PERSONAL HYGIENE: 8 HYGIENE HABITS IN CHILDREN AND ADULTS - GEOGRAFÍA - 2024

The grooming could be defined as self cleaning to prevent disease and maintain good health condition. Maintaining good personal hygiene habits is one of the best ways to prevent diseases, avoid transmitting them, and keep the external body clean and neat.

Hygiene, according to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, is the "part of medicine that has as its objective the preservation of health and the prevention of diseases." Its second meaning refers to "cleaning or grooming."

Etymologically, it comes from the French hygiène and this in turn from the Greek hygienós, an adjective derived from the word hygieia which means "health".

Personal cleanliness and grooming have been present in the history of the human being since ancient times. The baths were one of the first known forms of personal hygiene, they date between 4,000 or 3,000 BC and were common among some cultures such as the Egyptian, the Greek, the Babylonian, the Indian or the Turkish.

In Egypt, this form of grooming was combined with religious rituals. The priests bathed up to twice a day. The bath also had a religious significance for Indian culture, as it was thought that this ceremony served to attract good spirits.

History

According to Victoria Sherrow (2001), archaeologists have found evidence that in cultures such as Mesopotamian or Babylonian, wealthy inhabitants incorporated a room into their houses exclusively for bathing. The poor also bathed, but they used to do so in canals and rivers.

Soaps made with animal fat or other types of oils were used for the bath ritual. The Arab and Greek cultures were incorporating fragrances and other types of substances that left a good smell on the body.

Later, with the Indian, Greek and Roman culture, public baths would become popular, turning this activity into a form of entertainment for high society.

From this culture of personal hygiene, it follows that personal hygiene has not always been used to prevent disease, but that cleaning the body has other cultural attributes.

The baths had a mystical sense, they served to feel good about oneself. It was a social and at the same time intimate act, since in some cultures it was practiced in a separate room and in others it served as an excuse to socialize. Finally, good body odor was sought, giving this activity an aesthetic component.

Actuality and importance

These types of elements present in personal hygiene are still valid in today's culture. For example, being well groomed is essential to get a good job and to maintain good social relationships.

In addition, according to a study by Paaschen et al. (2014), the use of personal hygiene items such as deodorants or colognes can improve one's perception of oneself, having a positive psychological effect.

However, you have to be careful with this, since the aesthetic is not always related to what is healthy or good for our body. Sometimes too much hygiene can also lead to infection or illness.

8 habits to maintain good personal hygiene

1- Wash your hands frequently

Hands are one of the main sources of contracting and spreading infections. It is very important to take some preventive hygiene measures, doing a correct hand washing before eating or after going to the bathroom. This cleanliness should be increased when we are sick or when we come in contact with someone sick.

According to the organization Globalhandwashing, more than a million children die each year from diseases such as pneumonia or diarrhea, diseases that can be prevented with good hand hygiene.

Washing hands with soap is an easy way to prevent infection and a cheap method that is mostly accessible to everyone.

It is important to wash your hands correctly. I give you as an example the procedure established by an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the Organization of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

This organization says there are several key moments when you need to wash your hands, in addition to the ones I cited above. For example, when petting an animal, before, during and after cooking or when touching the garbage.

The proper process for hand washing according to the CDC is divided into four steps:

1. Wet your hands with clean water, either warm or cold, turn off the tap and apply soap.
2. Rub the hands with the soap, lathering, joining palm to palm and then on the back of the hand, as well as between the fingers and nails. This process should take at least 20 seconds.
3. Rinse hands under running water.
4. Dry your hands with a paper towel or under a blow dryer.

Hand hygiene is not only very important in daily activity, but there are more and more protocols and policies to spread good hygiene of this part of the body among healthcare professionals.

According to the World Health Organization, thousands of patients die every day from infections derived from the treatment of health professionals.

In addition to soap and water, there is an alcohol-based disinfectant that the skin absorbs without needing to be rinsed. These disinfectants are very useful to take them to the street or to a place where there is no bathroom nearby. However, the most useful method is still the traditional one, since this substance does not kill all types of germs.

2- Keep your skin clean and hydrated

To have good body hygiene it is advisable to shower once a day. Although it is often believed that showering is the best remedy to maintain good hygiene, it must be taken with caution, as there are some habits that can harm the health of our skin.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, children from 6 to 11 years old do not have to shower daily, although they do have a minimum of once or twice a week and when they sweat or get dirty from physical activity or from swimming somewhere public.

It is from adolescence when the ritual of a daily shower is established. Although this activity usually brings many psychological benefits, it is not so much for our skin if the right products are not used.

An excess of hygiene, the chemical components of the products or a temperature of the water that is too high can promote the appearance of skin conditions such as dry skin or atopic dermatitis.

Neutral soaps or cleansers help maintain the skin's PH better than soap. The important thing, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, is that the soaps used do not contain alcohol or some type of fragrance.

After the shower, it is very important to dry yourself well with a towel and wash it frequently to avoid the appearance of fungus due to the accumulated moisture.

Finally, it is very important to keep the skin hydrated with creams or lotions, in the case of those who suffer from dry skin up to two or three times a day.

