The Myth of Not Touching Your Face.

Written by TL Peters

      By now you have heard some of the advice that is being given is to not touch your face to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. You have probably either heard or read where others are quoting the CDC saying that the CDC recommends to not touch your face, even though the CDC never said that. This is a direct quote from their website: “Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.”

       Wait a minute. Did you catch what the CDC actually says? Do not touch your…eyes. That’s right. Not only can the virus enter your body through your nose and mouth, it can also enter your body through your eyes. Well isn’t that interesting. We have been hearing all of this talk to wear a mask to protect your nose and mouth, but I haven’t heard one thing about protecting our eyes. Although the narrative has been changed and they are no longer saying wearing a mask is to protect from someone else, it is to protect you from getting the virus from others. Read my article on N95 vs COVID-19

       Here is something I would like you to do. The next time you watch the news and they show a scene of personnel working at the testing centers, pay close attention to what they are wearing. You will see that they are also wearing some sort of eye protection along with a mask.

       So, IF you had the virus on your hands, based on the current and undisputed science, when you wash your hands with soap and water, properly, for at least 20 seconds, you will actually destroy the virus and then, well, rinse it down the drain. After that, you can touch your eyes, nose and mouth all that you want too. If you touch an item or surface that is contaminated with the COVID-19 virus, you will need to wash your hands again. Read my article on Cross-Contaminatin. This is why we have been told for years to practice good hygiene. WASH YOUR HANDS!!

       Okay, back to this, don’t touch your face stuff. A behavioral observation study that was conducted in 2015 at the University of New South Wales involving medical students found that they touched their faces an average of 23 times an hour. Think about that, an average of 23 times each hour.

       This is what we are being told, “a person could be infected if they had the virus on their hands and then touch their face (eyes, nose, and mouth) before washing their hands or putting a disinfectant on them.” So, as long as they don’t touch their face, everything will be okay. Well, here is the issue, there is a behavioral constant that all humans have. It is called… habits.

       A habit is an automatic neurological response that is activated by an external stimulus (trigger) which in turn begins a circular motion of behavior. This circular motion is often referred to as a “Habit Loop”. Charles Duhigg wrote about the “Habit Loop” in his book, “The Power of Habit.”

       The habit loop that Duhigg describes is a three-part process. The Trigger (Cue), the Routine (The Action) and then the Reward. Once the trigger or cue occurs, it activates a particular area of your brain – the basal ganglia – that allows your brain to go into what is otherwise known as, autopilot.

       A person touching their face is an automatic neurological response to an external stimulus – trigger or cue - that results in an established “routine”, touching your face. That ends in a “reward”, the itch, object or whatever activated the trigger or cue has been removed allowing the brain to feel good again. Completing the cycle of the Habit Loop. A habit is also a subconscious decision. That means it is performed unknowingly without conscious thought. In order for an individual to stop touching their face, they will need to begin working on developing a new habit to replace or counteract the old one. That will require them to engage in conscious thought.

       Inside of each of us there are essentially two minds. The conscious mind and the subconscious mind. When you are using your conscious mind, you are fully aware of your surroundings and your actions. However, when you are using your subconscious mind, you are not aware of either of those things. You are running on autopilot.

       Daniel Kahneman, a World renowned Psychologist who won the Nobel prize for economics in 2002 and who is the author of the best-selling book, “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, explains that 98% of our decisions are made within our subconscious mind and only 2% of our decisions are made with our conscious mind.

       So, what does this have to do with simply not touching your face or eyes, nose and mouth? When you touch our face or any part of your face, it is because of a habit that you have developed over your lifetime. It is a neurological response that you perform subconsciously. You do this, according to the study I cited earlier, on average, approximately, 23 times each hour. To simply stop is not a viable option. It would take years of extensive and closing monitored conditioning to alter this common habit. Now imagine attempting to do this with hundreds of millions of people.

       Another argument that is made for wearing an N95 or a mask, is so the person will not touch their face or any portion of it. Well for one thing, an N95 or mask will not prevent you from touching your eyes. Second, once you touch the N95 or mask with your hands – assuming they are contaminated with the virus – you have now cross-contaminated the N95 or mask with the COVID-19 virus, which can easily pass through the N95 or mask, in which case you breath in the virus.

       If you read my other articles prior to reading this one, then I will sound like a broken record. If the COVID-19 virus happens to be on your hands, what can you do? WASH YOUR HANDS!!

       Once again, this is exactly what the CDC has stated: “Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.”

       If you have not already done so, practice good hygiene. For most of my life there are many things – long before this fiasco began – that I would either avoid making direct contact with my hands, and if I did happen to make contact with a particular surface that I had reservations about, I would either go somewhere to wash my hands or use a hand sanitizer, which I normally either have in my vehicle or in a backpack that I often have with me. Other than that, I have always had very little concern.

       The reason is, I have studied and understand how the human immune system works. I would encourage you to do the same. I know that if I attempt to isolate myself from every possible germ and virus that is in existence, my immune system would become so weak that I would have to virtually live in a bubble. Our immune system was created to protect us from those germs and viruses. When you are in your home, normal housekeeping practices are sufficient. You will be at a higher risk of becoming sick from some form of bacteria that could be on a countertop in your house versus a virus.

       When you go outside of your house however, due to cross-contamination, you will need to activate your conscious mind, which will be very challenging. Remember, you make decision from your subconscious mind approximately 98% of the time. So, you will have to consciously remind yourself, and often, after you touch something, you will need to disinfect your hands before touching any part of your face.

       At this point I want to add a very important note. You will only need to wash and/or disinfect your hands prior to touching your face if you are deathly afraid of this virus. Unfortunately, millions of people do have that level of fear and since I am not sure who all will read this, I wanted to include this note.

       If you read the statistics that the Government has published, approximately 97% of the people that get the virus, recovers from the virus. If you read the current statistics from organizations that perform the scientific studies, approximately 99.9% of the people that get the virus will recover. In either case, that is an extremely high recovery rate. Which also means – and this is extremely important – the death rate is VERY low. On top of that, the vast majority that may get the virus, has very mild symptoms and for those whose symptoms are beyond mild, simply recover at home with virtually very little or zero medical intervention at all from medical professionals. Certainly, hospitals are not involved.

       Another argument that will be made for the low death rate is due to “social distancing.” I would also invite you to read my article on “The myth of social distancing.”

       I hope this article has been of some benefit to you and if nothing else it encourages you to begin doing your own research outside of what the news media and government advisors are telling you.

 As always. Take care of yourself.