How to train not to touch your face

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Coronavirus: The keys to prepare and avoid confusion 6:33

(CNN) - We wash our hands, we stay at home and we are two meters away from other people when we need to go out. What else can we do to limit the spread of covid-19?

Public health experts say not enough is being done to avoid contact with the face, something that could make a big difference in the transmission of the coronavirus.

The challenge, says Susan Michie, director of the Center for Behavior Change at University College London, is as simple as it is frustrating.

It is much, much more difficult not to do something than to do it.

"You wash your hands, you keep a distance of 2 meters, but not touch your face? It's much more difficult, "says Michie.

• Men wash their hands less often than women, and that's more important than ever

We touch our faces for many reasons: to get ready, to make gestures (as with the classic gesture of putting the palm of the hand to the forehead) and to scratch ourselves. It can even be relaxing in times of stress. According to a study, people touch their faces about 23 times an hour.

To overcome these entrenched habits, Michie recommends making a conscious effort to keep your hands below shoulder level at all times and to train yourself to resist the urge to touch your face.

Why touch your face?

The face, specifically what doctors call the T-zone (eyes, nose, and mouth), is a key transmission route for the new coronavirus. It can be spread through droplets that blow out into the air and contaminate surfaces and objects such as cell phones, car keys, door handles, and elevators.

If you touch the mucous membranes of the nostrils, mouth, and eyes after touching infected surfaces and objects, what scientists call fomites, you can become infected.

“If you never touch your face, it wouldn't matter if you don't wash your hands. Your hands could be as dirty or contaminated as you want, "says Robert West, professor of health psychology at University College London.

“The only reason it is important is because eventually your hands will come into contact with a mucous membrane. Mucous membranes are key ... they act as the pathway to the body. "

Unlike, for example, measles, most of the time you cannot get covid-19 simply because you are in the same room as someone who is infected.

"The fact that the virus is primarily droplet-based and that it survives a long time on the surface means that these fomites will be a really important transmission route," West said. "We need more awareness of hands and actions that are incompatible with touching your face."

While it's especially important not to touch your face when you're away, West said the best approach to breaking the habit would be to practice not doing it in general, even when you're at home and washing your hands.

One option? Head nets

So what exactly can we do to stop touching our faces?

Floating Doctors, a medical aid group in the United States, has a novel suggestion that stems from the experience of working in rural communities in Central America. It is recommended that people wear a head net when they go out, such as those used to protect themselves from mosquito bites, or that they might see in a beekeeper.

"They are totally comfortable and can be seen very well," said Dr. Ben LaBrot, founder of Floating Doctors and assistant clinical professor of medical education at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. "You wear it on your hat."

"The mind is very aware of the barrier, so you won't even raise your arm," he said, adding that headbands are available in most places and are inexpensive.

"This is a small, individual act that can prevent you from getting sick or from becoming infected," he added.

West said this type of physical barrier could be quite effective.

"There is research on how to control micro-habits, things that are done without really thinking about it," West said. "You take away the opportunity to do it."

Similarly, West said wearing a face mask could help people stop touching their mouth and nose, although there was a risk that the act of putting the mask on and off could cause contamination.

Counteract habits and mindfulness

Another strategy that West recommended was to create a "counter-habit." "The trigger may make you notice that your hand is moving towards your face. One obvious thing is to deflect it and scratch the back of its head, redirect it. "Some people have contacted me to say they put something in their hands to make it more conscious, like a scent," West continued. " What you are trying to do is bring the act to consciousness. "

The expert said that "the hardest bone to crack" is facial itching. “The itch has evolved for us to scratch ourselves. Historically, ticks or other insects have landed on our faces and buried in our skin; This would have been quite dangerous for us. "

When I get itchy, West said, “I notice it. I don't fight, but I don't give up, so to speak. You notice it but you don't have to act accordingly. ”

West said he was "amazed" that more was being done to encourage people not to touch their faces given the critical role behavior plays in spreading the virus.

"If you have a big problem, (people think) you need a big solution," he said. "Touching the face [seems to be] something so trivial. It's almost silly, and it just doesn't seem right that giving up touching your face could make a big difference.

"That's my hypothesis about why people don't take it seriously, because if you look at the logic and the route of infection, it's clearly critical."

West said we had to get to the point where if someone touched their face in public it should provoke a reaction of disgust.

"We have to get into our heads that touching our faces isn't even something you can do. It would be like pulling your pants down in public. ”