22: Hygiene Habits during the Pandemics

- April 17, 2020

Q：I have done my best to disinfect and always go out with protection. What other details do I need to pay attention to?

💁Tracy：Please develop good personal hygiene habits in the following situations:

After getting home from outside, besides washing your hands, you should also wash your face and other exposed areas of the body, because they may also be exposed to virus-containing droplets. If you go out for a long time, you can take a hot bath and shower for about half an hour.

Do not get close to any wild animal.

Please build the habit of not touching your face. Whether at home or outside, do not touch your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. Wash or disinfect your hands as often as possible.

Home, offices, hotels and other places must be regularly ventilated. Ventilation requirements: 30min and twice a day.
After going back, hang your outfit in a well-ventilated place or laundry; Leave your shoes outside the door if possible.
Anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has symptoms of fever, dry cough, difficulty breathing, and fatigue, or has stayed in areas with high density of infections, please stay at home in self isolation, and monitor symptoms even if you display no symptoms.
The virus can persist in the blood for a long time and be transmitted to others through blood transfusion. Therefore, if you have fever, cough, fatigue, runny nose and other symptoms, don't donate blood and delay donating until you are completely free of the live virus.

When sneezing or coughing, please wear a mask without an exhalation valve. If you are at home or without a mask, you need to cover your mouth and nose with disposable tissues, and discard the used tissues into a designated plastic bag.
If you have no time to get tissues, please cover your mouth and nose with your elbows. Do not use your palms, because your contaminated palms will touch many places and spread the viruses and germs. Please see the picture below:

Whether or not you cover your mouth and nose with a tissue, wash your hands as soon as possible after sneezing, coughing, or blowing your nose.
If the mask is used repeatedly, please hang it in a well-ventilated outdoor place to dry after taking it home. However, when the person is outside, it is recommended to fold the mask and put it away. Do not touch the inside of the mask during the process, and then put it in a sealed bag. Do not directly put it in your pocket which could cause cross contamination.

Keep cosmetics that often touch your hands and face in a dry and ventilated place. Use disposable cotton swabs instead of your hands to apply cosmetics. If you must use your hands, please wash your hands before touching.

For menstruation, please change sanitary napkins frequently. Please wash your hands before changing sanitary napkins. Throw away the sanitary napkins promptly.
Beauty tools such as razors, nail clippers, and eyebrow trimmers are often metal or plastic products. The surface may retain viruses for a long time, and at the same time touch the hands and face. Please wipe with common disinfectants.

Do not eat or drink fermented food (yogurt, kombucha, fruit wine, etc) or ice creams unless they are made by disinfected or pasteurized ingredients. Avoid items that cannot be disinfected. Similarly, avoid homemade pickles and other preserved food unless they are fully disinfected.

If you want to drink water in a public space (office, dormitory, etc.), please bring a water cup with a cover to prevent others’ droplets from splashing into the cup.

Do not turn on the central air conditioner, if you are living with infected patients in the same household or in the same area connected by the AC duct, as it may spread viruses from other rooms to yours.
Please do not smoke outside, especially in public places with poor ventilation (including public transportation). Smoking requires taking off your mask, and you might inhale virus-containing droplets or aerosols. If you are a potentially infected person, smoking might also exhale more virus-containing droplets.

References

[1] Cascella M, Rajnik M, Cuomo A, et al. Features, evaluation and treatment coronavirus (COVID-19)[M]//StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing, 2020.
[2] Clerkin K J, Fried J A, Raikhelkar J, et al. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Cardiovascular Disease[J]. Circulation, 2020.

[3] Chang L, Yan Y, Wang L. Coronavirus disease 2019: coronaviruses and blood safety[J]. Transfusion Medicine Reviews, 2020.

Writing: Jingyi Xi; Translation: Vivian Fei; Proofreading: Xiao Luo, Suzhen Jiang, Alice Cai; Artwork: PotterW