Will personal hygiene habits fall by the wayside once COVID-19 eases?

In the months leading up to the coronavirus outbreak in New York City, Jim Carroll estimates he had contact with hundreds of strangers in his job as a Manhattan waiter.

Yet he never came down with the virus.

Carroll attributes this to his ultra-zealous hygiene habits pre-COVID-19.

"Having to be in a restaurant, I've always been extremely aware of the importance of hygiene," said Carroll, a Westchester County native. "The constant handling of glasses, silverware and plates; even menus and wine lists turned me into a bona fide compulsory hand-washer year round."

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People around the world have been heeding the same advice for months: Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds. Use hand sanitizer. Wear a mask. Don't shake hands. Cough into a tissue or sleeve. Keep six feet of distance from others.

However, once the coronavirus pandemic has eased, will we continue these recommendations or fall back into old habits?

"My husband and I were talking about this just last night," said Patrice Lestrange Mack, the director of communications for the American Cancer Society. "The hope that this leads to a culture shift of greater focus of washing hands more often; and the personal responsibility of staying home if you have a cough or cold. These small efforts could parlay to the decrease in spreading many other illnesses after the coronavirus."

Like Carroll, Jen Daniele describes herself as a germophobe even before the virus took hold. She doesn’t see her hygiene habits changing much from what she has already been doing for years.

“I’m just a lot more paranoid about it now,” said the Poughkeepsie resident. She said the biggest change is that she probably won’t get too close to people for a long time. “I used to be too polite to take a step back from a close-talker,” she said. Not anymore.

In the future, Pleasantville resident Juliette Sasselin said she will stash a face mask in her purse and will probably always wear one at airports. "I usually wash my hands anyway, but I think I will plan on staying home more often the minute I have the sniffles," she said, adding, "but I still want to hug my family and close friends. That I would seriously miss."

Denise McGovern, a nurse practitioner with Nuvance Health in Dutchess County, said as the pandemic continues to ease, people will be thinking twice about shaking hands or going in for a hug. "I do think people are going to be washing their hands more and practicing social distancing. There is also going to be a cultural shift in how we perceive ourselves being sick."

For some, the question is why didn't more people practice better hygiene, pre-COVID-19?

"It's interesting; we are such a diverse country with so many different views," said Dr. Michael Zuckman, who specializes in internal medicine with White Plains Hospital Physicians Associates. "There is this dichotomy in the country. You scratch your head on why people feel differently. Many people, for whatever reason, have a lack of trust of the establishment, maybe medicine is considered to be the establishment. And yet, you are constantly trying to get people to practice preventative medicine."

Goodbye, handshake

Ray Henshaw says he will absolutely be vigilant. "But realistically it may wear off," said the Ossining resident. "When will it be appropriate to shake hands again? Hug a friend? Will we run to disinfect? How about the awkward greetings? Do I shake hands, fist bump, elbow check or simply nod?"

The handshake may be one of the first casualties in a post-coronavirus world. "Yes, we’ve been worried about handshaking forever," Dr. Paul Pottinger, an infectious disease professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, told USA Today. "This is clearly a great way for people to spread germs, including dangerous germs, from person to person. That’s always been true.” 

What will change?

Denise McGovern said she believes going forward more people will not go to work, shop or visit with loved ones and friends when they feel ill. "My patients, and the people I've been seeing, have been really responsible about protecting others and I hope that continues."

In the short run, there will be an emphasis on wearing masks and using hand sanitizer, said Zuckman, adding, "but it remains to be seen whether people will change the way we behave and live together and to keep up the practices we've all been forced to follow once COVID-19 eases.

"Americans are fiercely independent. In Asia, there has been mask-wearing for years when people are ill; there is more of an acceptance of personal responsibility."

Zuckman and McGovern both believe people will be more willing to practice wellness and preventative care. "People do not want to come into a doctor's office in a pandemic so we are really in the middle of a transformation," Zuckman said. "We will see an increase in things such as telemedicine. Today, I am doing telemedicine every day. Before COVID-19, we didn't even have a telemedicine program; we were exploring it until this came along."

Zuckman hopes corporate America will also transform its thinking when it comes to sick leave and pay.

"In order to have a big change in people taking responsibility, they have to know they are not going to get fired (if they stay home sick). Some of this is a personal choice they will have to make — to take themselves out of the system until they are better, wear the mask, and so on. But the second thing is the employers have to say, 'OK, I am not going to fire you.' "

The one thing that should not change is seeing a medical professional when necessary.

Zuckman said it is vitally important for people not to put off preventative care or visits to the doctor, especially in an emergency.

"Clearly many people are very anxious about the pandemic, and are worried — not usually about themselves — but about someone in the family, a parent or child. Or some people have underlying problems and they are afraid of an increase in interaction with medical personnel. But don't put off getting care when it's needed."

Karen Croke is the Community Content editor for lohud.com and poughkeepsiejournal.com. Reach me at kcroke1@lohud.com.

Lisa Iannucci contribute to this story.