I’m just going to try to be Lady Macbeth-like about hand washing, especially after out in public.

Gah! Make up won’t work. I still rub my eyes and then I look like a raccoon.

I think I’m just going to live my life, and if I get it I get it. If I die, I die.

@tinyfaery I’ll take one of the cats and cry at your funeral. :-)

Here are some good suggestions that were posted:

If you find yourself rubbing your eyes because they are dry, use moisturizing drops. If you are using your hand as a chin rest or to adjust your hair, be aware of that. And maybe wear glasses rather than contacts right now,

Keeping your hands occupied with a stress ball or other object can reduce instances of touching your face and minimize triggers, doctors said. Of course, don’t forget to regularly clean and sanitize that object.

Using scented soap or lotion could also help, said Zach Sikora, a clinical psychologist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. When you bring your hands close to your face, that smell could make you more aware of your actions.

@janbb Hand lotion is a great idea for us smell sensitive people…good one!

Ick! Actually choosing to put fragranced hand lotion on my hands would drive me mad! I’d smell that crap every time I took a breath! But the good news is that if you’re wearing a fragrance, I’ll be 20 feet from you instead of merely six!

I have already practiced social distancing for years because so many people can’t stand their own smell, so they drench themselves with fragrances (which are actually petrochemicals) instead.

Try to start using the sides of your hand to touch your face. This skin will be rougher and make you think about oops I do not need to touch my face. I try little tricks to make myself think.

Really sharp fingernails.

Just kidding.
I definitely do NOT recommend this.