Ever since Covid-19 and the warnings not to touch your face, I’ve been shocked to discover how often I find my fingers wandering to my nose, my eyes, my mouth and my cheek. A 2015 study in the American Journal of Infection Control discovered that we touch our faces approximately 20 times an hour. I’m a nervous, fidgety person, so I chew my fingers and play with my hair. Compulsively. All the time. These are old self-soothing habits, and they are dying hard during the pandemic, but I am trying. Part of what drew my attention to the dangers of this habit, was reading a newsletter by the author, Susan Purvis. In it Susan talks about taking a wilderness medicine course where the instructor made her do ten push-ups every time she touched her face.
I met Susan at the 15th Annual San Miguel Writers Literary Festival in Mexico this past winter. She has a wonderful inspirational book called, Go Find: My Journey to Find the Lost and Myself. Her memoir won the Nautilus Silver Award and has garnered great reviews. It’s a unique story about how she finds herself through training a spirited search and rescue dog named Tasha. I loved hanging out with Susan at the festival, she had great energy. She was open and friendly and enthusiastic and had great stories. I loved her story about what cured her itchy fingers… I think you will love her blog and the message in her book so I wanted to feature her here. Check out the links below, and don't touch your face!
How Touching Your Face Can Spread Viruses
Go Find video: https://www.blackstonepublishing.com/go-find-susan-purvis