從現在開始不要再揉眼睛了

Putting in contact lenses or false eyelashes, or rubbing your eyes after a long day staring at a computer screen, are things some of us do all the time. But unless you've just washed or sanitised your hands, touching your eyes is a surefire way to transfer germs into your body, and it can result in illness.

戴隱形眼鏡、假睫毛，或是長時間盯着電腦後揉眼睛，這些都是我們常做的事情。但除非你剛洗完手，否則揉眼睛肯定會將細菌轉移到你的身體中，從而導致疾病。

The eyes, like the nose, mouth and other areas of the body, have a mucus membrane, as well as other protective features like eyelashes and tears. But putting your fingers - and the germs often on them - in direct contact with your eyes compromises the membrane and may make you more vulnerable to Disease.

眼睛和鼻子、嘴巴以及身體的其它部位一樣，都有粘膜，而且還有其它的保護功能，比如睫毛和眼淚。但直接用手揉眼睛--細菌通常都依附在手上--會損害粘膜，導致你更容易生病。

"If you have touched another person's bodily fluids, or touched an object that has been coughed on, and that person has any viral or bacterial particles in them - like the adenovirus that commonly causes colds - and then touch your eyes, you may contract a viral infection in the eye that causes conjunctivitis," Dr Marita Long, a spokesperson for the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners told Coach.

"如果你碰過其他人的體液，或是碰過被別人咳嗽過的物體，而這些東西上面都有這個人的病毒或細菌顆粒--比如通常導致感冒的腺病毒--然後再揉眼睛，那你的眼睛可能會感染病毒，引起結膜炎，"澳洲皇家全科醫學院的瑪瑞塔·隆恩醫生對Coach說道。

If you do wear contact lenses or have some other reason why you need to touch your eyes, Dr Long says it's essential to wash or sanitise your hands before you do. "It is always important to wash your hands before touching your eyes."

如果你戴了隱形眼鏡或有其它的理由不得不碰眼睛時，隆恩醫生說，那在揉眼睛之前，洗手時必要的。"摸眼睛前洗手真的很重要。"

"Good hand hygiene is always important in reducing transmission of infections." While you might not think you touch your eyes very often, a 2012 study in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases found it's an unconscious habit many people have.

"在減少感染傳播方面，雙手衛生乾淨真的很重要。"雖然你可能覺得自己揉眼睛的頻率不是那麼頻繁，但2012年《臨牀感染疾病》雜誌上刊登的一項研究發現：很多人都有這個下意識習慣。

When hundreds of people in public areas and on public transport were observed, it was found the average person touches a communal surface three times an hour, and then places their hands on their face, including the eyes, even more frequently.

當研究員們在公共場合和公共交通上觀察幾百號人時，他們發現：一般人每小時會觸碰三次公共表面，然後會更頻繁地用手摸臉，包括摸眼睛。

It's just as important not to touch your mouth or nose with unwashed hands, as a virus entering the body through oral and nasal passages can quickly take hold in the body, as Dr Chris Del Mar of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners told recently Coach.

這和不洗手就不摸嘴或鼻子一樣重要，因爲通過口鼻渠道進入身體的細菌會迅速佔領整個身體，澳洲皇家全科醫學院的克里斯·戴爾·馬最近對Coach說道。

"If you touch your nose that is a way to inoculate yourself with a virus."

"如果你摸了自己的鼻子，那你就有可能給自己接種了病毒。"