Hygiene usually refers to behaviors that can improve cleanliness and lead to good health, such as frequent hand washing, face washing and bathing with soap and water.
In many parts of the world, it is difficult to enforce personal hygiene etiquette due to the lack of clean water and soap. Many diseases may spread if the hands, face, or body are not properly washed at critical times.
The human body can provide a place for disease-causing bacteria and parasites to grow and reproduce. These places include the skin and the openings of the body. If people have good personal hygiene habits, bacteria and parasites are less likely to enter the body.
Good personal hygiene is very important in today’s society for health and social reasons. Keeping hands and body clean is essential to stop the development and spread of disease and infection. This simple habit not only benefits your health, as it can also help protect those around you.
Good personal hygiene habits are important for health and social reasons. It requires keeping hands, head and body clean to stop the spread of bacteria and disease. Your personal hygiene habits are good for your health and affect the lives of those around you.
Personal hygiene also has its social benefits. Since good personal hygiene routines mean taking care of your body and washing regularly, it reduces the chances of body odor, which can be embarrassing in social situations at work or school.
(1) Good personal hygiene
Good personal hygiene habits include:
- Wash your body frequently. Everyone should take a shower or bath every day if possible. However, sometimes it can be impossible, for example, when people go out camping or lack of water
- If this happens, swim or wash the whole body with a wet sponge or cloth
- Clean at least once a day. Brushing your teeth after each meal is the best way to ensure you avoid gum disease and tooth decay. Cleaning teeth after breakfast and going to bed is very important
- Wash your hair at least with soap or shampoo every week
- Wash hands with soap after going to the toilet
- Wash your hands with soap before preparing and/or eating food. During normal daily activities such as work and play, bacteria-causing diseases may touch the nails. If cells are not washed before preparing food or eating, they may enter the food
- Change to clean clothes. Dirty clothes should be cleaned with laundry soap
- Hang clothes dry in the sun. The sun’s light kills some disease-causing bacteria and parasites
- Stay away from others when coughing or sneezing and cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or hand. If this is not done, the liquid liquid containing bacteria in the nose and mouth will be spread in the air, others can breathe, or the droplets can enter the food
Tip:
- Washing the body helps protect it from disease-causing bacteria
- Cleaning teeth helps keep gums and teeth healthy.
- Washing hands after going to the toilet helps stop the spread of bacteria.
- Washing hands before preparing food helps to remove bacteria from the body.
- Washing hands before eating food helps stop bacteria from entering our bodies
- Washing clothes helps to get them rid of the bacteria that cause disease.
- Hanging clothes in the sun helps kill some of the disease-causing bacteria and parasites.
- Covering your nose and mouth when you sneeze helps stop the spread of bacteria.
Also read: The Importance of Sleep Hygiene
What does a good hygiene routine look like?
We know that a good hygiene routine is important, but what is a good starting point? We have broken down some simple steps for you and your family to follow, which will help you stay clean and fight any nasty bacteria on your body that can cause disease or bad odor.
handwashing
When considering personal hygiene, the best starting point is our hands. We are always using our hands; touching many different surfaces, saying hello to people, eating, typing at work or playing at school. Therefore, it is no surprise that our hands are one of the largest vectors of bacteria.
Ensuring that you and your family practice good hand hygiene is one of the fastest and easiest ways to prevent diseases such as cough, cold, flu, and gastroenteritis (this can all be passed on by poor hand hygiene staining or passing on). When washing hands should always be done, including:
- Before eating or preparing food
- Before picking up a baby or baby
- After using the toilet
- Cough or sneeze, or around sick people
- After dealing with animals
Dental Care
Taking care of teeth and practicing good oral hygiene will protect against gum disease, tooth decay and any annoying infections. Remember that you must always:
- Make sure you and your family brush your teeth twice a day – in the morning and before going to bed.
- Regular floss
- Store the toothbrush in a clean and dry place and replace it regularly (every three months, especially after illness)
Bathing
You should try to use warm water and soap for a shower or bathtub every day. In very hot weather, washing twice a day may even be a good idea if possible. Daily washing is an important part of personal hygiene for a variety of reasons:
- Washing with soap and warm water every day can help prevent body odor
- If you have any skin infections, such as the athlete’s feet, carefully washing and drying the affected areas every day can help with this situation
- Using shampoo and conditioner to wash your hair at least once a week can help prevent head lice, which can be very itchy and uncomfortable.
- If you are outside the city, or when you are showered in the rain, you can take a shower at home and use soap to cleanse any harmful bacteria that will cleanse your body.
Hygienic clothes
Dirt and bacteria can also accumulate on clothes. As part of your daily routine of personal hygiene, it is important to do laundry and change clothes regularly, especially if you or your family are not in a good mood.
Personal hygiene does not have to be difficult. Once you have a good hygiene routine, it quickly becomes a habit, so you set a good role model for your child and encourage them to take care of a good role model in their personal hygiene.
Also read: Personal Hygiene: Benefits, Creating Routines, in Kids and More
2) Crowd
When there are too many people in any house, the chances of getting sick are greater than the chances of being unsatisfied with the house. This is because people in overcrowded houses will be much closer to each other, so any bacteria will be more likely to spread from one to another. For example:
- Sneezing and coughing in a crowded room makes it easier to spread cold and flu bacteria
- Shared towels can spread triple-regular bacteria and other bacteria that cause eye infections (running nose or soreness)
- Sleeping in the same bed makes scum infection easier
- Overcrowding helps spread bacteria and parasites, such as sores.
Each home is designed to allow a specific number of people to live there comfortably. This number will depend on the number and size of the room, especially the bedroom, and the size of other facilities such as sewage systems and washing and cooking areas.
If the number of people living in the house is greater than the designed number, these facilities will not be properly handled. For example, people who use toilets in large quantities may mean that the septic tank is not enough to withstand and handle additional sewage loads.
For physical health and comfort, the number of people who should live in a house depends on the factors outlined below:
a) Number and size of bedrooms
While most people who live in a house permanently will have one bedroom or share one with another, other rooms are often used as bedrooms.
The number of people who should sleep in the room will depend on the amount of air available to each person. The law requires at least 13 cubic meters of air per adult and at least 10 cubic meters of air per child in the sleeping area.
b) Type and size of sewage system
Typically, a domestic septic tank system with 2 circumferential tanks can accommodate up to ten people.
c) Size and availability of other facilities
Facilities within the house may not be able to cope with all the residents’ requirements for them. For example, a hot water system may not produce enough hot water, or the refrigerated food is too large to accommodate the refrigerator.
In Indigenous communities, houses are overcrowded, for a variety of reasons, such as:
- Number of people who do not have enough homes to live in the community
- Families cannot afford their own house rent and need to live with relatives to share costs
- People visit relatives and stay for a long time
- Visitors stay so they can attend special events such as funerals
It is important that EHP remembers that overcrowding is a major environmental health issue in many communities.
Here are more personal hygiene books and related resources that can further guide you:
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