One of the major causes of illness and diseases is improper personal hygiene. Therefore, maintaining good overall hygiene is of foremost importance. Washing your hands and body regularly, cleaning the things that u come in contact with, using tissues while coughing and sneezing are a few examples of simple things that you can keep in mind in order to take care of the hygienic conditions around you.
Body odor is another issue that arises due to lack of proper hygiene. The factors that can produce body odor include pheromones and other chemicals in sweat, wastes secreted through the skin, dirty clothes etc. Overall hygiene also depends on your cultural and social surroundings. Here are a few tips on how you can maintain hygiene and take care of your health.
- Wash hands regularly: unwashed hands are carriers of germs. When they come in contact with your mouth, they cause several infections like cold, gastroenteritis etc. hands and wrists must be washed with soap and clean water. Use a clean towel to wipe your hands or you can also use a hot air dryer to dry them. Remember to wash your hands after toileting, before eating of cooking food, after coming in contact with animals and after you have been around someone who is ill.
- Good dental hygiene: is important to keep your teeth and gums healthy and to avoid bad breath. You must make it a point to brush your teeth and floss regularly. Infections of the mouth, teeth and gums cause bad breath. Mouth washes and sprays and flavored chewing gums can be a temporary solution for bad breath but you should surely consult your dentist if you have an infection.
- Clean water: it is essential to make sure that the water that you are consuming or using for cleaning purposes is clean, especially while travelling. You must keep the following points in mind:
o Make sure that you drink only bottled water to avoid contracting water borne diseases.
o Do not wash eatables like fruits in unclean water and same goes for brushing your teeth. You mustn’t brush your teeth with tap water.
o Dry your hands completely after washing and also make sure that the utensils are completely dry before using them.
- Get Help: never shy away from consulting a doctor or dentist. Always feel free to discuss hygiene and health related issues.
A few daily tips:
- Brush your teeth always, even when you are in hurry. You can even chew sugarless or mint flavored gum. Along with health benefits, this is keep you get rid of bad breath.
- Bathe everyday or every second day. Use a good shampoo once a week and condition your hair once in every two weeks. You must make sure that you rinse off all the soap, shampoo and conditioner properly.
- Make sure to always wear clean and dry clothes and under garments.
- Find a good face wash or cleanser for your skin type and wash your face to wash off the dirt and excess oil from your face.
- Use clean bedding. Oil and dead skin that is bound to accumulate on your bed can cause skin problems. You must wash your bedding once or twice a week. Also, going to bed with wet hair can cause dandruff.
Overall hygiene and cleanliness is quintessential for a healthy and germ free life. Always remember that prevention is better that cure.
