State Superintendent Jennifer McCormick says that the state's superintendents are doing everything possible to keep kids safe from coronavirus. Indianapolis Star

With the number of confirmed new coronavirus cases growing asas hand sanitizer reserves are depleting, Hoosiers looking to avoid the illness are doing their best to follow the advice of medical experts.

Things like properly washing your hands and keeping your distance from people who are coughing are relatively easy to follow.

But others, like not touching your face, are proving to be much more difficult.

Hand sanitizer sits at an information booth during the 2020 Work Truck Show at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis on Thursday, March 5, 2020. (Photo: Jenna Watson/IndyStar)

"It's really, really hard. It's even hard for me. I feel likeI'm constantly fiddling with my face in different ways,"said Dr. Christopher Doehring, vice president of medical affairs for Franciscan Health. "Unfortunately, it's a best practice recommendation that flies in the face of being a human and normal human behavior."

But how literal is the advice? Are there places on your face that you can touch without putting yourself at risk? Is a pick of the nose more dangerous than a pick of the ear?

IndyStar asked Doehring to break down the no-face-touchingedict and why it's important.

Doehring said the face contains multiple pathways for infections to easily enter your body, and hands can easily become contaminated without you knowing it.

That's why the advice to keep hands clean and sanitized sits atop every health agency'slist of tips.Doehring added that this advice helps you avoid all forms of illness, not just COVID-19.

"The problem is were constantly touching surfaces and constantly exposing our hands to potential contamination. That's whywe're advising against shaking hands andwere advising to wash hands frequently and to use the right kind of sanitizer,"Doehring said. "Inevitably those things fail and you end up withcontamination.But as long as it's just on your hands you're OKuntil you touch your face, pick your nose, whatever.Then all bets are off."

It should go without saying, but that advice also goes for touching other people's faces. Please don't pick someone else's nose.

The biggest thing isto keep your fingers away from your nose, eyes and mouth. ButDoehring warns that digging in ears and fiddling with facial hair should also be avoided.

"It's kind of like ifI'm standing next to you in the baggage claim area versus I'm sittingnext to you on the plane for the last threehours," he said."I'm not touching you necessarily in either circumstance, but the fact that Isat next to you for an extended period of time isgoing to be much higher risk than if I'm just standing next to you."

So to recap, using hands to wipe the sweatfromyour eyes during an intense workout that involves you touching exercise equipment? Risky.

Facepalming like Captain Picard after a colleaguecracks a particularly bad joke at work? Risky.

Using a finger to dig out a bit of ear wax? Maybe not as riskyas putting thatfinger in your mouth, but still risky nonetheless.

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So is there a way to safely scratch my nose? Or do I have to endure this itch until the end of time?

Doehring knows there are times when touching your face is going to happen. Tending to an itch. Adjusting eyeglasses. Putting in contact lenses.

He advises coming up with ways to do those things without introducing dirty digits to your face.

Instead of using hands to wipe sweat from your brow, use your forearm, a clean towel or an article of clothing that has not come in contact with any surfaces.

Use a handkerchief to adjust eyewear, and when putting in your contacts, don't slack on the recommended hand washing and dryingregimen.

Now is probably a good time to kick those habits.

Doehringsaid COVID-19 and other viruses can live on inanimate objects long enough to put you at risk. That means sanitizing items that come in regular contact with your face like cellphones and earbuds.

During the early stages of the outbreak, posts suggesting that facial hair could put you at greater risk of coronavirus were being shared across social media platforms.

The good news is unless you're a medical professional, that soul patch and handlebar mustache combo you've been growing out can probably stay put. Facial hair can compromise the fit of respirators, Doehring said.

"As far as the general public is concerned, I don't think there's a whole lot of science behind removing facial hair to prevent coronavirus," Doehring said.

Face masks are best used by people who are already sick to prevent further spread, not as primary prevention, Doehring said.

"And truthfully we all need to be good stewards of what are going to be limited resources," Doehring said. "I know we've experienced peoplekind of pilfering stockpiles of face masks and things of that nature, and we don't have enough access capacity to be able to tolerate that.

"If you need a mask, you'll get one."

Call IndyStar reporter Justin L. Mack at 317-444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.

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Coronavirus and face touching: What you should know - IndyStar