Just a brief pause can help you be more aware of what you’re doing with your hands,” he said. “Be mindful about your intention to keep your hands away from your face. Zachary Sikora, PsyD, a clinical psychologist at Northwestern Medicine Huntley Hospital in Huntley, Illinois, offered the following tips to avoid touching your face during the coronavirus outbreak. Alex Dimitriu, double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, in Menlo Park, California, told Healthline. It certainly helps to know when you are most vulnerable to such activities and try to stay aware, during the meeting, or phone call, or while engrossed in work,” Dr. “When actively working, people will often shake their foot, play with their hair, or in these instances, touch their faces. Almost half of the face touches involved the mouth, nose, or eyes, which are the easiest pathways for viruses and bacteria to enter our bodies.Įven medical professionals, who should know better, were found to touch their faces an average of 19 times in 2 hours while being inconsistent about observing proper hand hygiene. Researchers found they touched their faces an average of 16 times per hour.Īnother study from 2015 observed 26 medical students at a university in Australia to discover they touched their faces 23 times per hour. In one 2008 study, 10 subjects were each observed alone in an office environment for 3 hours.

Scientists researching this behavior find that people are constantly touching their faces.

Can you get high from touching acid