anyone else nervous walking up and down the stairs

[CrowdedHouseinQuarantine]

it was hard before, not touching the rails, but now, wearing a mask, it is even more disorientating.
i know someone who recently fell and broke his arm in the above scenario

I think the key habit to adopt is not touching your face, rather than avoiding touching multiple surfaces.

i genuinely manage but the mask is the issue, as explained.

i think you are right @BlackberrySky

I think of you can't see because of the mask you're wearing it wrong, it is too big or you just need to move your head more.

Re the rail, the virus cannot enter your skin. As long as you don't touch your face (which you can't due to your oddly giant mask just sanitise/wash your hands at the top/bottom of the stairs.

My friend in an Asian city told me there were more accidents/deaths in Feb/March due to people improvising giant masks that interferred with their peripheral vision as they crossed the roads than deaths from virus.

@Drivingdownthe101

waste? you could say that about disposable masks?

Yes, I do say that about disposable masks.
Last years bandwagon about saving the environment has been swiftly forgotten in the face of Covid, it seems.

yes this does make me a bit

we're all walking around with resuable drinking bottles but discarding face masks will nilly
and the amount of packaging/plastic in a single covid test is unbelieveable - 3 x plastic bags, one vial, lid and the plastic packaging that is in plus the cotton swab with a plastic "handle" and a large information booklet.
Understand why - but poor environment when there are millions of them being done world wide daily.

that;s interesting @TSSDNCOP

Oh dear. By all means just fall down the stairs and hurt yourself. As long as you don't get covid...

thanks @Jrobhatch29

Take Dettol wipes with you OP...then hold one in your hand as you go up/down the stairs so that it completely covers the handrail. My sister does this (she is vulnerable and has only just started going out)...it seems a very sensible solution if you feel anxious, and it's not overly visible either, so nobody would really notice if you feel conscious.

thank you @GinWithRosie
i will try this

YANBU - over 100k people a year (mostly elderly) are seriously injured in stair falls each year with 1% being fatal:

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/790609.

Indeed my workplace has a strict policy on making sure you hold the hand rail in the office.

In short stairs are the most dangerous item in a home or office.

I assumed this was going to be a joke thread! Has surely to be a wind up! What next? Is anyone else scared to smile at a stranger in case they get nutted for 'liking at them funny'

Unless you’re elderly or infirm you should be able to walk up and down a staircase without holding onto a rail.

Having said that, the risk of catching the virus in that way is minuscule!

I wonder if there is a government spy reading these threads and going back to Johnson saying "keep going boss, you've scared them shitless!!".

@BigSandyBalls2015 not necessarily (and a bit mean!!)

I always hold on when coming down a steep, unfamiliar staircase (particular busy ones or open/winding ones such as those in shopping centres).

I have Menieres Disease which severely affects my balance in situations like this. Many people find coming down stairs disorientating for different reasons...even wearing flip-flops or high heels for example can hinder your descent!

Stop with the judgmental meanness...just because YOU can charge up and down with the ease and grace of a young gazelle, doesn’t mean that everyone else has that ability...or that they are ‘old and infirm’ ffs 🤦‍♀️

CrowdedHouseinQuartintine I’ve worked throughout, I’m in different buildings and houses everyday and it hasn’t occurred to me not to use a handrail. And to be honest, I haven’t washed or sanitised my hands straight after either.

Neither do my colleagues.

Just hold the goddam rail and stop risking an avoidable accident.

I don't touch rails in public places anyway, long before COVID was ever on the scene. Too many germs....especially escalator handles and on trains/underground. I watched a TV programme where they tested such things and the shocking results from every day things such as stair rails and so forth was awful.

It's the reason why when I go out I wear a mask and gloves. New pair of gloves for each public place, them take off inside out and discard properly. Every time. And I still sanitise. Worth all the effort if it allays fear, in my opinion.....

Worth all the effort if it allays fear, in my opinion.....

It doesn't allay fear. It's feeding it.

I've never touched any rails - stairs/seats etc on buses & tube. Long before covid. Definitely saved me a number of infections over the years. You get used to it with time.

Go slower when wearing a mask to be careful and it will become a new habit over time.

DH's work carries some risk, also contact with public. The view has always been that theoretical Covid risk for getting too closr is less of a risk to health than the very real risk of being booted in the head by an angry horse... Same basically applies to stairs, especially as a stay in A&E plus an emergency op might just be higher risk than the general stairs!

Apologies if I’m repeating the obvious. I only clicked on the thread as I thought it was about balance and I’ve noticed I’ve become quite vertiginous recently.
@CrowdedHouseinQuarantine you do know that you don’t contract cv through your skin? The handrail risk is that the virus could transmit if you then touch your mouth, nose, eyes.

ElephantLover Do you actually know anyone that’s caught an infection by touching things in public places?

Otherwise many of us would have came down with these infections over the years.

Definitely saved me a number of infections over the years

How do you know?

@ElephantLover How do you know it's saved you infections over the years? That's something you can't prove.

It's not about not touching things. It's about hygiene. The problem is the spread of germs. E.g. someone sneezing into their hand then touching a handrail. Then someone else coming along, touching the handrail then rubbing their eyes or eating with their hands (e.g. crisps, sandwhich, etc.) without washing their hands. If people would just wash their hands and/or not touch their eyes and mouths, it wouldn't be a problem.

If you do fall down stairs just be careful not to touch any surfaces on your way down.
Wouldn’t want Covid19 as well as broken bones. 😉