Some myths about personal hygiene are harmless while others can cause real harm to your health.
Although, in the pursuit of ideal purity, you rarely can hurt yourself. However, sometimes, you can go too far in achieving it.
Let's see which of our beliefs about personal hygiene are based on real facts and which are nothing more than delusions so that you can have a clear vision about the importance of proper hygiene.
1. Wash your head every day
Washing your hair every day is not necessary. The frequency with which you need to wash your hair depends on several factors like the type of hair, the condition of the scalp, hair length and so on.
The fact is that frequent use of shampoo washes away the natural oils produced by the body which is not beneficial for the health of the scalp and hair.
In general, deciding on how often to wash your hair is everybody’s personal preference.
For example, if you have a planned business meeting for tonight but your hair looks spiky, you should better wash your hair. Looking better at the meeting increases your chances of a positive outcome.
2. The need of hand disinfectants for hand protection
Hand products containing alcohol are useful in many situations but you don’t need to use them as often as you may think.
For a proper cleansing of the hands, using soap and water is enough. It may not kill bacteria, as efficient as alcohol based products, but it efficiently washes off the bacteria of your hands.
Also, microbes and bacteria adapt to any environment, so there is no need to use alcohol-containing products for hand washing unless this is justified by necessity.
3. Bad breath is a sign of lack of hygiene
There can be many reasons for bad breath.
Of course, it can be caused by neglecting oral hygiene, but it is not always the case.
Sometimes, bad breath may be caused by dry mouth, gum disease, carries, etc.
4. Need to protect yourself from dirt
It is believed that we should protect ourselves from germs and bacteria as much as possible to stay healthy.
This belief makes many people go too far maintaining themselves and their environments clean. As a result, they may develop eczema and asthma.
Or course, there is no need to live in mud but there is also no need to turn cleanliness into a cult.
Living in a sterile environment doesn't promote stable immunity.
5. Hygiene is everyone's personal matter
If we were isolated from each other then, everyone would be able to decide to what extent to maintain their cleanliness. But as we live in a society, our personal hygiene affects others around us and vice-versa.
We don’t want to be near a smelly person, who has bad breath or whose clothes are dirty.
Poor personal hygiene makes us feel insecure or we don’t feel at our best.
6. Soap kills microbes
Ordinary soap has practically no ability to kill bacteria. Instead, it cleanses the skin very well, allowing you to flush most germs with water. Only soap labeled "antibacterial" can really kill bacteria.