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.

戴隐形眼镜、假睫毛，或是长时间盯着电脑后揉眼睛，这些都是我们常做的事情。但除非你刚洗完手，否则揉眼睛肯定会将细菌转移到你的身体中，从而导致疾病。

The eyes, like the nose, mouth and other areas of the body, have a mucus membrane¹, 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、嘴巴以及身体的其它部位一样，都有粘膜，而且还有其它的保护功能，比如睫毛和眼泪。但直接用手揉眼睛--细菌通常都依附在手上--会损害粘膜，导致你更容易生病。

"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 bacterial² 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 Practitioners⁴ told Coach.

"如果你碰过其他人的体液，或是碰过被别人咳嗽过的物体，而这些东西上面都有这个人的病毒或细菌颗粒--比如通常导致感冒的腺病毒--然后再揉眼睛，那你的眼睛可能会感染病毒，引起结膜炎，"澳洲皇家全科医学院的玛瑞塔·隆恩医生对Coach说道。

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."

如果你戴了隐形眼镜或有其它的理由不得不碰眼睛时，隆恩医生说，那在揉眼睛之前，洗手时必要的。"摸眼睛前洗手真的很重要。"

"Good hand hygiene⁵ 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.

"在减少感染传播方面，双手卫生干净真的很重要。"虽然你可能觉得自己揉眼睛的频率不是那么频繁，但2012年《临床感染疾病》杂志上刊登的一项研究发现：很多人都有这个下意识习惯。

When hundreds of people in public areas and on public transport were observed, it was found the average person touches a communal⁶ surface three times an hour, and then places their hands on their face, including the eyes, even more frequently.

当研究员们在公共场合和公共交通上观察几百号人时，他们发现：一般人每小时会触碰三次公共表面，然后会更频繁地用手摸脸，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 Mar³ of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners told recently Coach.

这和不洗手就不摸嘴或鼻子一样重要，因为通过口鼻渠道进入身体的细菌会迅速占领整个身体，澳洲皇家全科医学院的克里斯·戴尔·马最近对Coach说道。

"If you touch your nose that is a way to inoculate⁷ yourself with a virus."

"如果你摸了自己的鼻子，那你就有可能给自己接种了病毒。"