![[의학카페] “Don’t touch your face with your hands”](http://image.koreatimes.com/photos/LosAngeles/tag_img.jpg "[의학카페] “Don’t touch your face with your hands”")
▶ Indispensable to prevent flu infection… Wash your hands as often as possible
What’s the best way to deal with a flu outbreak? Experts have pointed out that refraining from touching your face with your hands is a great help in preventing flu infection.
In a situation where “Triple Demic” such as Corona 19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are being warned, experts have advised residents not to touch their faces with their hands to cope with disease prevention.
Dr. Ralph Gonzalez of UC San Francisco said, “The thing I want to stress most is avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth with your hands. It’s been proven that it can be done,” he explained.
A 2015 study found that people, on average, touch their faces with their hands more than 23 times an hour.
Experts said, “There are many people who habitually touch their face frequently, and it is necessary to control their habits deliberately to prevent the infection of the disease in the winter season.”
Some hand viruses can survive on the hands for several days, and people can become infected with illnesses such as influenza and RSV by touching their face with contaminated hands.
In California, the flu risk level is “high,” the second of the levels defined by the CDC, and the flu risk is very severe. California’s most recent flu test positive rate (over the past 12 days) was 14.7%, the highest over the same period in the past five years.
On the other hand, in the case of COVID-19 infection, it is transmitted through the air, so the general route of infection is to spread the virus through the sneezes and coughs of others rather than the virus on the hands.
Seok In-hee Journalist>
