The personal cleanliness It could be defined as cleaning oneself to prevent diseases and maintain good health. 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 aims to preserve health and prevent diseases." Its second meaning refers to "cleaning or toilet".
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 human history since ancient times. Baths were one of the first known forms of personal hygiene, dating between 4,000 or 3,000 BC and were common among some cultures such as Egyptian, Greek, Babylonian, Indian or 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.
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According to Victoria Sherrow (2001), archaeologists have found evidence that in cultures such as Mesopotamia or Babylon, rich inhabitants incorporated a room into their houses exclusively for bathing. The poor also bathed, but they used to do so in the 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, due to personal hygiene, it follows that personal hygiene has not always been used to prevent diseases, but that cleaning the body has other cultural attributes.
The bathrooms had a mystical sense, it 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.
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 the perception of oneself, having a positive psychological effect..
However, you have to be careful with this, since aesthetics are not always related to what is healthy or good for our body. Sometimes, excessive hygiene can also lead to infections or diseases.
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 into contact with someone who is sick..
According to the Globalhandwashing organization, more than a million children die each year from diseases such as pneumonia or diarrhea, diseases that can be prevented with good hand hygiene..
Handwashing with soap is an easy way to prevent infection and is inexpensive and, for the most part, 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:
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 some 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.
To have good body hygiene, it is advisable to shower once a day. Although it is often believed that the shower 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 any 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 to care for the skin of the lips and hands, with the use of petroleum jelly and gloves respectively..
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 sleeping, 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, picks up on 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 too.
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:
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.
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, yeast infections are frequent, which is why 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 infection by bacteria such as Escherichia coli, present in the anus and stool.
Hygiene measures should be increased during menstruation with a frequent change of pads or tampons. It is also not advisable to abuse the use of sanitary pads or panty liners, as they lead to urinary infections and vaginal yeast infections..
In turn, men must be especially careful with the dirt that accumulates on the glans..
Hair should be washed two or three times a week. It should also be washed daily in the case of people with oily scalp, or those who play 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 a strong and healthy growth of the hair, preventing it from becoming brittle..
Children must be especially watched, to avoid the spread of lice or treat it in time.
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.
By personal care, I mean to take your nails well trimmed, to properly clean them after going to the bathroom, and to clean the facial area. When cutting your nails, you have to take into account some tips:
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 Human Papillomavirus.
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