So How Is 'Don't Touch Your Face" Going For You ;-)

As much as people say I look better with my facial hair left alone, my face gets so itchy. So shaving is really to relax my skin but generally, my face is itchy or dry. I try not to touch it but damn it is hard. I need a cone around my neck I guess.

I find it nearly impossible to keep my hands off my face. I get itches that have to be scratched, especially when shut up inside with a couple of cats who like nothing better than sleeping on my bed or crawling onto my lap.. I just wash my hands quite often, but my hands are getting quite dry as a result. We also keep a container of Lysol wipes in the car. If we do go out shopping for necessities, we wipe down the handle of the shopping cart and then wipe our hands as soon as we get back to the car with our purchases. Then as soon as we get home, we wash our hands before and after putting things away.

My face is so dang sensitive that I make a point to not touch it once my post shave routine is done. If I did even hours after the shave it would get all irritated. Really can’t stand how sensitive my skin is but maybe it’s helpful at a time like this if I avoid bring my hands to my face.

I'm in a high risk group so I take it fairly seriously. I do everything I normally do to dodge the flu or a cold, but a bit more now. I might just continue doing what I'm doing now year round. I am a bit of a germophobe anyway, the Wuhan flu just gives me an excuse.

It's not that we cant touch our faces, it's that we can't touch them with contaminated hands. Out and about I simply don't touch the face, I've done that for years now. If I have an itch or something that can't be disregarded I use something that I know isn't contaminated to prevent my hand from contacting my face while getting the job done. If that can't work I use a wipe to clean my hand before touching. Now I keep a sprayer of quaternary disenfectant* in the vehicle and this stuff will kill Wuhan Flu. That sprayer goes into the market with me. The last 2 times the wipes container at the store was empty and that's why I now bring it along. I spray the cart handle and using a dedicated cloth continue wiping the handle for a time. Most disinfectants require contact time for them to do their job that's why I continue wiping for a time. I could use a 1:5 dilution of bleach but who wants to walk around reeking of that? Too, a sprayer of Everclear or 91% isopropyl would also work; but it must be above 60% (that's 120 proof so most vodka won't work). Alcohol is flammable and that's why I don't use it.

When I get home I use a pretty good soap that actively binds things to it and removes it from the skin. It's designed specifically for heavy metals but also works great for germs (Hygenall Lead Off). I wash all exposed skin and change outer clothes. Those clothes are porous and the virus dies on porous surfaces in 3 hours, if it's warm or hot it happens sooner. Just don't shake the clothes or it gets airborne. Once I'm changed and clean I can touch my face all I want. The same quat soaked cloth I use at the supermarket gets used on hard surfaces at home, but at home we could also use bleach.

Be careful of some of the information put out by various sources. Tonight Discovery channel was stating that people should stay home and indoors. Pure BS. We can go outside. It's one of the safest places to be. Just maintain distance from strangers and rules for contact with surfaces and face touching still apply.

*It's specially formulated with a detergent. The Covid-19 virus is a DNA strand protected from degradation with a fatty outer layer. Destroy that protective fat and the DNA is exposed and ready for destruction. Soap will do it, so will time. But a detergent combined with a quat' is a double whammy. Don't add detergent to a quat' on your own, it must be formulated specifically to work together otherwise the disinfecting action will be compromised.

Your are correct about going outside not be an issue in and of itself. We have lots of families in our neighborhood that have taken advantage of some recent days with spring temperatures in the 50s to get out and walk around the block.

The problem is that we humans are social creatures who want to share our lives with other. Maintaining social separation with strangers is not adequate. That social separation need be with both strangers and friends. Since we are so accustomed to greeting friends and neighbors whom we encounter, maintaining social separation is difficult.

Here in the Chicago area there have been reports of large gatherings along the shores of Lake Michigan, in spite of the restriction mandated by our governor.
Such gatherings, even though outside, still increase the probability of virus spread. Teenagers and younger adults know that they are less likely to suffer serious symptoms from the virus. They are also accustomed to hanging out with friends. Thus, they are the ones who are more likely to ignore the social distancing recommendation. However, in doing so, they may be carriers of the virus to others in their families, including those who are at higher risk.

I agree Ray. That's where harsh words, as a minimum, come into play. One may actually need to take a stand and declare something along these lines, " I"d love to shake your hand, but for your safety and mine please stay away. We can hear each other just fine and not put ourselves at risk.". It's OK to stand up for yourself and it's OK to be safe while providing for the safety of others. If they don't understand that they aren't really friends and just random people that one lives near. I've been known to carry a tape measure and extend it to get the point across without saying a word.

