好英语网做好预防，从停止摸脸开始
Now that we know that it’s bad to touch our faces, how do we break a habit that most of us didn’t know we had?
现在我们知道摸自己的脸是不好的了。要如何改变这个大多数人都不知道自己有的坏习惯呢？
Throughout the day, we touch a lot of surfaces — doorknobs, elevator buttons, subway poles — where viruses, including the new coronavirus, can linger for days. From there, microbes can piggyback on our fingertips to our noses, mouths or eyes, all of which are entry portals for the coronavirus, as well as other viruses and germs.
从早到晚，我们会接触很多表面，比如门把手、电梯按钮、地铁栏杆等。病毒，包括新冠病毒，可以在这些地方存活数天。微生物可以从那些被触摸过的表面通过我们的指尖进入鼻子、嘴巴或眼睛——这些身体部位都是新冠病毒以及其他病毒和细菌的入口。
It took the coronavirus outbreak to make many of us aware of just how often we reach for our faces.
新冠病毒暴发后，我们才意识到我们是多么频繁地触摸自己的脸。
“It’s a very difficult habit to break because we all do it, and oftentimes we’re not even aware we’re doing it,” said Dr. Vanessa Raabe, assistant professor in the department of medicine at NYU Langone Health.
“改变这个习惯非常困难。因为我们都会这样做，而且通常我们甚至意识不到自己在这样做，”纽约大学朗格尼健康中心(NYU Langone Health)医学系助理教授凡妮莎·拉贝(Vanessa Raabe)说。
Here are four tricks to help you stop.
以下是可以帮助你停止摸脸的四个技巧。
Keep a box of tissues handy.
手边准备一盒纸巾
When you feel the urge to scratch an itch, rub your nose or adjust your glasses, grab a tissue and use that instead of your fingers.
当你想挠痒痒、擦鼻子或者调整眼镜的时候，用纸巾而不是直接使用手指。
If you feel you have to sneeze, but don’t have a tissue handy, aim your sneeze into your elbow rather than your hand, health experts say. Sneezing into your hand makes it more likely that you will pass your germs on to other people or objects around you.
健康专家表示，如果你觉得你必须要打喷嚏，但是手边没有纸巾，那么要把喷嚏对准你的肘部，而不是你的手。对着手打喷嚏会增加细菌传播给周围人或物体的可能性。
Identify triggers.
认识到是什么让你想摸脸
Dr. Raabe of NYU Langone Health offered this suggestion: “Be cognizant of triggers.”
纽约大学朗格尼健康中心的拉贝博士提出了这个建议：“认识到是什么触发了摸脸。”
Pause throughout the day to notice compulsive behavior. Once you’re more aware of when and why you’re touching your face, addressing the root cause can be an effective solution. If you find yourself rubbing your eyes because they are dry, use moisturizing drops. If you are using your hand as a chin rest or to adjust your hair, be aware of that, Dr. Raabe said.
为了意识到这种难以控制的行为，你可以适时地暂停动作。一旦知道你何时、以及为何要触摸脸部，处理这个根源就是有效的解决方案。如果你发现眼睛干涩时会揉眼睛，那么请使用眼药水；如果你正在用手托住下巴或调整头发，要意识到这一点，拉贝博士说道。
Dr. Justin Ko, a clinical associate professor of dermatology at Stanford Health, said he tells patients who wear contact lenses to consider wearing glasses instead to discourage them from rubbing their eyes. “Similarly,” he said, “while masks are not very effective for preventing virus transmission, they can be quite helpful for providing a physical barrier against touching the nose or mouth.”
斯坦福健康中心(Stanford Health)皮肤病学临床副教授贾斯汀·柯(Justin Ko)博士表示，他会建议戴隐形眼镜的病人考虑戴框镜，而不是直接告诉他们别揉眼睛。“同样，”他说，“虽然口罩对于防止病毒传播不是非常有效，但它们在提供防止触碰鼻子或嘴巴的物理屏障方面非常有帮助。”
Putting Post-it notes around the house, or on your desktop, could also serve as helpful reminders.
把便利贴粘在家中或桌面上，也能起到提醒的作用。
Keep your hands busy.
让你的手有事做
Keeping your hands occupied with a stress ball or other object can reduce instances of touching your face and minimize triggers, doctors said. Of course, don’t forget to regularly clean and sanitize that object. If you don’t have a stress ball to squeeze, mail to sort or laundry to fold, you could lace your hands together in your lap or find another way to actively engage them so you are not bringing them to your face as much.
医生说，让你的手被压力球或其他物体占用，这可以减少触摸脸部的次数，也能最大限度地减少触发事件。当然，不要忘记定期消毒和清洁那些物体。如果你没有压力球可玩，没有邮件要分类，没有衣服要叠，你可以把双手固定在腿上，或者找到另一种积极用手的方式，这样你就不会像以往那样常摸脸了。
Using scented soap or lotion could also help, said Zach Sikora, a clinical psychologist at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. When you bring your hands close to your face, that smell could make you more aware of your actions.
芝加哥西北医学院的临床心理学家扎克·西科拉(Zach Sikora)说，使用香皂或护手霜也有帮助。当你把手靠近脸部时，这种香气可以使你更加意识到你的行为。
We know it’s hard. President Trump has struggled with it, too. “I haven’t touched my face in weeks! Been weeks,” Mr. Trump said Wednesday at a meeting of airline chief executives. “I miss it.”
我们知道这很困难。特朗普总统也为此感到挣扎。“我几周都没有碰过脸！几周了，”特朗普周三在一个航空公司首席执行官会议上说。“我想念那种感觉。”
Chill.
放轻松
“My general advice would be that people should try to reduce their stress over all, as opposed to obsessively worrying about what they touch,” said Stew Shankman, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University. “Stress impacts your immune system, and the more you’re stressed, the more you’re reducing your body’s ability to fight off infections.”
“我的一般性建议是，人们应该尝试减轻各方面的压力，而不是过分地担心自己摸了哪儿，”西北大学(Northwestern University)精神病学与行为科学教授斯图尔·尚克曼(Stew Shankman)说。“压力会影响你的免疫系统，压力越大，身体抵抗感染的能力就越弱。”
He said he worried about the effects of using ritualistic behaviors, like snapping a rubber band on your wrist each time you touch your face. It is more effective, he said, to try to be in the present moment, practicing meditation and mindfulness exercises and focusing on your breathing.
他说，他担心使用仪式性行为（例如每次摸脸时都会用系在手腕上的橡皮筋弹自己一下）的后果。尝试专注当下，进行冥想和正念练习，专注于呼吸，这些比仪式性行为更有效。
As long as your hands are clean, touching your face isn’t catastrophic. “It’s a natural behavior we all do,” Dr. Shankman said. “It’s not the end of the world.”
只要你的手是干净的，触摸脸部就不会造成灾难性的后果。“这是我们所有人的自然行为，”尚克曼博士说。“这并不是世界末日。”