Wearing masks protects us from COVID-19. It also highlights the power of our eyes
When taking a vote with a group of people, if more people say yes, the announcement is: “The ayes have it.” While we are dealing with this present crisis of the COVID-19 virus, I would like to propose the announcement: “The eyes have it.”
When you wear a mask you speak with your eyes.
Some people are still wondering if they should wear a mask. The answer is yes, you should be wearing a mask. Jeremy Howard, a research scientist at the University of San Francisco who specializes in medical data analytics has written, “Suggesting people not wear masks is like suggesting people shouldn’t have worn condoms at the height of the HIV crisis. It’s basically encouraging people to engage in harmful behavior.”
This really is this serious. Check the CDC website for more information on face masks.
We at the hospital are wearing masks. We and everyone entering the hospital are given a face mask before walking through our doors. I miss seeing full faces and smiles, but I know it is for the best. This is a historic time where we are coming together not just for ourselves but for our families and people we don’t even know. It is a time where the world is experiencing a solidarity in slowing the advancement of people becoming sick by following guidelines of staying home, washing hands and wearing masks.
One of the beautiful things I am experiencing with all this face mask wearing is how I am becoming more and more sensitive to how we express emotions with our eyes.
There have been lots of studies on the power of communicating with our eyes. Most of them are about how we communicate love with our eyes. But our eyes not only communicate love, they also communicate respect, threat, interest, honesty, intimacy, pain, fear, joy and encouragement.
Our eyes are one of the most expressive parts of our body. Our eyes help us to consciously, and biologically communicate with others nonverbally. Our six basic emotions, sadness, disgust, anger, joy, fear and surprise as well as curiosity, interest, boredom are communicated through our eyes.
Maybe this time of wearing masks is giving all of us an opportunity to learn more about how amazing our eyes are in communicating. Maybe, this is a time when we can learn to appreciate how powerful it is to look into someone’s eyes, and have an understanding on how they are coping.
The eyes have it.
Katie Powers, R.N., is a board-certified lactation consultant and perinatal educator at Manatee Memorial Hospital’s Family BirthPlace. Her column appears every other week in Healthy Living in the Bradenton Herald. Contact her at katie.powers@mmhhs.com.