Corona Daily 483: The Hand-Face Distancing

I haven’t touched my face in weeks. I miss it. – Donald Trump  

Rubbing, scratching, caressing a beard, hair flicking, nose picking, chin stroking, pulling at your lip. Locked up in the house, social distancing is easier than keeping your hand away from your face.

Researchers are freaks. No subject is taboo for them. Spontaneous Facial Self-Touches (sFST) is the subject matter of several scientific studies. Ordinary monkeys rarely touch their face. But Gorillas, Orangutans and Chimpanzees touch faces as often as humans.  

A 2015 Australian study observed a group of medical students. Each student touched his/her face 23 times per hour. 36% touched their mouth, 31% nose, 27% eyes, and 6% a combination. Another study observed 249 randomly selected individuals in Brazil and Washington. In Brazil, the subjects touched common surfaces (like door handles or lift knobs) and then touched mouth/nose 3.3 times per hour, in Washington 3.6 times/hour.

The main reason seems to be emotional. You may have seen nervous speakers taking their hands to their face. Facial self-touches are soothing, a bit like a child’s thumb sucking. One study says the soothing mechanism involves some type of sensory stimulation of skin. Touch releases a hormone called Oxytocin. This allows us to reduce or avoid tension and stress. One study found people were prone to touch their face more often while lying.

How does one stop a spontaneous action? This month, several suggestions have sprung up: wear woolly gloves, wear masks, sit on your palms, scratch your elbows when you feel like scratching your nose. There is even a website that uses your webcam to train you how not to touch your face.

Handwashing and minimizing hand-face touching is recommended as a hygienic practice. In current times, it may make a difference between life and death.

In any case, this is a good habit to develop. Surely we don’t wish to contract the Coronavirus. But we would be happy to avoid even the flu if it can be done with water, soap, and keeping our face away from our hands.

Ravi