A Teen Inventor Created a Watch to Remind You Not to Touch Your Face Because Common Sense Isn’t Enough

By now, you know that there are simple ways to lower your risk of getting infected with COVID-19. The obvious one is wearing a mask. If you don’t do anything else, wearing a mask when you go out in public can lower your risk of getting the virus substantially. It’s a no-brainer. Other ways include washing your hands, using hand sanitizer, and not touching your face. But, for many of us, keeping our fingers away from our face is easier said than done. We don’t even think about the number of times we touch our nose, eyes, and mouth on a daily basis. Plus, as soon we decide not to touch our face we feel a dozen different itchy spots that, if they’re not scratched, feel like they will eventually drive us insane. A teen inventor in England understood just how hard our struggle is, that’s why he invented an ingenious watch designed to keep our roving fingers away from our faces.

Max Melia of Bristol, England, created a watch that warns wearers when their fingers are about to come in contact with their faces. But, Melia didn’t just design the watch to make random strangers safe from the virus. He watched as both of his parents contracted COVID-19. He got a firsthand look at just how terrible the pandemic is and decided that he needed to do something about it.

The watch, called Vybpro, actually wasn’t invented for the COVID-19 outbreak. Melia and his mother Natalie came up with the idea several years ago to stop the spread of the flu. But, it took the recent pandemic to actually create it.

It was a family affair as his father Richard helped him with the concept and research when the pandemic first began. Since then, the family worked with a product designer to create the prototype of the watch that beeps to warn the wearer when their hand is close to their face.

He’s currently working on crowdfunding to start production on the watches. He hopes to have them available by the fall. If you don’t realize that you shouldn’t be picking your nose or rubbing your eyes after going out into public by then, you probably should invest in a watch and have your IQ tested.

Photo: Westend61 (Getty Images)

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