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 am starting to also despair of MN, like you @Nicknacky

move along

@CrowdedHouseinQuarantine

It is not getting ridiculous NOW

it has been an issue since March, it is not a new phenomenon, perhaps it past you by?

So has washing your hands and hand gel... Much easier than living with broken bones.

@Forgone90

Jesus, this is precisely the reason people are too scared to do anything right now... Chances of meeting someone with covid right now are so slim and your too scare to hold a hand rail even though you could wash your hands after.... The thing I'm actually scared about is our kids growing up the be scared of every little thing because their parents are!!!

Yes.

how astute of you @Willow2017
and original indeed

Don’t do this to yourself. You’re more at risk of from falling down the stairs.

@CrowdedHouseinQuarantine

i am not sure if all here have been working throughout as I have, since one of the first comments was regarding being at home the issue is the mask wearing distorting your vision.

I have and have to use stairs several times a day its no problem.

Move along? Why should I?

I’m pointing out you are being ridiculous.

Don't stop to their level op. Just hide the thread and move on. You are just fanning the fire.

Stoop!

@CrowdedHouseinQuarantine

how astute of you *@Willow2017* and original indeed

We you were sarcastic re vovid being here since march to another postet. Just pointing out the easiest way to protect yourself are also the simplest and have been around since march too did that pass you by?

@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.

I agree. EVERYTHING has been swiftly forgotten in the face of Covid.

I'm disabled so I have to use handrails
I use my hand sanitiser regularly when touching surfaces
You could use disposable gloves if you're that worried
The important thing is to avoid touching your face

I have a bottle of hand sanitizer that is on a lanyard, it came from work but I am sure they would be available to buy. You could then sanitize your hands straight away.

Please don't put yourself at risk of falls (plus taking out anyone else who happens to be on the stairs in front of you) it is surprisingly easy to fall on the stairs especially if you can't see your feet and/or unsure which step you are on.

@CrowdedHouseinQuarantine

i have managed all this time, but it is the added mask use that disorientates me

Best not to wear the mask over your eyes

Bloody hell, @WanderingMilly. Have the prize for helping to kill the planet off really fast.

You are mad. I just don't understand what people like you are thinking. Disposable gloves all the time???? You're not a surgeon, are you??

Funnily enough this was me. Walked up some escalators the first time I wore a mask, it had definitely reduced my vision but I was carrying on as normal. I tripped up - the edge of the escalator step nicked my ankle and now I’m left with a scar for my stupidity

@lifeafter50

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'

We're OK to smile at strangers now we're masked up so no one can see them and catch the virus

I feel more clumsy for a multitude of reasons. I have a small face so it disturbs my peripheral vision. The general muffling of noise and loss of non verbal communication aggravates my auditory processing. The stale, humid air aggravates my breathing and can trigger a panic attack in minutes.
I would be using a handrail and cleansing my hands after.

The risk of a fall is considerably higher than the risk of Covid.

@CrowdedHouseinQuarantine

i am not sure if all here have been working throughout as I have, since one of the first comments was regarding being at home the issue is the mask wearing distorting your vision.

Yet, strangely, surgeons can see well enough to perform really complex operations while wearing masks.

@CrowdedHouseinQuarantine I’ve not read the thread sorry. But I have never touched rails on the underground or in shops and rarely touch Public doors with my hands. My dc do the same. I tend to balance an elbow on the underground rail if I need to. This was before Covid. I was brought up this way and also go to a lot of festivals where touching surfaces leads to sickness quite easily. My kids know how to use loo roll to open a festival Loo door!

I don’t think you are being ridiculous. So on the underground use you elbow for balance. On stairs it’s more tricky. But keep touching to a minimum. If you minimise touching you are minimising the risk. I tend to touch a hand rail with the side of my lower arm. I use a handrail at home though!

Ha! I’ve read the thread now. I am more scared of catching a stomach bug than Covid right now. People’s hygiene is terrible in general. I have had Covid though.

Masks are fine for the main vision field required for surgery - they look straight at what they are doing (we hope).

Peripheral vision is different - normal balance is based on looking straight ahead and using peripheral vision for foot placement, looking down to check foot placement also throws balance slightly off.

I don't think I've got a particularly small face but really struggle to find masks that don't push up into my eyes.

I don't know how other people walk downstairs, but when I do it I look down, not to the side, so peripheral vision isn't in use. (Surgeons also look down when operating).

If your mask is covering your eyes, you are wearing it wrong. Buy a different type or a smaller one.

Peripheral vision also applies to the downwards (and upwards) edge of the visual field. Surgeons look down using their head to focus on the operation... Using your head to look down is less good for balance!

Public hand rails have always been gross, I'm constantly amazed how people have never realised this before.
You do know that people's hands can transfer snot / poo / wee to all sorts of places ?
Just wash your hands regularly, it's what I've always done anyway .
Washing my hands and hand sanitizer probably saved my life when I travelled around India, believe me , Corona virus would have been the least of my problems!

I always hold the handrail on stairs, it’s been drummed into me by time spent in workplaces where it is rigorously enforced (visit a oil company and see how long it takes for someone to point out that you are not holding on, usually you get no further than the second step! I’ve watched so many safety briefing videos about reverse parking, holding the handrail and not walking around with uncovered hot drinks.) It’s not particularly likely that people will fall down stairs but the consequences can be dire and the tiny cost of holding on (even given the minuscule chance of there being viable virus on the handrails) gives a positive benefit. I might sanitise my hands after but honestly I would probably just wash them when I get where I’m going. I find wearing a mask stops me touching my face, which is where the risk lies, skin contact with the virus is not, as far as I know, dangerous.