Yesterday I stopped by our closest geographically and really good neighbors and friends who live 100 yards away, and we heard each other just fine from 15' away. Me on my ATV and them standing there. There was a time not long ago when we banded together against a cop killer, as were many others on the hill with us. Now those are good friends and neighbors. Yes, we all keep distance and always have and we all still know that we're friends. Don't confuse getting close and the swapping of spit in the breeze with friendship. One doesn't need to put oneself in danger to have good friends.

I go to the hospital regularly and I'm at high risk. The nurses there were putting me at risk by not staying away and for useless crap. I told them a number of times to stay away and had them arguing with me. I think the next time I go there I'm going to carry my cane and point out to them what 6' is and inform them that I don't want to be endangered by them, but if they want to endanger themselves to go ahead and continue, just not with me. I think the first part of the Hippocratic oath goes something like," First do no harm.". They forget that. They don't like me reminding them, but it's my health that they endanger and mine to protect.

The Canadian test is - If I can hit you with a hockey stick, and I will, then you are too close.  There are varying degrees of acceptance of the social distancing requirement and its not just younger people who seem unconcerned.  My 91 year old father thinks it all BS and is taking no precautions whatsoever.  He went to the grocery store yesterday to pick up a few things.  First, we've been fighting with him about driving and second, there's a pandemic going on.  I'm not all that concerned if he wants to cash in his chips - 91 is a pretty ripe old age but I am concerned that he will be a likely vector of transmission to the rest of us.  I guess I have to social distance him.

The Canadian test is - If I can hit you with a hockey stick, and I will, then you are too close.  There are varying degrees of acceptance of the social distancing requirement and its not just younger people who seem unconcerned.  My 91 year old father thinks it all BS and is taking no precautions whatsoever.  He went to the grocery store yesterday to pick up a few things.  First, we've been fighting with him about driving and second, there's a pandemic going on.  I'm not all that concerned if he wants to cash in his chips - 91 is a pretty ripe old age but I am concerned that he will be a likely vector of transmission to the rest of us.  I guess I have to social distance him.

Haha.  Struggles.  When my dad got old I finally had to just accept he'd been in charge of his life for more decades than I had been living.  His choices were often very different than mine. I pushed where the safety of others was involved (like driving) but let him decide for,himself after that.  Wish I had known of the "hockey stick" distance rule......

I'll be sure to wait to shave till I return from going out.. I too like the post shave, face feeling action

I haven't left my house in over a week, and my wife is OCD, so trust me when I say my living environment is sterile.  My ER doc friend sent me this when I asked him about going out:

So first, the goal is to make the inside of your house a contaminant free zone so that you don't go crazy having to wipe down every surface every day, etc... Basically, keep the contamination outside.  And this is for when you come back from a public place (work, grocery shopping, etc...).  If you just go out for a walk and have kept physical distance from people and haven't touched anything, just take off your shoes before you go in the house you don't have to take all these steps (other than making sure to disinfect your hands when you get into the house). 

1) Assume that where you've been has been contaminated 

2) Have a "decontamination zone" that is separate from the rest of your house.  This could be a mud room, the entry foyer, the garage, etc... I live in a split level condo in the city, so for me it was just the landing just inside our doorway.  Have disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer, and a plastic bag in this area. If you've come from your car, go wipe down the steering wheel, the seat, the door handle, etc... anywhere you could have touched and thus contaminated your car.   Wipe down your doorknob.

3) Take off your shoes and leave them in the decontamination zone so you don't track anything into the house. Take off your clothes and place them in the bag.  Take the bag to your laundry room and dump the clothes in the washer.  You don't have to wash them right away.  Run the washer when it gets full as you normally would.   Sanitize your hands prior to heading into the main (contaminant free) part of your house. 

4) Head right into the shower, making sure to give your hair a good wash.  

5) If you've gone grocery shopping, wipe down boxes, cans, packages, etc...with a disinfectant wipe prior to bringing them into your contaminant free house. Again, the assumption here is that every package you are bringing into your house has been contaminated.    Might sound like a pain, but it really doesn't take long.  Plus you should be getting at least a week's worth of supplies so that you're not constantly running out, so you really will only need to do this once a week at most.  

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Probably overkill but ya never know.