The importance of personal hygiene is highlighted by parents, teachers, and everyone around.
The schools and online classroom apps have especially increased awareness about personal hygiene especially after the pandemic hit the world. Excellent personal hygiene is one of the ideal ways to avoid all sorts of gastrointestinal and infectious problems such as COVID- 19, colds, fever, flu.
As emphasized by the government and other health organizations, washing one’s hands from time to time with soap can prevent you from various forms of illnesses.
Similarly, maintaining personal hygiene will help you to not become an agent for spreading various diseases to others.
Personal hygiene comprises of the following:
- Cleaning or wiping your body regularly.
- Washing one’s hands with soap and water after using the toilet.
- Brushing your teeth in the morning and right after you sleep.
- Using a tissue, handkerchief, or one’s sleeve while sneezing or coughing.
- Wash your hands thoroughly after touching stray dogs and other animals.
Importance of personal hygiene
Good personal hygiene is important because it helps to protect you and your children from gaining or spreading infectious diseases.
Some health problems which you can develop if you do not maintain good personal hygiene involves:
COVID-19 and other infectious diseases such as diarrhea, jaundice, cholera, colds, chills, fever, flu, trachoma, tooth decay, etc. So one should practice the following personal hygiene to avoid gaining such infections.
1. Bathing regularly
Try to shower every single day. Especially wash properly around your armpits, genitals, and anus. Keeping them clean will prevent all sorts of itching and irritation. Also, will kill the bacteria responsible for body odor.
Also wash your body thoroughly with soap, shower gel, etc. Soap is ideal for removing or killing all disease-causing bacteria however you should wash sensitive bodies such as genitals with plain water or soaps with lower pH levels. If there is no tap water available, simply wipe yourself with a clean wet cloth.
Also Read: 7 Tips to Strengthen the Immune System Naturally
2. Washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water
In order to avoid getting sick, wash your hands thoroughly for about 20 -30 seconds. The right procedure to wash your hands involves
- Applying sufficient soap to cover the entire surface of your hands.
- Rub your both hands gently
- Clean in between the fingers and thumbs, then move to the backside of the hands.
- If scrub is available, clean your dirty nails alongside.
- Rinse thoroughly your hands under the clean tap water.
- Dry your hands with clean tissue or towel.
- Use the tissue or towel to turn the tap off.
If water is not available. You can also use alcohol-based hand sanitizers and ensure that the product covers all the surfaces of your hands.
3. Wash your intimate areas thoroughly
Men and women should focus on thoroughly cleaning the skin and area around their genitals. We can use soap water with a moderate pH level or saltwater. Avoid perfumed soap and bathing products as they might irritate sensitive skin.
Focus on choosing the right soap or product as it can affect the pH level. Women especially during their menstruation cycle should take proper care and often change tampons or pads.
There is no ideal time limit but still one should change them after every 3-4 hours. Wash your hands thoroughly before and after changing your tampons and pads.
4. Prevent body odor
After washing nicely, apply deodorant to your armpits. Put on clean, dry, and washed clothes. Wash all dirty garments or sweaty clothes, if possible dey them under the sun as it can kill all the germs.
Also, if you feel you sweat excessively you should make an appointment to see the concerned doctor.
5. Taking proper care while preparing food
Wash your hands nicely before preparing food. This will prevent you from contaminating the food items and will also protect you from becoming sick or passing on disease-causing germs from food items, such as raw vegetables, fruits, mears, etc.
After washing them thoroughly, put them for some time in warm salt water as it can kill all the germs left on the food.
Also Read: Self Care, Health, and Skincare Tips
Conclusion
There are no specific lms portals to monitor the rate at which these personal hygiene protocols are practiced. However, we should all work as a community to increase our personal hygiene in order to combat the virus.
