评论
打印
It seems like this new coronavirus outbreak has turned a lot of us into germophobes. And like, for good reason!
这次新型冠状病毒爆发似乎将我们很多人都变成了细菌恐惧症患者。这是有充分理由的！
The thing is, a lot of what people are doing doesn't really help — and could take away supplies from those who actually need them.
问题是，很多人的做法并没有起到什么作用——而且可能还抢占了真正有需求的人的物资。
And by understanding what does help, and how it prevents the spread of infection,
通过了解什么有帮助以及它是如何帮助阻止感染的传播，
you're much more likely to be successful at protecting yourself as much as possible
你才能更好地尽可能保护自己
without taking things away from people who need them the most. So watch this video and also, share this with as many people as possible!
而无需将它们从最需要的人手中抢走。所以请观看本期视频，并与尽可能多地人分享！
Now, the most obvious thing you see people doing is wearing face masks — also you see people hoarding them.
现在你能看到大部分人都会戴口罩——并且人们还都在囤积口罩。
The problem is, they probably don't actually protect you from getting the virus.
问题是，它们可能并不能真正地保护你预防病毒。
Which makes sense, given that face masks were designed to prevent sick people from infecting others.
这么说也有道理，因为口罩是用来防止病人传染他人的。
They cover your mouth and nose in a way that filters most of the air you breathe out.
口罩遮住你的嘴和鼻子，过滤掉你呼出的大部分空气。
But inhaling is a different story — there are plenty of gaps between the mask and your face, which makes them pretty ineffective at keeping particles out.
但是吸入又是另一个故事了——口罩和脸颊之间有很多空隙，致使它们无法有效隔绝微粒。
Even those super-fancy N95 respirators you might have heard about have mixed results,
虽然那些超贵的N95口罩会有不同的结果，
and that's in people who undergo rigorous, yearly training to make sure they know how to use them properly.
而这适用于那些每年都经过严格训练，知道如何正确使用它们的人。
We did a whole episode actually on why face masks don't protect you from the flu a couple of years ago,
几年前，我们做过一期视频，讲的是为什么口罩不能保护你远离流感，
which you can check out if you're interested in learning more.
如果大家感兴趣可以去看看。
Now, you might have heard some health professionals saying everyone wearing masks would decrease the number of infections.
现在大家或许听一些健康专家说，人人佩戴口罩可以减少感染人数。
That's because it would prevent people who are infected but aren't really showing it from spreading their germs to the world around them.
这是因为它可以防止那些感染了病毒却没有症状的人把病毒传染给周围的人。
But, complicating all this is the fact that, in many places, there simply aren't enough medical masks to go around.
但是，更复杂的是，许多地方根本没有足够的医用口罩。
Healthcare workers and others who really need them are already low on supplies.
医护人员和其他有真实需求的人已经出现口罩短缺。
Luckily, if your goal is to protect others, you don't need a medical mask.
幸运的是，如果你的目的是保护别人，你并不需要医用口罩。
Studies show that masks made from everyday items like T-shirts can reduce the germs that you emit into the world around you.
研究表明用T恤等日常用品制成的口罩可以减少你向周围世界排放的细菌。
So if you're not clearly sick, you can use a DIY mask—at least until manufacturers have caught up with the medical demand.
如果你没有明显的症状，你可以自己制作口罩——至少在制造商能追赶上需求之前。
And there are plenty of other things that you can do to protect yourself. Like staying home, and washing your hands a lot.
保护自己还有其他很多可以做的事情，比如呆在家以及经常洗手。
That's what all the experts are recommending.
所有专家都给出了这些建议。
You know — use soap, wash for at least 20 seconds, make sure to scrub under your fingernails, stuff like that.
用肥皂洗至少20秒，确保每根手指都洗到之类的。
I have actually gone the extra mile and cut my fingernails quite short.
其实我还做了另外一件事，把指甲剪短。
In some places, you almost can't walk past a sink without seeing a sign telling you to sing "Happy Birthday" twice while washing your hands.
在一些地方，你还能看到水池旁边有一个牌子写着，洗手时，唱两遍《生日快乐》。
But maybe the best way to make sure you're washing your hands properly is to understand how it helps on a deeper level.
但或许确保你正确洗手的最好方法是在更深的层次上理解它是如何帮助你的。
Almost any surface can have virus particles — whether because a sick person sneezed near it, coughed on it, touched it, or licked it, people are weird.
几乎任何一个表面上都可能有病毒颗粒——无论是因为有患者在它附近打喷嚏、咳嗽、触摸或舔它，人都很奇怪。
If you touch that surface, and then you touch your eyes or nose or mouth, you've just exposed yourself to the virus,
如果你摸到这个表面，然后又摸了自己的眼睛、鼻子或嘴巴，那么你就将自己暴露在了病毒之中，
which cannot penetrate your skin, but can get in through what we called mucus membranes.
病毒无法渗透你的皮肤，但却可以通过粘液膜进入。
The main goal with washing your hands is to scrub germs off.
洗手的主要目的是把细菌洗掉。
Soap helps with that by making your skin slippery, so pathogens rinse away more easily.
肥皂会将你的皮肤洗得光光滑滑，这样病原体就更容易被冲洗掉。
But with certain types of germs, soap can have an added benefit: killing them.
但是对于某些类型的细菌，肥皂还有额外的好处：将它们杀死。
A lot of microbes, including coronaviruses, are surrounded by a layer of fatty molecules.
包括冠状病毒在内的很多细菌都被一层脂肪分子所包围。
Soap contains compounds that can rip those molecules apart and that destroys the virus's ability to infect you.
肥皂中含有的化合物可以将这些分子撕裂，从而破坏病毒的感染能力。