Other advice given by the American Academy of Dermatology is caring for the skin of the lips and hands, with the use of petroleum jelly and gloves respectively.

3- Brush your teeth properly

The mouth is one of the parts that causes the most feeling of good or bad hygiene in others. A poorly cared for mouth can lead to cavities, tooth loss, bad breath or diseases such as periodontitis.

It is advisable to brush your teeth two or three times a day, after each meal and especially in the morning and before going to sleep, since at night the bacterial activity is more prolonged. This process should take place 20 or 30 minutes after ingestion of food and should last about three minutes.

Dr. Bonner, collects in The Oral Health Bible that an electric toothbrush is more effective than a manual toothbrush.

Another element that should not be forgotten is brushing the tongue, bacteria accumulate here as well.

4- Take good care of your feet

Cleaning and daily care of the feet is very important, especially for diabetics who, in this way, can prevent the appearance of foot ulcers. Although those who suffer from this disease should always have medical advice.

Some steps for a correct cleaning of the feet are:

• Wash your feet daily with soap and water, focusing on the space between the toes.
• Dry the feet well with a towel, insisting again between the toes to avoid the appearance of cracks.
• Properly hydrate the feet, in this case do not apply the cream between the toes.
• Wear comfortable shoes appropriate to the shape of our feet.

It is also advisable to avoid walking barefoot in public places such as municipal swimming pools or common bathrooms, to avoid the appearance of fungi.

5- Your intimate hygiene must be adequate

Maintaining good hygiene in the genital parts, not only prevents bad smell, but also fungal infections, especially in the case of women. In addition, a good intimate cleaning is essential when having sex.

Both men and women should change underwear frequently and wash their intimate area daily. The most advisable clothing is cotton. In the case of women, candidiasis is frequent, so the use of special soaps is very important.

The vagina should not be washed more than twice a day and should be dried, without rubbing, from front to back to avoid infections by bacteria such as Escherichia coli, present in the anus and feces.

Hygiene measures should be increased during menstruation with a frequent change of pads or tampons. Nor is it advisable to abuse the use of sanitary napkins or panty liners, as they lead to urine infections and vaginal yeast infections.

In turn, men must be especially careful with the dirt that accumulates on the glans.

6- Get healthy, clean and shiny hair

Hair should be washed two or three times a week. It should also be washed daily in the case of people with oily scalps, or those who practice a lot of sports or sweat excessively.

In the case of dry hair, it is advisable to use oils and masks to hydrate the hair. It is advisable to cut your hair frequently to ensure strong and healthy hair growth, preventing it from becoming brittle.

Children must be especially watched, to avoid the spread of lice or treat it in time.

7- Wear clean clothes

Clothes are like one more layer of skin that also accumulates bacteria, both from our body and from outside. In addition to underwear, which must be changed daily, it is advisable to change clothes frequently, especially after showering.

This, in addition to making you feel better, prevents you from infections caused by bacteria that can accumulate on clothing. The change should be more frequent in summer, since you sweat more. With regard to sweat, it is good that it is breathable garments, especially footwear.

8- Pay attention to your personal care

By personal care, I mean to take the nails well cut, to the correct cleaning after going to the bathroom, and to the cleaning of the facial area. When cutting your nails, you have to take into account some tips:

• Cut the toenails straight, never rounded to allow the new nail to grow well.
• Do not get too close to the skin, in this way unnecessary cuts are avoided.

When talking about cleaning the face, again you have to take into account the type of skin, if it is sensitive, dry or with acne. Today there are many different products to obtain a more complete cleaning of the facial area.

Special care must be taken with the nose, which must be cleaned frequently, especially when there is presence of mucus. The best way to wash the nose is with the mixture of water and salt or with physiological saline.

Another important part is the ears, the most advisable way are the drops or go to a specialist if there is too much wax, but never insert swabs.

The eyes are cleaned with their own tears, although there is a wide variety of eye drops to combat dryness in a complementary way. In any case, soap should never be introduced into the eye organ. If this happens accidentally, rinse with plenty of water.

Finally, shaving and waxing are two aesthetic elements that affect the feeling of personal hygiene, although special care must be taken with genital hair removal, as it can affect diseases such as the Human Papilloma Virus.

References

1. Smith, V. Clean: A History of Personal Hygiene and Purity, Oxford University Press.
2. Sherrow, V. (2001) For Appearance 'Sake. The Historical Encyclopedia of Good Looks, Beauty and Grooming. United States, Oryx Press.
3. van Paaschen, J., Walker, SC, Phillips, N., Downing, PE, Tipper, SP (2015). The effect of personal grooming on self-perceived body image. International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 37 (1): 108-115. 2017, January 15, Medline database.
4. Christensen, GJ. (1998) Why clean your tongue ?. The Journal of the American Dental Association. 129, 11, 1605-1607. 2017, January 15 from ScienceDirect.
5. Improved daily foot hygiene may reduce likelihood of ulcers in people with diabetes (2011). Nursing standard. 26.6, 17-17, January 15 from Pubmed database.
6. Rose, J., Martorana, V. (2011) The Foot Book: A Complete Guide to Healthy Feet. Baltimore, The John Hopkins University Press.