It’s really physical distancing but social distancing has caught on, so we shall all continue to say, “you remember what we had was to do in the time of Covid19?”
The original studies said that three feet away was good enough to reduce your chance of contracting Covid19. Then some insecure scientist must have said, “well, if 3 feet is good, 6 feet must be better” and since 6 feet plays into the morbid phrase, “6 feet away or 6 feet down”, there we are.
Part of physical distancing means we can no longer touch each other. But island people like to be touched. To some extent, touching is a cultural thing. There are people who think that touching is “low class”. The hoity toity don’t touch each other much, or so they say. The antics of the British Royal family have probably put paid to that theory.
The truth is that all humans like to touch and be touched. When we are pleased and happy we hug. When there is dispair and sadness, we look for someone to hug. If there is no one around we hug ourselves. One of the desperately sad things about the Covid-19 lockdown is the inability to embrace each other, even to shake hands. Elbow bounces are so cold. There are few touch receptors in elbows.
In medical schools one is taught to shake the hand of the person you are being allowed to examine. This act establishes a certain level of intimacy between doctor and patient. In a sense the patient gives the doctor permission to touch him or her. It is an opening to further touching i.e. the physical examination. They say you can also diagnose medical conditions with a hand shake. I never have.
Touch is the earliest sense to develop in the fetus. Touch the cheek of a newborn and see how the baby immediately reacts. Babies love to be touched. Touch, not food, binds the infant to the caregiver. Babies who are fed and then put down do not attach as securely to the mother. Babies can thrive without vision, without hearing and without smell but not without touching.
Premature infants who are kept in constant touch with their mothers, called “kangaroo” care or “skin to skin” care, do better than those kept isolated in an incubator. Their hearts beat slower and stronger, the oxygen content of their blood is higher, they gain weight faster and go home sooner.
One of the signs to look for when examining a four month old baby is the “foot on your belly” sign. If you bend over a four month old who is lying on its back, and talk to them, they like to push both feet into your abdomen and talk back. These kids are accustomed to close, intimate contact with their parents and behave in the same way with any friendly adult. Beware the child who does not want to be touched at age four months.
If human children are not hugged and kissed every day, they do not develop properly. In the early part of the last century, paediatricians introduced a rule in orphanages and hospital wards. Every child had to be picked up, carried around and mothered several times a day. It was common to see, on old time paediatric wards, a rocking chair, used by the most comfortable looking nursing assistant to rock and hold babies, especially those who were not thriving. Sick children do better when their mummy is around to hold them.
Twenty years ago, after the fall of the communist dictarship, children were found in Roumanian orphanages, who had become emotionally retarded, because they had been touch-starved. Apart from being fed, they had been left alone in a crib without companionship. They became living zombies. Leaving a baby for hours at a time in front of a TV set is not a good idea. Children crave human contact. It’s stimulates their minds.
All touches are not healthful. The idea of a “bad touch” should be taught to children. A ‘bad touch” is when the child feels uncomfortable with the touch. It is considered a warning sign of sexual abuse. Children are remarkably sensitive to “bad touches”, as we all are, proof that our sensitivity to touch does not wither with age.
Loving touch releases powerful hormones into our brains. Among the most influential are endorphins, the body’s natural pain killers. Touch raises the level of serotonin, relieving depression. Touch conteracts the release of stress hormones, like cortisol. Touch switches on growth hormone and makes children grow. And it provokes the release of the love hormone, oxytocin. Touch then is not only an expression of love, it also stimulates feelings of love.
Life is not about living alone, it’s about living together. Since, according to our MoH, there is no Covid-19 spread in our communities, if only for our emotional health, we may need to start thinking about a little more physical contact.