Coronavirus: Washing Hands and Not Touching Faces

Well, fuck. Various experts are predicting shit is going to hit the fan in select areas of the United States in the next 10 days. The rest is soon to follow. 40-70% of the world's population is expected to catch the fuck out of this virus. A lot of people are going to die. But also a lot of survivors are going to end up with permanent lung damage and other health problems. If you're reading this far, I'm hoping you're not one of the gleefully ignorant bastards proclaiming that anyone who worries about this virus is an idiot. Not just because I hope there aren't that many stupid people out there, but because I'm not donating my time for those jackasses. They need an entirely different kind of help- and that help is paid.

If you need a technical list of things to do, this is a fantastic, well-curated resource. There are some good ones out there so just pick one or seven. What I'm doing is writing about how to actually accomplish some of those things that people are having trouble doing or understanding. Like, we're supposed to wash our hands. Well, no shit Sherlock. But it turns out, there are little details that get forgotten.

Before I get into hand washing and sanitizing, there is an important thing to note. If you wash or sanitize your hands and then immediately touch something else like a door handle, you've just upped your risk again. You need to not just avoid touching your face and clean your hands, you need to touch as few objects and people as possible.

The last generic note is that COVID-19 is probably also airborne. This post only addresses transmission by touch. Health experts and the media have been trying to downplay the use of masks because they want medical professionals to have enough, but we need to be aware that just being in the presence of someone who is sick can spread the illness. So a following post will address Social Distancing.

Wash Your Hands

You undoubtedly have heard that you need to make sure you wash your hands for at least 20 seconds. You might even have picked which song to sing to make sure you're washing for long enough. But every time I've been in a public restroom lately I've noticed that the few that are actually washing for long enough still aren't doing a good job. You don't just hold your hands under the water for 20 seconds. You need to wash your fingertips, between your fingers, your palms, both sides of you hands, EVERYTHING.

Don't get me wrong, it's better than a few months ago when I counted three women using the sink next to me in the span of little ol' me washing my hands. The general public seems to think that soap is magic: pump it on then rinse it off. So it is nice to see people taking an extra few seconds.

First, people use their hands to turn off the faucet. Well you just got everyone's pre-wash germs on you again. If the faucet is not motion-activated, use a paper towel or your forearm to turn it off.

Next, people then use their hands to open the restroom door. I'm frustrated with locations about this. In my opinion it is more sanitary for doors to open OUT so you don't have to put your hands on anything, but many floor plans do not allow this (such as doors facing each other in a hallway). I've been to restaurants that had kickplates on the doors so you could open the door with your foot. Why are these not more widespread?! In the meantime, try to use a paper towel or an elbow/foot to open the door. And be considerate, if there is someone else nearby hold the door for them so only one of you needs to make contact with the door.

Sanitize Your Hands

It is critical to remind everyone: hand sanitizer is not a replacement for washing your hands. It is just to get you to your next hand washing. Hand sanitizer is not as effective, and let's face it, much harder to come by these days than soap.

Hand sanitizer is great when you get to your office and you had to touch four doors to get there, but the washroom is also four doors away. It is useful when you are out shopping and had to touch the checkout machines (though if they have restrooms it would be much more effective to wash your hands before leaving). Hand sanitizer is the shit when you forgot not to touch things and grabbed the bannister on the very public stairs. Employees who still have to work around people and do not have the luxury or logistics to wash their hands constantly need sanitizer desperately. It is a necessary tool for this pandemic.

Hand sanitizer is also critical for people with underlying health issues and now those people can't find any in stores. I'm trying not to get into cleaning supply panic buying and hoarding in this post... I mean it is totally a good idea to have hand sanitizer right now! Just please don't buy more than a high school band could use in a year! A 15-30 day supply is perfectly reasonable.

Don't Touch Your Face

Art (possibly) by Epidemiologist Kathleen Fluegel

My social media feed is full of friends learning how hard it is not to touch their faces. Rubbing their eyes, picking and blowing noses, scratching an itch, tics, and of course posing with a hand on their chins in dignified contemplation. To start, make sure you're sticking with your allergy medications like Zyrtec, Claratin, Benedryl and Ketotifen (allergy eye drops) because snow mold and other spring allergies are upon us and your face itching like an ass isn't helping.

I've been watching people and a significant portion of the face-touching is because of hair in their faces. I'm not suggesting shaving your head, but you do you. Instead, if you have long hair it will help dramatically to wear it back. Pigtails, ponytails, braids, mohawks, whatever your brand happens to be. Do not stop there. Once your hair is tied back, use gel or your preferred shellac to keep every strand in place. Gel is also useful for those with shorter hair, just to avoid feeling that errant tickle.

Even with my hair safely glued in place, I have mad allergies and cannot avoid touching my face. Between having to constantly blow my nose and apply eye drops, my hands are always groping my face holes. I've tried and discarded a few methods and come up with the One Hand Method. It is not a clever name. Choose one hand to touch the world and the other to touch, uh, yourself. (PHRASING!). I actually keep my "self" hand in a pocket as long as I can manage (ARE WE NOT DOING PHRASING?!). It works rather well, but trust me that you want to make it a habit of the same hand every time. Just like forgetting where you parked, you will NOT remember which hand is which every time you go out. It can get tricky doing more complex things like getting out an ID, so start practicing now. You could put a latex glove on your "world' hand for a while to train yourself. Just keep in mind that you will need to wash your hands afterwards because removing the glove will contaminate your other hand.

Another option is to keep a hankerchief in your pocket to use to touch your face. Via a friend's solution, she folds it up carefully so she doesn't touch the face part with her hands. You can also use disposable tissues and just use them once.

If you do not have the use of two hands, or you don't like the one-hand suggestion, I thought of another option. Use one hand to grab the outside of your shirt, and touch your face with the underside. Do not cross the streams, because if you touch the underside with your hand you'll contaminate it and ruin all your hard work. 

If you can't manage those things, it is still preferable to touch your face with your arm than your hand. Just realize that the efficacy of these methods falls as you get way from completely not touching your face. People could sneeze or cough on you, then you wipe your face on your arm. Again it could lead to contamination and ruined hard work.

It isn't like these are the only possibilities, but they are what worked for me. Maybe you always go out with another person and they are the designated "world toucher" while you do things like scratch noses :) Or perhaps you sanitize a pen and keep it hooked on your pocket and always grab the outer end and scratch yourself with the other end. Maybe a helper monkey? All of those would be obnoxiously troublesome for me, but again, you do you. If you find something that works, use it.