BBC - An-Najah News - Agencies - The coronavirus has drawn the world into uncertainty and anxiety. The persistent news of new cases which all effect people’s mental health.

Getting concerned with the news and frightened from being infected or transmitting the virus to your loved ones have been a distress source. So, in order to protect your mental health, do the following:

Do not read a lot of news

Reading a lot of news increases the stress and anxiety one may feel, especially if they were not good ones.

Having long hours without being exposed to news of any kinds has shown that it helps anxiety, therefore, having breaks from social media and limit the amount of time spent reading or watching unpleasing news.

Do not wash your hands excessively

Keeping your hands clean is important, however, cleaning and washing them excessively may cause un-needed skin problems, and may lower the essential bacteria on our hands.

“If you wash your hands too often, you are also removing the healthy oils and good bacteria that defend against disease,” Samer Blockmon, an internal medicine specialist at the Georgia-based Piedmont Healthcare system.

Signs you are over washing or over sanitizing are redness, pain, and having itchy skin.

You should wash your hands before having meals, during food preparations and after using the toilet, according to experts.

A study showed that people failing to wash their hands when needed caused the spread of harmful germs.