PERSONAL HYGIENE

"Cleanliness is  next to godliness" 

Hello everyone, This is Dr. Pintos Egesimba of Pintos' Preventive Medicine blog and I am here to talk about hygiene; personal hygiene. Hygiene is something we have all been taught from home, in social studies and home economics and even in more details for those who were members of the health and life planning clubs in their schools( P.S. I was a member). If we all are supposed to know so much about it, how come most people aren't very hygienic? And do they know that their low sense of hygiene could be responsible for current health problems and even future ones?

I always like to define the topic so as to shed more light on it, Hygiene is defined as a CONDITION promoting sanitary practices. Personal hygiene is an individual's sanitary practices. 

The WHO (World Health Organization) defines personal hygiene as conditions or practices that help maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases.

As an advocate for preventive medicine, here are some ways to ensure good personal hygiene:

 

1. Always wear clean clothes: Our clothes absorb sweat, dead skin cells and smoke and some bacteria ( especially due to coughing, sneezing , sweating or even from someone's spit). Washing our clothes regularly with clean water and soap  and wearing the clean clothes plus clean underwear is a must in the prevention of various skin diseases like   and also in the reduction of the spread of diseases through fomites (which means clothing or material infected with  bacteria or viruses).
2. Brush twice daily : This is to prevent the growth of plaque and remove food particles which bacteria can degrade and then cause tooth decay. It also promotes fresh breath and prevents mouth odor.
3. Bathe with soap and water and wash your towels and face cloths regularly: This is to ensure removal of harmful bacteria from the surface of the body and also to prevent their accumulation in our towels and face cloths.
4. Wash hands before and after using the toilet : This is to prevent the spread of germs as some food poisonings are due to feces transferred from the anus to the food and also wash before especially if you don’t want to rub pepper into your bottom.
5. Wash hands before and after handling food: This is to prevent food borne illnesses e.g. cholera, typhoid, dysentery and food poisoning.
6. Wash hands before moving for one patient to the other if you are a caregiver :This also prevent infection or re-infection of the patient with a  communicable disease.
7.  In short, hand washing is important, here is a quick guide by WHO on how to wash your hands. See image above
   May 5th is World Hand Hygiene day.
8. Sweep or vacuum your surroundings to be free from dust and dust related issues: For example if you are a carpenter( which is an awesome job I might add), sawdust and small particles of wood can enter your body through the nose  and damage the lungs causing breathing problems for a long time.
9. Empty your garbage regularly and clean your environment and drainage: :
   This is to prevent the spread of insect borne diseases e.g. Malaria which is carried by the female anopheles mosquito which bred in stagnant water. Also food poisoning due to houseflies and cockroaches dropping bits of  garbage inside your food stuffs.
10. Don’t spit indiscriminately- This terrible habit can potentate the spread of some viral diseases and even tuberculosis.
11. Use deodorant or antiperspirant: They work by reducing the amount of microbes that cause body odor thereby keeping you smelling fresh.

In conclusion, personal hygiene is a very important factor in the promotion of health and the prevention of disease. Please  read, comment and share and send questions to my email : egesimbap@gmail.com or just write them in the comment section.
Thank you for taking the time to educate yourself and have a pleasant day today.