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- Written by Suzy Cohen Suzy Cohen
We express our emotions by touching our faces. When we’re surprised or scared, we might instinctively cover our mouths with our hands.
During moments of deep concentration or attentive listening, a hand often finds its way under our chin. This habit isn’t just random; it’s a hands-on coping mechanism that helps soothe us by engaging our senses.
Our phones play a role in this too. With the rise of smartphones and computers, face-touching behaviors have significantly increased. Most people don’t clean their phones that often, and the face-touching habit can transfer pathogens from screens to your face.
Do you touch your face or mouth a lot? What about your hair or nose?
5 Types of Face Touching
1. Mouth: Touching the mouth and nose three to five times per hour increases the risk of pathogen transmission.
2. Nose: Touching the outside of your nose or scratching it is pretty common. Surprisingly, nose picking is also common, with 91% of people admitting to it on a questionnaire.
3. Eyes: Touched one to two times per hour, which could be due to irritation or contact lenses.
4. Ears: Touched two to three times per hour, typically during stress or when adjusting accessories.
5. Hair: Frequent in individuals with long hair, occurring four to six times per hour.
You are going to start noticing yourself doing this more often! And other people, too.
Frequent face touching can lead to the transfer of pathogens, causing infections and illnesses, especially during high cold/flu season.
Why do we do it so much? When face touching becomes really excessive (and “really” can be defined differently by all of us), it may be attributed to various psychological and physiological conditions.
Psychogenic pruritus, for instance, involves itching without a physical cause and can lead to frequent scratching. People with small fiber neuropathy sometimes have what’s called neuropathic itch.
Tactile hallucinations, often associated with psychiatric disorders or substance use, create false sensations of touch, prompting individuals to rub or scratch their faces.
Then there’s dermatillomania, a condition characterized by compulsive skin picking, which can result in persistent face touching.
There is also formication, the awful sensation of feeling ants or other bugs crawling on (or under) your skin! The word “formica” means ants. This tactile hallucination is sometimes related to illicit drug use and can cause frequent touching and scratching.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) may involve compulsions that include repetitive face touching for some sufferers. I don’t want to medicalize it too much, because for some people, it’s just a matter of feeling nervous or anxious.
Understanding these behaviors is fun, and it’s crucial for those with immune systems that are compromised. Keep good hygiene practices to reduce the risk of infections, like washing hands frequently or applying hand sanitizers.
Try becoming more mindful of the frequency of face touching to help mitigate health risks if you have immune problems.
For more detailed insights into face touching and its causes, please read my longer version of this article posted on suzycohen.com.
This information is not intended to diagnose, prevent, or treat your disease. For more information about the author, visit suzycohen.com.